Chapter 5 - “She’s Losing Her Mind”
Victoria straightened and forced a trembling smile.
“Ethan, thank God you’re here.”
He did not answer.
She stepped toward him.
“She had another episode.”
Margaret flinched.
Victoria noticed and quickly continued.
“Your mother became aggressive. She refused her medication and wandered outside. We were trying to calm her down.”
Ethan looked at the dog bowl.
Then the scraps.
Then the torn robe.
“By filming her?”
The guests avoided his eyes.
Victoria’s voice sharpened.
“You don’t understand how difficult she’s become.”
Ethan walked past his wife and knelt beside Margaret.
His mother stared at him as though she could not decide whether he was real.
“Mom,” he said softly.
Margaret gripped the plate tighter.
“I’m sorry.”
Those two words broke something inside him.
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
Victoria folded her arms.
“This is exactly what she does. She makes you feel guilty.”
Ethan touched Margaret’s wrist.
Her skin was cold.
She was thinner than when he had left ten days earlier.
Much thinner.
“Where is her nurse?”
“She quit.”
“Why?”
“Your mother threatened her.”
Margaret’s eyes widened.
“No.”
Victoria turned on her instantly.
“Stop lying.”
Ethan stood.
His voice remained quiet.
“What medication did she refuse?”
Victoria hesitated.
“The pain medication.”
“What is it called?”
Another pause.
Victoria looked toward the house.
“I don’t memorize every prescription.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
He knew every medication on his mother’s care plan.
He had approved the pharmacy orders himself.
“You told me she was recovering well.”
“She was.”
“You told me she was eating three meals a day.”
“She is.”
Margaret made a small sound.
Ethan looked down.
His mother was staring at the bakery box as though she could smell the cake through the cardboard.
Then Margaret whispered something that made every guest freeze.
May you like
“She locks the refrigerator at night.”
👉 Ethan finally understood that the missing meals were only one part of what Victoria had done.
