A Mother's Final Gift

Chapter 5 The Misunderstanding

Nate was doodling pictures on the wall as Claire emerged from the kitchen, offering him a piece of pie.

I stopped what I was doing and snatched the bowl from him.

Hunter stood up from the couch, trying to intervene. "Nate's just a kid. Why are you getting so riled up about a few crumbs?"

I lashed out and slapped Hunter. "My mother baked it with her own hands. I'll never taste it again. Why should the son of a killer get even a morsel?"

Hunter hadn't seen it from that perspective and briefly looked ashamed.

Claire quietly pinched Nate's arm, making him wail.

"Daddy Hunter, I'm scared. I was just hungry. Why is Ms. Foster shouting at me?"

Hunter wrapped his arms around him and whispered soothing words.

"Juliet, Nate just had surgery, and he can't handle such tension! How could you be so heartless?"

He picked up the plate, cooled down the pie, and tried to feed it to Nate.

I shattered the plate.

I would rather see it destroyed than allow Claire's child a taste!

Hunter's chest rose and fell in frustration. "I've been trying to be patient because I know you're hurting. I wanted to be there for you. Nate just got out of the hospital. He needs somebody. I brought him because I wanted to see you, but you don't give a damn!"

Hunter's phone buzzed, and he glanced at it before stepping out to the balcony to answer. Claire came over with a gentle smile and led me quietly towards the kitchen.

Juliet felt herself flush with embarrassment. "I'm genuinely sorry, Juliet. Nate was starving, and I just acted on impulse and grabbed some food from your fridge. But hey, I baked a pie as a peace offering. You haven't had a decent meal in ages. Go ahead. Give it a try."

I brushed her hand away. "I don't need your insincere generosity. Get out of my house!"

Ignoring my words, Claire shoved me into a chair and, away from Hunter's view, forcefully crammed a slice of pie into my mouth.

She muttered in my ear, "Isn't it your mom's heart you're looking for? All those extra removed tissues are right here!"

Shock overtook me as I looked at Claire, rushing to the sink to purge.

Tears streamed down my cheeks while a crushing silence enveloped my agony.

Claire folded her arms, a smirk playing on her lips. "Blame your mom's naive kindness for donating blood at the hospital! Otherwise, I would never have discovered she matched Nate perfectly. It was meant to be!"

Gripping the kitchen knife nearby, I spun around to confront Claire, but the clattering of a falling box in the living room sent a chill up my spine.

I sprinted out to find Nate on the floor, mixing my mother's ashes with water like it was play mud.

The ashes were scattered and smeared all over, their essence completely obliterated.

Fueled by rage, I kicked Nate over, determined to rid myself of this twisted mother-son pair!

Claire urgently screamed for Hunter to rescue the child at once.

Hunter rushed in, phone in hand, inadvertently pressing the speaker button.

The voice on the other end stopped both Hunter and Claire cold.

"Dean Hunter, a witness happened to see Ms. Foster's mother's body that day. She noticed the heart was missing from the corpse. But no donor records exist from that day, either inside or outside the hospital."