Chapter 1 - Monster
Hunter raised one trembling hand from the hospital bed and pointed straight at my mother.
For one second, no one moved.
The pediatric room was cold and white under fluorescent lights. A monitor beeped softly beside my six-year-old son. A nurse stood near the IV pole with one hand frozen over the blanket. Officer Daniel Ross held a phone at his side, his face grave and unreadable.
I was kneeling beside Hunter’s bed, one hand over my mouth, barely able to breathe.
My mother, Margaret Thompson, stood near the foot of the bed with tissues clutched in her hand, pretending she had come to cry over her grandson. My sister Bertha hovered near the doorway, pale and twitchy, whispering, “Poor baby,” like she had not told me hours earlier that my child had gotten what he deserved.
Hunter’s lips trembled.
Then one broken word came out.
“Monster.”
My mother stepped backward so quickly her heel struck the wall.
Bertha froze.
I turned toward them, tears running down my face and rage rising so hard it felt like it might split me open.
“What did you do to my son?”
Officer Ross looked down at his phone, then at my mother.
“The neighbor’s camera recorded everything.”
Nurse Maya Patel gently adjusted Hunter’s blanket while I gripped the bed rail, trying not to fall apart in front of my child.
My mother shook her head. “He’s confused.”
Officer Ross stepped forward.
“No,” he said coldly. “He finally remembered.”
My mother’s face collapsed.
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Bertha made a sound like fear had found her throat.
And I held Hunter’s hand while the lie that nearly buried my son began to die in that hospital room.
