Chapter 14
The next morning, Calvin grabbed his keys and said goodbye to Britney. “I’ve got a lot going on this week, but I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ll spend some real time at home in a couple of days.”
In the dining room, Noah and Simon sat at the table, eating their breakfast quietly, barely making a sound.
The moment Calvin walked out and the door shut behind him, Britney’s face turned cold. She walked straight over to the boys and let out a cold laugh.
“I told you just yesterday, don’t you dare run your mouths to Calvin. Didn’t you get it? But you still went and complained last night, didn’t you?”
Britney grabbed Noah by the arm. He was too young to fight back. He just looked up at her, his eyes filled
with fear.
“You’re a terrible woman!” Simon yelled, flinging his spoon at Britney, hoping she’d let Noah go.
That only made her angrier. Since Calvin wasn’t home, she didn’t bother holding back at all.
These two boys were Avery’s children, after all. If Britney ever had a child with Calvin, they’d only get in the way, competing with her kid for everything.
The more she thought about it, the colder her stare became.
Britney walked to the kitchen, filled a ladle with scalding hot oil, and pinned Simon down, forcing his mouth open as she poured the oil in.
The boy’s screams rang through the whole house. His tongue and throat swelled instantly, blisters popping up, even drawing blood.
Regina ran out, horrified. “Ms. Walker, he’s just a child!”
“Get out of my way!” Britney shoved her hard and reached for a second scoop of oil. She yanked Noah by the hair. He clamped his mouth shut, but she just dumped the oil over his head instead.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Noah howled, rolling on the floor in agony.
Britney watched them coldly, finally tossing the ladle aside. She couldn’t just get rid of them all at once, or Calvin might get suspicious. She’d take her time. Soon enough, she’d be the one in charge of this house.
She smirked. “If either of you brats dares snitch to Calvin again, next time will be way worse than today.”
Noah just whimpered and nodded. Simon couldn’t even talk, his mouth so blistered he could only cry
silently.
Britney glared at their tears. “Cry one more time and you’ll get another dose! Weren’t you hungry?”
At that, both boys went silent, their tears falling soundlessly. They no longer looked like the once-beloved sons of the Grant family.
Regina, still trembling, crept over. “Ms. Walker, they need to go to school…”
“Call the school and tell them the boys are taking the day off. Say they got hurt while playing around. That’s what you’ll tell Calvin too. It’s their own fault. Understand?” Britney snapped.
Regina nodded and quickly called the school to report them absent. Only then did Britney finally look away from her.
Meanwhile, at the office, Calvin couldn’t focus on work at all. He’d told Britney he had something important to handle, but the truth was Gabriel had finally brought him news about Avery.
As soon as Calvin arrived at the office, he called Gabriel in. “What did you find out? Tell me everything.” He loosened his tie, a strange sense of unease creeping over him.
“Mr. Grant, we found out that Henry has passed away,” Gabriel reported.
“What?” Calvin shot to his feet, unable to believe it. “Henry’s dead? That can’t be! Wasn’t he on some trip? When did this happen?”
His brows furrowed so hard they nearly touched. Everyone knew Henry was Avery’s only family. If he had died, it was no wonder she had stayed away for so long.
Calvin’s mind raced, and Gabriel added quietly, “Mr. Grant, Henry died a month ago.”
Those words hit Calvin like a bolt of lightning. He was completely stunned.
A month ago? How was that even possible? If Henry had died that long ago, how could he not have
known?
He wanted to ask another question, then suddenly remembered what happened about a month ago.
He and the boys had come up with that awful idea, making a fake Henry doll and tossing it into a boiling pot of oil just to scare Avery. But what if…
Thinking of this, Calvin’s face went pale.
Gabriel spoke again. “After Avery rushed Henry to the hospital, the doctors confirmed he had died from
severe burns. She told them someone had thrown Henry into a vat of boiling oil.”
Calvin’s whole body went cold.
He had seen Avery beg, cry, and break down, but he’d assumed she was just being dramatic, trying to play
the victim.
But it had been real. Henry really had died in that vat of boiling oil. He was the one who’d killed Henry.
No. That couldn’t be. The thing he’d used with Noah and Simon was just a dummy.
Calvin had to grab the desk to keep himself standing. He remembered Avery trying to call the police on Britney, and suddenly it all made sense.
His voice shook as he said, “It was Britney… She’s the one who switched the dummy. She’s the one who said Henry was traveling…”
Gabriel nodded. “That’s right. We’ve confirmed that Britney was involved.”
