billion book
Chapter 4
Mirabella’s eyes were tinged with concern, and after a few seconds, her grip loosened as she asked in a slightly grav tone. “Is your chest troubling you again?”
Catherine managed a strained smile as she clasped Mirabella’s hand reassuringly, shaking her head gently. “Granny’s fine, dear. It’s just the same old issue. Don’t you worry about me.”
Mandy, standing nearby, was taken aback by Catherine’s sudden distress. Regaining her composure, she instinctively pushed Mirabella aside. “Mom, are you having another one of your episodes? Are you in pain? Should we go to the hospital?”
Mirabella’s brow furrowed at being pushed away. She cast a glance at Mandy before turning and walking back into the house.
As Mandy fumbled for her phone to call an ambulance, she couldn’t help but sneer at Mirabella’s retreating figure. “Mom, can you believe this? This is the thanks you get for raising her. You’re in agony, and she just walks away…. Shaking her head, Mandy started dialing 911.
Not long after. Mirabella emerged from the house, carrying a mug in her hands. Mandy hung up the call and turned around to see Mirabella helping Catherine drink something. Her brow furrowed, and she snatched the mug. only to find it wasn’t just water. She demanded with a sharp tone, “What are you giving my mother to drink?”
The gaze Mirabella leveled at the snatched mug was suddenly fraught with an icy, foreboding intensity. Her normally pleasant features were wiped clean of any expression. Confronted with this unfamiliar side of Mirabella, Mandy recoiled, her heels clicking backward in retreat. “What… what kind of look is that?” Her voice had lost its earlier assertiveness.
“Mandy, give me the mug. That’s the medicine Mira got especially for me,” Catherine, now regaining some composure. said as she patted her chest and reached out a hand.
Mandy’s eyes widened in disbelief. Instead of handing back the mug, she flung the remaining contents onto the ground, “Medicine? What can some small–town girl possibly know about medicine? This is just reckless!”
As Catherine watched the spilled medicine on the floor, she hurried to explain, “Mira’s medicine…”
But Mandy cut her off without giving her a chance to speak, “Enough! Calm down. The ambulance will be here shortly. We’ll get you checked out properly at the hospital. You can’t just take any old remedy, you know you could make things worse.”
Shaking her head in exasperation, Mandy turned her attention back to Mirabella, “And you carelessly medicating my mother. If anything were to happen, you wouldn’t be able to fix it. I’ll give you this one pass because we were once family, but you need to leave. Don’t stick around here any longer.”
“Mandy, stop it!” Catherine sald, both anxious and angry. She looked at Mirabella, “Mira, this is your home. Don’t listen to her. Please stay…”
Mirabella glanced at the medicine on the floor. Fortunately, Catherine had already consumed ‘most of the medicine. Too weary to argue with her former foster mother, Mirabella slowly knelt in front of Catherine. Her eyes, clear and calm. gazed into hers as she spoke deliberately, “Honestly, it’s about time you had some peace and comfort.”
Catherine stared at her, a sudden and indescribable panic welling up inside her. Her pale lips trembled, and after a moment, she asked hoarsely, “Mira, did you… did you overhear what we were discussing inside earlier?”