"I know." I kept my voice low. "That's exactly why I'm going back. Right under his nose, I'm going to tear that home apart piece by piece."
Ryan stared at me, stunned.
I patted his shoulder. "Play along. Don't give anything away."
On the drive home, Derek took the wheel. My mother-in-law sat in the passenger seat.
I slumped in the back, watching them through the rearview mirror.
They exchanged a look.
My mother-in-law lowered her voice. "Are you sure she doesn't know?"
"Relax. If she knew, she would've called the cops ages ago."
Derek sneered. "She's too stupid to figure it out."
"Then the insurance…"
"We wait. Can't rush this."
He glanced at me. "She has to die on her own. No evidence."
I closed my eyes and smiled to myself.
When we got home, the familiar musty smell hit me immediately.
The bloodstains from when I'd crawled across the living room floor were still there, dried to a dark brown.
My mother-in-law clicked her tongue. "Bad luck everywhere."
She disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a bowl of pitch-black soup.
"Lexi, I stewed this tonic just for you. Drink it while it's hot."
A layer of oil floated on the surface, giving off a sour, rotten stench.
I recognized it instantly—yesterday's slop bucket.
"Mom, you're too good to me." I took the bowl, letting my hands shake.
The scalding slop splashed onto the brand-new carpet I'd just bought.
My mother-in-law screamed. "You jinx! That carpet cost over three thousand!"
She raised her hand to strike me.
I went with it, falling backward onto the floor covered in broken porcelain.
"Ah—"
I cried out, deliberately rolling once. The shards sliced several bloody gashes into my arm.
"Help! Someone's hitting me!"
Mrs. Lambert from next door happened to be passing by. Hearing the commotion, she pushed the door open.
"Oh my, what's going on here?"
She sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of me covered in blood.
"Lexi, you…"
"Mrs. Lambert…" I threw myself into her arms, crying, deliberately exposing the old bruises on my arm. "I accidentally knocked over the soup… and my mother-in-law tried to hit me…"
Mrs. Lambert's expression hardened.
She looked at the rancid slop on the floor, then at my mother-in-law's twisted face. Understanding dawned.
"This is abuse!"
Within minutes, the hallway filled with people. Neighbors pointed and whispered.