He wanted to teach me a lesson. But what did I even have left to lose? I had nothing. I wasn't afraid of his threats anymore. What could a lesson possibly do to me now?
"Your mother's treatment will be postponed for a week, and her medication will be reduced. You're not above being held accountable for what you say."
Jeffrey said it out loud so I would hear exactly what he was doing. He fully expected me to react the way I always did, discovering he was furious and instantly submitting, pleading for forgiveness.
But didn't he know? For a critical-care patient like my mother, even the slightest fluctuation in room temperature could be fatal. Pulling her medical treatment was a manipulative threat that only worked once. And he had already used it.
This time, he was going to be sorely dis
