When Walter Shaw’s family found out we were together, they were furious and immediately froze his credit card.
Walter, stubborn as ever, refused to back down and moved out with me into a cheap rented apartment.
We barely had two thousand dollars a month, and after rent and utilities, we were left with almost nothing.
Walter was born into privilege, and after a while he couldn’t stand living like that. One day, he grabbed my hand and took me back to the Shaw Family Mansion.
When I saw his mother, I wanted to speak, but Walter stopped me.
He let go of my hand and suddenly dropped to his knees.
“Mom, please don’t make things hard for Jada. She’s a good girl.”
His parents glanced at me with disdain.
“A good girl should understand the difference in status between our families. Don’t you think we know how much you’ve done for her?”
Their words made me shrink in shame, clutching Walter’s hand even tighter.
He suddenly pulled out a small knife and pressed it against his own neck.
“If you keep pushing, I’ll die right here. I won’t marry anyone but Jada.”
The determination in his eyes stunned everyone—including me.
In the end, they had no choice. After all, he was their only son. They reluctantly agreed to let me stay, on the condition that Walter would start taking on responsibilities in the family company.
And so, I was moved into the mansion, spending my days working in the family business.
But now, lying on the basement floor, I couldn’t understand why he would believe I poisoned Grandma without even asking me for an explanation.
The darkness stretched on, until a thin beam of light appeared as the basement door opened.
Walter stepped in, holding a bowl of leftover food. He crouched in front of me.
“Eat. I don’t want you dying too soon—you still owe me my pound of flesh.”
He tossed the bowl on the floor in front of me.
I was starving, so I grabbed the food with my hands and devoured it like a beggar.
When I finished, I looked up at him, ready to speak, but a hurried voice came from outside.
“Sir, the hospital just called. Madam’s condition has worsened. She might not make it through the night.”
“What?”
Walter dropped everything and told the butler to drive him to the hospital.
The basement door stood wide open. I staggered to my feet, slowly making my way toward freedom—
Only to be shoved back.
“Where do you think you’re going? Walter didn’t say you could leave.”
It was Carmen Simmons.
If Grandma’s condition was worsening, why wasn’t she at the hospital?
I shoved her away and tried to head upstairs.
“Move. I don’t have time to fight with you right now!”
Her sweet mask finally cracked, revealing her true face.
She grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me back hard.
“You think I’ll let you go save that old witch?”
“You don’t know, do you? Fine, I’ll tell you—I poisoned her. I spread the powder evenly on her bowl that night.”
“I even had an alibi ready. I planned to frame the maid. But you just had to play the good little housewife and cook for her yourself.”
