4: 4
I couldn't stop the corner of my mouth from lifting.
In a good mood, I knocked another hundred thousand off the buyer's price, then found a moment to swing by the hospital.
I cut the line to get the death certificate issued, then went straight to the precinct and had Abner's records canceled.
By the time I got back to the villa with my lawyer, my mother-in-law had just come home from the mall, loaded down with bags, Bianca in tow.
The two of them were carrying a dozen shopping bags, a few store staff trailing behind them.
Bianca dropped onto the couch and ordered me around like a servant.
"Celine, go take care of my bill for me."
"I maxed out Abner's card. There's still more than half left to pay."
I stood where I was and didn't move.
Seeing that, my mother-in-law's face soured at once.
She flung her shopping bags to the floor and crossed the room to me in two strides.
"Celine, are you deaf or just mute? Bianca told you to go pay. Didn't you hear her?"
Bianca leaned back into the couch.
One hand resting on her belly, she said in a wounded little voice,
"Auntie, does Celine hate me?"
"If she does... I don't want this baby anymore. I wouldn't want to be an eyesore to her."
"She wouldn't dare!"
My mother-in-law's spit nearly landed on my face.
"That money was all earned by my son! Letting you pay the bill is doing you an honor! Don't throw kindness back in our faces!"
I glanced down at my phone.
My lawyer said the inheritance would be settled within three days.
When I looked up again, my face had settled into a perfectly calm expression.
"Auntie. Bianca."
"There's something I need to tell you."
"This morning, Abner was in a car crash on the highway."
"The car burned. He's dead."
"Every cent in those accounts is mine now."
The air went dead for two seconds.
"What did you say?!"
My mother-in-law's shriek nearly lifted the roof.
"Celine! Have you lost your mind?! Cursing your own husband dead?!"
Bianca burst out laughing.
"I think jealousy has actually rotted your brain."
"Abner told me an hour ago he was taking me car shopping tonight."
I smiled.
"If you don't believe me, call him. Right now."
"See if anyone picks up."
One ring.
Two.
Three.
After the fourth went unanswered, Bianca started to panic.
Without a word, I pulled a clear document sleeve out of my bag.
Inside was the hospital's death certificate and the cancellation papers from the precinct.
The smiles on my mother-in-law's and Bianca's faces froze solid in an instant.
