Aunt Naomi sneered from the sidelines. "Can't tame an ungrateful wretch."
A woman in the crowd couldn't take it anymore. "These two are still bleeding—shouldn't someone call an ambulance?"
But the mob had packed in three layers deep. There was no way out.
I stared at the sea of phone cameras, took a deep breath, and spoke.
"You all want to know so badly, don't you?"
"Why this ungrateful wretch turned out the way she did?"
I turned to the reporter. "Ms. Monroe. Are you brave enough to come with me? I'd like to invite you and a few witnesses to see the 'hospital' where I've been getting treatment."
Rachel froze for a beat. Then her journalist instincts kicked in, and she nodded.
Ten minutes later, the news van pulled up.
We drove toward the outskirts. The roads narrowed. Buildings crumbled. Sewage pooled on the ground.
Comments flooded the stream:
[Why would anyone come HERE for medical care? Is this a drug den?]
I kept my face blank. "We were poor. Couldn't afford a real hospital."
Mom sobbed the entire way, repeating "I'm sorry" and "Mommy will take you to a real doctor."
The van stopped in front of a doorway with no sign.
Inside, a single fluorescent bulb dangled from the ceiling, casting dim, sickly light.
The floor was littered with used syringes, blood-stained cotton swabs, and torn blister packs.
The examination table was covered in yellowed plastic sheeting. On a rusted metal tray beside it sat a collection of corroded forceps.
Everyone went still.
One of the witnesses—Dr. Finch—spoke first, his voice hard. "Medical waste disposed of like this? This violates every regulation in the book."
The comments exploded:
[WHAT THE HELL IS THIS PLACE?!]
[Is this healthcare or a death sentence?!]
[Her own mother brought her HERE?]
[Wait... why does this look so familiar...]
Rachel inhaled sharply.
"This—this matches the description of that illegal clinic our station exposed: unlicensed injections, unverified medications..."
Mom rushed over and grabbed my arm. "Doris, why would you come to a place like this..."
Uncle Albert and Aunt Naomi exchanged a look. Their expressions shifted into something strange—guarded. Neither said a word.
I pulled out a piece of paper, folded with care, and looked at my mother's face—gray and hollow in the dim light.
"You coaxed me into taking your 'vitamins' for eighteen years. You thought I'd never find out."
"And I didn't. Because I was stupid. Stupid enough to believe that if I just did everything you said, you'd finally be satisfied. You'd finally love me."
Uncle Albert scrolled through his phone, irritated. "What story is she spinning now? The comments all say she's a pathological liar—"
I ignored him and unfolded the paper.
The camera pushed in close.
Silence.
Total, suffocating silence.
Even the stray dogs outside stopped barking.
Rachel's microphone slipped from her fingers and clattered to the ground.
The livestream froze. Three full seconds passed without a single comment.
