“Don’t hurt Mrs. Larson! Mr. Larson definitely saw the messages—he’ll pay!”
Then, a bolded message appeared, catching the burglars’ attention. They read the comment aloud. “I’m Henry Larson! Stop everything right now!”
The moment Margaret heard “Henry”, she lurched toward the voice and flailed her hands. “Henry! Save Jess!”
The burglars quickly connected to the caller, but the voice on the other end wasn’t Henry.
Realizing they’d been played, the lead burglar cursed and threw Margaret to the ground. Her head hit the floor with a sickening crack, and blood pooled beneath her.
Margaret gasped in pain.
At the sight of that, the comments kept flooding in.
“Don’t hurt Mrs. Larson! I’m Mr. Larson’s assistant!”
“Henry’s real mother is at the wedding! You guys abducted the wrong person!”
The burglar glanced at a nearby framed photo and laughed mockingly. Then, without hesitation, he picked up the same knife he had used on me and pressed the blade to Margaret’s eye.
“Get Henry on the phone now, or I’ll carve out this old woman’s eyes and make soup out of them!”
It was a life-or-death moment, so the assistant had to dial Henry.
“Hello? Who’s this?” A child’s innocent voice answered.
Then, a warm voice followed in the background. “Derrick, come here. I made soup for you. Let me feed you.”
Derrick handed over the phone.
Henry’s voice came next, but his tone was irritated and sharp. “I said I’m not dealing with anything today. Why are you calling?”
The assistant hesitated. But seeing how Margaret was barely holding on, he had no choice.
“Mr. Larson… is Margaret Chapman your mother? She—”
Henry cut him off with an icy snap. “Jessica found you, didn’t she? I’m warning you—if you ever let someone use my mother to get my attention again, you’re fired. On the spot!”
His cold, final words echoed through the livestream. They rang in Margaret’s ears.
She only heard the irritation in his voice.
“Henry…” Margaret whispered his name, but the moment the tears spilled from her eyes, her body gave out.
She crumpled to the ground like a butterfly with broken wings as the last hope crushed beneath her. And this time, she didn’t fight it.
