I took a deep breath and continued. “My brother Jason owed $18,000 to some very dangerous people. When he couldn’t pay, they came here
and…”
Before I could finish, a shoe flew through the air and hit me squarely on the forehead. The sting was sharp, but I barely flinched.
“You lying little brat!” my mom screamed, pointing a trembling finger at me. “Jason never owed anyone money! Stop making things up!”
She turned to the officers, her voice cracking with despair. “My son and husband were innocent! They were killed for no reason!”
I pressed my hand to my forehead where the shoe had struck, a faint smile tugging at the corners of my lips.
I knew exactly what she was trying to do. If she could convince the police that Jason and my father were innocent victims, she wouldn’t have to pay the $18,000 debt. In fact, she might even receive compensation.
But I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.
“Officer,” I said, my voice steady now. “There’s something else you should know. There’s a body buried in the old well behind our house.”
My mom’s eyes widened in shock, disbelief etched across her face.
“You little liar!” she screamed, lunging at me with her hands raised to strike.
But the officer was faster. He grabbed her wrist, holding her back as she struggled against him.
“Let her speak,” he ordered firmly.
I glanced at my mom’s restrained hands before meeting her furious gaze.
“Three days ago,” I began, my voice loud and clear, “Jason attacked a girl in the woods. He… raped her. When she threatened to report him, he panicked and killed her.”
The crowd gasped, whispers spreading like wildfire.
“Afterward, he brought the body back here,” I continued, my eyes never leaving my mother’s. “My father, my mother, and Jason worked together to dump the girl’s body into the old well behind the house. They even brought in a truckload of dirt to cover it up.”
For a moment, there was only silence. The entire yard seemed to hold its breath.
“You filthy little liar!” my mom shrieked, her voice shaking with rage. “Don’t you dare slander your brother like that! I’ll kill you, you ungrateful
brat!”
She thrashed against the officer’s hold, her face contorted with fury.
I pretended to cower, stepping behind another officer for protection.
But deep down, I knew everyone could see the truth.
The lead officer turned to his team, his voice calm but commanding.
“Dig up the well.”
18
<
It didn’t take long.
With over a dozen officers digging into the abandoned well, they unearthed a body that hadn’t even begun to fully decompose.
I had to give it to my mom and Jason; they hadn’t bothered to hide the evidence properly. The girl’s body was still intact, her clothes untouched -clear enough to identify her, at least once they lifted her fingerprints.
There was no way my mom could wriggle out of this.
The moment the officers pulled the girl’s body out of the well, my mom collapsed to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Her face was streaked with tears, and for a moment, she even looked remorseful.
But I knew better.
She wasn’t sorry for what she’d done. She was sorry for not burying the body somewhere further away. Sorry for being caught. Sorry that I, of all people, had seen everything and turned on her.
And she was probably most sorry she hadn’t killed me along with the girl.
When our eyes met, I smiled for the first time that day.
Her vulnerability was like an open wound, and I knew exactly how to press on it.
Her expression twisted into something feral. She grabbed a brick from the ground near the well and hurled it at me with all her strength.
“I’ll kill you!” she screamed. “I’ll kill you and make you pay for my son’s death!”
