Chapter 4: Too Late to Escape

She spun around, arms wide, already laying claim to the space. The stepmother rushed to the master bedroom. “Then I’ll take this one!”

I stared. “Even if Nathaniel really died and I took Lila in, you’d still live here?”

My voice was flat. Inside, I was boiling.

The stepmother lowered her eyes, brow furrowed.

“What, I’ve lost my son and my husband, and now my only granddaughter’s being adopted by you. I’m your dad’s wife—are you just going to leave me homeless?”

She sniffed, greedily eyeing the place.

“This half-million-dollar condo—wouldn’t you be lonely living here alone? Only with family does it feel like home!”

She tried to soften her voice, but the greed was obvious. Suddenly, my mind filled with a chorus of snarky overlays:

"They planned this—just want the condo. If they move in, it’s theirs!"

"The old lady and the little vixen are too much. Lila’s already snooping around, probably setting up hidden cams. How’s a kid know that?"

"Later, he treats her like his own, helps her change, even gets asked to help her bathe. Even if he does nothing, it’s all caught on camera—enough to frame him!"

My stomach twisted. Before I could speak, the stepmother’s phone rang.

I saw it was a strange number and picked up.

A gruff voice barked, “Nathaniel Pierce, when are you paying up?”

The voice was rough, impatient, with the edge of someone used to getting their way. I was annoyed. “What money? Nathaniel was in a car crash, how’s he supposed to pay you back...”

The man barked, “Dead? Don’t try that! Where’s the body?”

“Right on the way to—”

Before I finished, the stepmother snatched her phone and hung up.

“Why’d you answer? That’s my phone!”

I glared.

“What was that about? Did Nathaniel go gambling again?”

She snapped, “Nonsense! After your dad died, he turned over a new leaf—never gambled!”

She shot Lila a glare.

“Aren’t you going to explain to your uncle?”

Lila caught on, looking pitiful.

“Uncle, those debt collectors were because Dad bought a new house. The mortgage is $1,200 a month, but he lost his job and can’t pay.”

Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, as if she hoped I’d just buy it. “Grandma’s Social Security is only $300—she can’t make up the rest. So they’re pressuring us.”

The stepmother quickly added,

“Colin, the loan’s got a year and a half left, house is worth over $200,000. Why not take it off our hands at a discount? You buy it!”

She leaned in, eyes glinting with hope and something sharper. I was on guard. Knowing them, this was a trap.

Sure enough, those sarcastic overlays piped up in my head:

"Either dumb or evil—no collector would call like that! It’s her son’s gambling debt!"

"Still got the nerve to say it’s a mortgage? He gambled it all away!"

"According to the script, he takes the bait, pays out, and loses everything—ends up in jail!"

So I decided to throw the comment section a curveball.

I scooped up Lila and kissed her cheek.

“Lila, you don’t know—ever since my parents died, I’ve been paying for a fat life insurance policy for you every year... just waiting for something like this.”

I let my voice go dreamy, like I was lost in thought. “You really are my lucky charm. If Nathaniel’s dead, I get a $700,000 payout. A mortgage? I’ll pay it!”

Seeing me laughing like a lunatic,

the stepmother and Lila were stunned.

Lila blurted, “No way! You secretly bought insurance... but Dad didn’t...”

She realized she’d said too much and stopped.

I ignored the endless lololol streaming through my head and kept going:

“I even bought a policy for your mom, but you can’t name two beneficiaries. Wonder how the payout works if your mom fell off the mountain too.”

Lila’s face went pale.

Her hands started to shake, and she glanced at her grandma, searching for reassurance. The cops returned, looking grim.

“Your brother did have a crash, but he just hit a guardrail.”

He pulled out some photos.

“The real cause of death was being chased and falling off the mountain yesterday.”

The words hung in the air, heavy as thunder. “We searched the woods and the lake nearby. It’ll take time.”

“Any leads?”

I shook my head.

Strangely, Lila was shaking, clearly rattled.

She muttered, “How could it really happen... why did it really happen...”

Her words trailed off, and she hugged her knees to her chest. I smiled and glanced at the mental comment feed:

"Nathaniel was no good, but how’d he die? He was always alive, always scamming for cash."

"Maybe he tried to fake his death and got killed for real?"

"Bet he was running from debt collectors. Didn’t Colin say there was a crash?"

"Wait, you mean Colin said that on purpose to the debt collectors?"

These people guessed everything!

After Lila and the stepmother learned Nathaniel was really dead, neither spoke.

The apartment was suddenly too quiet, the kind of silence that echoes. I went to work as usual.

When I got home, Lila was alone, curled up on the couch.

She looked so small, knees tucked to her chest, the TV flickering with cartoons she wasn’t really watching. “Where’s your grandma?”

“She said I’m a lost cause and won’t take care of me anymore.”

Her voice was barely a whisper. Lila looked up, eyes streaming. When she saw me, she suddenly lunged at me.

I dodged.

She looked at me, hurt.

“Uncle, my mom and dad are gone, grandma left too, I have no one, nothing. You won’t leave me, right?”

She looked so scared and desperate, like a puppy, clinging to me.

Her hands trembled, and her eyes were wide with fear and hope. I pretended to get a glass of water, keeping my distance.

“Doesn’t your dad have a house? After he died, you get a share. Sell it, split the money with your grandma—it’ll cover school.”

Lila hadn’t expected that. She bit her lip, like she’d made a big decision.

Her shoulders slumped, and she stared at her shoes. “Uncle, Dad never bought a house. Grandma wanted to scam you, that’s why she said that.”

“If I didn’t help her, she’d beat me...”

She cried, just pushed away by me, now both scared and longing, her eyes glued to me, afraid I’d get angry.

She played the part perfectly.

The peanut gallery in my head went wild:

"No wonder he got played. Who could resist? So young—is this kid a reincarnated witch?"

"Don’t let her run you, Colin, or you’ll be wrapped around her finger!"

To their disappointment, I patted her head and pulled her into a hug.

“Man, you’re so young and they’re teaching you this. Uncle believes you.”

I even gave her a promise.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t think it was real either. Now that your dad’s gone, I’ll raise you.”

Through the comments, I saw a sly smile flicker across Lila’s face.

She was incorrigible, rubbing her leg against mine again.

I held her shoulders, looking her in the eyes.

“But if you try to use this to manipulate me, I won’t be happy.”

Lila stepped back, her smile older than her years.

“Uncle, for you to say that now, it’s already too late!”

Her words hung in the room, the streetlights casting long shadows across the carpet. For the first time, I wondered just how deep this game really went—and if I was ever meant to win.