His gaze swept over me, cold as a blade. "Gloria, stop playing the victim. If you refuse to go, every single person on staff in this house loses their pay this month."

The words had barely left his mouth before every housekeeper by the door turned to stare at me, resentment burning in their eyes.

I clenched my fists, said nothing, and got in the car.

At the school, a teacher was selecting participants for the parent-child relay race, a one-mile run.

Pamela spoke up without hesitation. "Let Hayden run with his mother."

Hayden's small face scrunched in obvious disgust.

"Go on," Leon said flatly.

Hayden didn't dare disobey. He settled for glaring at me with all the venom a child could muster.

I hesitated. "I just got out of the hospital. I can't run."

Before the last word left my lips, someone shoved me hard from behind. I stumbled forward, nearly falling.

I spun around. Pamela stood there, smiling at me, triumph glittering in her eyes.

The starting gun fired. I gritted my teeth and managed a few staggering steps before my foot slipped out from under me. I hit the ground hard, the impact jarring through every bone.

Cold sweat poured down my face. I tried to push myself up, but my arms wouldn't obey.

Laughter erupted all around me.

I braced my arms against the ground and lifted my head. "Hayden, help me up. I can't stand."

No one answered.

I looked up. Pamela had already taken Hayden by the hand and walked away without so much as a backward glance.

"Gloria?"

A white-haired old man stood before me, his grandson at his side.

My vision blurred instantly. "Dr. Edwin Hartwell Hartwell... you're here too..."

He let out a cold scoff. "Making a spectacle of yourself in public. I don't have a student like you. You've disgraced every doctor who ever held a scalpel."

Tears pooled in my eyes. My lips parted, but nothing came out.

He turned and walked away. Something clamped down hard around my chest, squeezing until I couldn't breathe.

The race ended. The crowd thinned to nothing.

I dragged myself up from the ground, bruised and filthy, just in time to see Leon helping Pamela and Hayden into the car in the distance.

The car pulled away. No one had waited for me.

The house was empty when I got back. Not a single soul.

I picked up my phone and scrolled to the post Pamela had just shared.