Trisha POV
The Night It Happened
The gun wasn't supposed to fire.
It was only meant to speak.
Just a threat.
Just a sound.
Just enough to make Katherine understand I was serious.
I didn't come there to kill anyone.
I came there as a mother.
A desperate one.
Katherine stood in front of me, stubborn as always. Her arms crossed, her voice steady.
"Hex is not a child you can just drag back when it's convenient, Trisha."
That sentence burned.
"He's my son," I snapped. My hands were shaking, but I held the gun anyway. "You and jay have been filling his head with things. You turned him against me."
"I protected him," she said quietly.
Protected him.
From me.
My finger tightened without me realizing.
"I'm not here to hurt you," I said. "Just help me. Talk to him. Tell him to come back home. He listens to you."
Katherine shook her head.
"I won't force him. He deserves to choose."
Choose.
As if I hadn't carried him for nine months. As if I hadn't held him when he had fevers.
"You're ruining everything," I whispered.
She took a step forward.
"Put the gun down, Trisha."
I wish she hadn't moved.
I wish I hadn't been shaking.
I wish the safety hadn't been off.
The sound exploded between us.
Too loud. Too final.
For a second, I didn't understand what happened.
Then I saw her.
Her body jolted. Her eyes widened in shock, not anger. Shock.
The gun slipped from my hand and hit the floor.
"No," I breathed.
She staggered backward.
"I didn't mean—" My voice broke. "Katherine, I didn't—"
She fell.
And the world went silent.
Not quiet.
Silent.
I dropped to my knees beside her. My hands pressed against the wound, trying to stop what couldn't be stopped.
"Stay with me," I whispered. "Please. I just wanted you to help me."
Her breathing was uneven. Weak.
There was no hatred in her eyes.
That made it worse.
"Hex is happy with where he is so please be a good…" she murmured faintly.
I leaned closer, desperate.
But whatever she was about to say never came.
Her body went still.
And something inside me shattered with her.
I sat there on the floor, blood on my hands, staring at what I had done.
This wasn't the plan.
I didn't want Hex to lose someone he cared about.
I just wanted my son back.
Just my son.
Footsteps echoed somewhere in the distance.
Voices.
I panicked.
If Hex saw this… if he looked at me with hatred…
No.
I couldn't let that be the last thing between us.
I stood up slowly, my hands trembling uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry," I whispered to her almost lifeless body.
Then I left before the house swallowed me whole.
That night, I didn't sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, I heard the gunshot again.
Saw her falling again.
I told myself it was an accident.
It was an accident.
But accidents still destroy lives.
And tomorrow…
I would have to face the fact that I had taken someone away from my own son.
End of Chapter.