Chapter 3 - THE PARASITE
"What's going on here?" Mark stammered, taking a hesitant step forward.
His face was a mask of utter confusion.
Evelyn immediately adjusted her posture, her eyes brimming with calculated, dramatic tears.
She pointed a thin, spotted finger at Elena.
"Your psycho wife attacked me over that spoiled little parasite!" Evelyn wailed.
"She's completely unhinged, Mark!"
"I was just trying to keep the girl from running into the lake!"
Chloe pressed her face deeper into Elena’s neck.
Her tiny fingers tugged at Elena’s collar.
"Mommy..." Chloe whispered, her voice tiny and broken.
"Grandma said... Grandma said you were going to throw me in the water if I didn't get in the box."
Elena felt her heart turn into a shard of glass.
She squeezed Chloe closer, her hand cradling the back of the child's head.
Mark stared at his mother, his jaw dropping slightly.
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"Mom... did you lock her in there?"
"She's lying!" Evelyn spat, her voice sharpening back into iron. "The child is a compulsive liar, just like her mother!"
