The Lies He Told Me (Grace and Antonio)

Chapter274

My body ached, the pain intensifying.

I arrived at my parents' house to find Laura, my father and Remy counting money.

I walked past them to the attic.

It contained only a small bed, and even that was now piled high with sneakers. My belongings were gone.

A wave of suffocating grief washed over me.

My former education had ended at high school. Lorlyn University had accepted me, but Laura tore up the letter, declaring we couldn't afford it.

I had to work to support Remy.

So I did, giving her my entire salary. Later, when I fell ill and needed money for medical tests, she pretended not to know.

She used my money to buy electronics and designer sneakers for Remy.

As they counted the money, Laura and Remy complained it wasn't enough.

The sight chilled me to the bone.

I curled up on the couch.

"Mom, let's make a bet. Grace says she's seriously ill. I bet she's lying to avoid giving you money," Remy began.

"No bet necessary. I knew she was faking the moment she said it. She's just greedy," Laura scoffed "What are we going to do? I need to find a job, or I'll have no one to support me." Remy asked anxiously.

Laura patted his shoulder. "Don't worry. We have money. Focus on your gaming. You can be a professional electronic sports player!"

After Remy's birth, my parents instilled in me a deep sense of poverty.

I was acutely aware of money, envying classmates who could afford dancing lessons and social events.

At 15, I started working part-time.

Finally, I'd mustered up the courage to ask Laura for dance lessons.

She's responded with a furious tirade, calling me selfish and declaring dancing lessons a waste of money.

Yet, she bought Remy expensive sneakers.

I endured it all in silence, eventually realizing that Laura wasn't poor. She simply chose not to spend money on me.

My soul felt fractured, I left my parents' house, only to find I had nowhere to go. How ridiculous! Over 30, and homeless.

I wandered aimlessly, eventually ending up at Antonio's place.

The only place I could go was the home of my murderer.

Downstairs, police cars swarmed.

Antonio, handcuffed, was being escorted to a cruiser.

Antonio shouted, "This is slander! I loved Grace! I would never hurt her!"noveldrama

The officers ignored him.

At the station, an officer called Laura. "Hello. May I speak to Grace Parrish's mother?"

Party music blared in the background.

"Grace Parrish's mother? I have no daughter! Wrong number!" Laura hung up.

The coroner and the police officer exchanged stunned glances.

The coroner sighed and unzipped the body bag on the operating table.

The sight inside explained the tearing pain that ripped through me.

My body had been dismembered.

The coroner pieced together only half.

"We

evidence of excessive

water

at the victim's

unet

The rest of the

were likely flushed down

drain."

A policewoman gasped, covering her mouth. "Antonio deserved to be shot!"

I laughed.

Born into this family, my fate seemed predetermined.

My parents were prejudiced against me. My husband didn't love me. couldn't even love myself, not after the compromises I'd made for Laura.

Death was my only escape.

The murder was too horrible for broadcast, but the investigation continued.

The police examied the plumbing and brought in professionals to clear the sewer lines, determined to recover my remains.

I wanted to tell them that it didn't matter anymore.

Laura and Antonio lived in the same community.

The sewers beneath Laura's building were also searched.

Passing the pump trucks with Remy, Laura wrinkled her nose at the stench.

A neighbor mentioned the murder in the adjoining building.

A husband dismembered his wife, and flushed her remains down the drain.

Given the timeline, the remains should have been in the sewer lines beneath Laura's building.

"Disgusting!" Laura declared, her face contorted in disgust.

The neighbor, seeing the awkwardness, changed the subject. "Grace and her husband lived just up ahead, right? Why don't you stay with them for a few days?"

Laura considered this, finally remembering Antonio lived in the same complex.

She packed her bags and happily moved into my apartment with my father and Remy.