She screamed out in pain and both Isaac and Julian appeared in seconds. They pulled me off of her while she shed crocodile tears. I didn’t stop trying to let them see what she had done, but no one listened to me.
Instead, the police appeared at the door within five minutes. My brother and my husband accused me of killing Solana, and while I was dragged away in handcuffs, Naomi smiled victoriously behind Isaac.
I was thrown in jail that day. I didn’t even get to see my precious daughter be buried.
Now that I was thinking about it, I wanted to break down over again. I wiped my eyes and saw a small crowd of reporters running toward me.
Shit.
“Mrs Bennett. How does it feel to be finally free?”
“Do you feel like the law was lenient to you?”
“Mrs Bennett, do you admit your negligence killed your daughter?”
“Mrs Bennett, will you go back to drinking alcohol now that you’re free?”
They crowded me like flies, and just when I thought I would pass out, someone pulled my arm away from them.
Isaac. My husband.
“Get in the car,” he said.
It felt strange seeing him again after all these months. The man who had once kissed my tears away was now the one who had abandoned me to rot.
His eyes were cold.
I hesitated only a second before sliding into the car.
The car stopped in front of the estate. It was home. But it no longer felt like mine.
Isaac stepped out, then glanced back with the same warning he had given me in the car:
“Behave yourself. Don’t embarrass me.”
I followed him inside, my heart pounding. The familiar marble floors stretched beneath me, but the warmth of home was gone.
She was waiting there.
Naomi. My best friend. My betrayer. She was dressed in white like some saintly widow. She rushed forward with fake tears brimming in her eyes.
“Cassandra,” she whispered, reaching for my hand. “I’m so glad you’re finally home. I prayed for you every night.”
I yanked my hand away. My nails dug into my palms to keep from clawing her face.
Isaac frowned sharply. “Enough. Don’t take out your bitterness on Naomi. She’s suffered enough already.”
Suffered? My child was dead. I was thrown in prison. And Naomi was standing here, adored and protected.
From the corner, I heard my brother’s voice.
“Cass, you should be grateful Naomi forgave you. If I were her, I’d never let you set foot in this house again.”