Chapter 5 - The Cheap Motel
The rain started pouring down just as Nathan shoved the last black garbage bag into the back of his truck.
Elena sat in the passenger seat, completely silent, her expensive mascara running in dark streaks down her face.
They drove to a cheap, rundown motel on the bad side of town, because Nathan's credit cards were entirely maxed out.
The motel room smelled heavily of stale cigarette smoke and cheap industrial bleach.
Elena dropped onto the lumpy, stained mattress and immediately began screaming at her husband.
"You told me the house was yours, Nathan!" she shrieked, throwing a decorative pillow at his head.
"You promised me we were going to inherit that massive property and never have to pay a mortgage!"
Nathan paced the sticky carpet like a trapped rat, desperately running his hands through his wet hair.
"She tricked me, Elena, the old witch planned this whole thing just to ruin our lives!" he yelled back defensively.
"No, you ruined our lives when you couldn't pay your debts and we had to move in with her!" Elena fired back viciously.
The illusion of their perfect, wealthy marriage was dissolving faster than a sugar cube in boiling water.
Nathan pulled out his cell phone and furiously dialed his mother's phone number.
He was fully prepared to scream, to threaten her, to demand she wire him half of the money immediately.
The automated voice on the other end felt like a physical slap to the face.
"The number you have reached has been permanently disconnected."
She had completely erased herself from his life in less than twelve hours.
Nathan threw his expensive smartphone against the motel wall, shattering the screen into a hundred tiny pieces.
He fell to his knees in the middle of the disgusting room, finally realizing the absolute magnitude of his mistake.
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His mother wasn't a weak old woman waiting to die.
She was a master chess player, and he had just walked blindly into a brutal checkmate.
