Madness

Chapter 77

~You look at the Stars, my star,
and I would like to be the Sky to
watch you with a thousand eyes.~

I made my way through the crowd that was huddled at the sides of the room, talking in amazement. I tried hard to get to the place where those people's eyes were focused, but it was a difficult task. They were all huddled together, and when I tried to get through, many of them even reacted in a bad way. I could see that many of these frightened people were looking almost contemptuously at the spectacle that was taking place in front of them. The closer I got, the more I heard screams and shouts, flanked by tears and crying. When I finally managed to make my way out of the crowd, I saw what I had feared the most: Douglas clutching the neck of Joanne, who was sprawled on the ground crying in fear, while Steve and other men tried to stop him. It seemed impossible to get him out of her throat; it was like a death grip that would not stop until he killed her. I looked away in shock, not wanting to see his rage. He didn't even look like himself, I'd never seen him like that! It took four men to drag him away, still roaring at the woman. He was still flailing in the men's arms, trying hard to break free of their grasp and making it difficult for the men to block him. George rushed to his wife's side, helping her up and holding her to comfort her. The woman continued to cry on her husband's shoulder as she looked at Douglas with tears in her eyes.

"George, please! Take him away from me, I don't want to see him anymore George!"

"She's a murderer, dad! She killed..."

"Stop it!" The father looked at him with a blank, dull look that I had never seen on his face. When he looked at his son, I could see disgust with his favorite son. "From today... you are no longer my son!"

"Father, she is a murderer: she killed mother and grandmother! You must listen to me!"

Father turned his face to his companion and led her up the stairs, still crying.

"Take him to his room until the ambulance comes!"

"You don't want to send me to the asylum!"

"You left me no choice!"

"Listen to me! I'm not lying! You tell him as well."

I slowly parted my lips, but when I met Joanne's gaze, it instantly silenced me. My eyes were glued to the floor as she disappeared upstairs, while George was stopped by Steve.

I felt sickened by her false words of love as she gently cupped Steve's face in her hands, who nodded in agreement.

"I can't believe what he was about to do to you... when I think about it..."

George pulled her close, hugging her tightly, and she returned the hug, stroking her hair with one hand.

"Don't worry dear, it's not your fault! I understand him on some points, after all he sees me as the woman who usurped his mother's place and attributes all his problems to me. I know he suffers a lot!"

"You are the best thing that could have happened to me! You are the strongest woman I have ever known."

Joanne went to lie down on the bed and I went to the bathroom to wash my face. I couldn't stand the way she was able to manipulate all the people in this house. The only one who could understand me had died miserably, the only one who could believe me had gone to Germany, the only one who could comfort me was in London, the only one I loved with all my being now hated me with every fiber of his being. Now I was alone in that big house. I had to prostrate myself at the feet of that woman to pray for the life of my child. No one would have believed me without a shred of evidence. No one would have supported me by accusing the rich lawyer's wife. There would have been no support for my accusation of the rich lawyer's wife; everyone would have dismissed me as a silly little girl in defense of her abusive boyfriend. Why couldn't we love each other in peace, just the two of us, without anyone stopping us, without any questions about what was right or wrong? At that moment I felt terribly sick. I was lucky to have the sink right next to me so I could hold on. I cursed the day I stole that medical find. I should have burned it, incinerated it, why did I have to find out the whole truth?

When I got out, I learned that Douglas had begged his father to listen to him, but George had refused. He tried to tell him about the analysis, but when his father asked him for proof, the paper was gone. I didn't understand how it could be possible, how it could have appeared and disappeared into thin air. But when I saw Joanne's smile, I understood everything. I saw the ashtray she had in her hand with ashes other than cigarette ashes. While everyone was distracted talking to Douglas, she threw what was left into a nearby jar. At that moment I knew that it was all a setup: the paper in the room, the assault, the hospitalization. This woman was playing with everyone's lives. She didn't even care about being discovered, because she knew that no one would ever get there! It was as if she was playing with us, doing riskier and riskier things. It was as if she was testing her intelligence to see how far she could go without being discovered. Teresa was right when she said that her son and grandson were wrapped around her little finger. Behind the mask of a good housewife, a kind lady, lurked the figure of an impure, calculating, selfish being. Douglas, Teresa and Steph had understood this well, and they had paid dearly for it, all of them. She'd ruined everyone's life to benefit her own, whether it was to amuse herself or for selfish reasons. Now none of us were a problem for her: she had won!