Chapter 4

They found Andrew and Sabrina at the local Applebee's, sitting in a booth, laughing over a plate of boneless wings. The sight of her son, so carefree while she had been moments from death, shattered the last of my mother-in-law's composure.

She ran to their table, the young EMTs trailing behind her.

"Andrew!" she cried, her voice raw with desperation. "Molly... she took my place! She's standing on the bomb for me! You have to come, please!"

Andrew just stared at her, a forkful of chicken halfway to his mouth. His expression wasn't concern. It was annoyance.

"Mom, what the hell are you doing here?" he snapped, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "You're making a scene."

Sabrina, beside him, let out a delicate, mocking laugh. "A bomb? Oh, please. In this town? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. She' s just trying to get your attention, Andy. She can' t stand that you' re happy with me."

"She's not lying!" Leo insisted, stepping forward. "We all saw it! Chief Hank is there right now!"

Andrew's eyes narrowed, not at his frantic mother, but at me, miles away, standing on his forgotten legacy of violence. He saw this not as a crisis, but as a conspiracy. My conspiracy.

"This is unbelievable," he said, shaking his head. He turned to his mother, his voice dripping with condescension. "You really let her talk you into this? This whole pathetic drama? I'm trying to have a nice dinner with Sabrina, and you let Molly drag you into her games."

He stood up, throwing his napkin on the table. He didn't even look at his mother. He looked at Sabrina.

"Let's go, babe," he said, taking her hand. "My wife is clearly having a psychotic break. I'm not dealing with it."

He completely ignored his mother's pleading cries, pushing past her and walking out of the restaurant with Sabrina on his arm. He left his own mother standing there, abandoned and humiliated in the middle of a crowded restaurant, her hope turning to ash.

The EMTs brought her back to the lot. She didn't say a word. She just sat in the back of the pickup, her face empty, staring at me as the sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple, a beautiful backdrop to our ugly little tragedy.