She felt suffocated, the weight of the world pressing down on her.
When overwhelmed by inner pain, people sometimes turn to self-destructive behaviors.
She pounded the steering wheel in frustration, only to regret it afterward, forcing herself to appear calm. Then, the internâs suggestion to check the online comments suddenly came to mind.
Joelle anxiously fumbled through the glove compartment for a pack of cigarettes. They had been bought for a social event, though she didnât usually smoke. After finishing one, she began to calm down, mentally bracing herself before turning her phone on.
The words on the screen hit her like a punch to the gutââtraveling⦠heartless⦠unfit to be a mother.â Joelleâs fingers tightened around the phone as she scrolled through the hateful comments. Each one felt like a personal attack, each word landing with painful precision.
By the time she refreshed the page, the comments had disappeared, but the damage was done. The words would stay with her forever, seared into her mind.
The sun beat down on the deserted road, its heat hammering the asphalt. Joelle drove, her eyes fixed firmly on the road ahead.
Her eyes were swollen and red, her hair a wild mess, her grip on the steering wheel tight with white-knuckled tension. It was futile for Adrian to try to sweep things under the rug.
She had seen enough to last a lifetime. She couldnât live her life with blinders on any longer.
As she waited at a red light, her phone buzzed. It was the police.
âMs. Watson, we opened your sonâs coffin⦠and itâs empty.â
Without a body, there was no way to confirm if the person who died in the fire was truly Ryland. The last flicker of hope in Joelleâs heart was snuffed out.
Still holding the phone, her eyes wandered, noticing the towering, thirty-story building beside her.
On its rooftop was a deserted amusement parkâthe same place she had taken Ryland when he was little, pretending it was their secret hideaway.
The light turned green, but Joelle didnât move. Instead, she pulled over to the side of the road. It wasnât a designated parking spot, but she didnât care about the rules anymore.
The buildingâs security guard shouted and chased after her, but Joelle was oblivious to his calls. She entered the elevator in a daze, and it carried her straight to the top floor.
The amusement park, once full of life, now stood as a ghost town, its bright colors faded and forgotten.
The security guard, sensing something was wrong, caught up just as the elevator doors opened. He saw Joelle walking toward the rooftop.
âHey! Miss! Donât do anything crazy!â he shouted.
Joelle reached the edge, her feet just inches from the precipice. Ninety-seven meters of emptiness stretched beneath her. One step, and the chaos in her mind would be silenced forever.
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