"You know how stubborn Mom can be. That day your mother insisted on cleaning the stairs, I told her not to, but she didn't listen and fell down! He also insisted on helping Jared sew the clothes, what can I do?"

Right then, Jared showed up at the doorway, looking all innocent and honest. "Mrs. Ysabell, I'm sorry. Your mother saw my clothes were torn and offered to help me fix them. Right, Ma'am?"

My mother nodded hard. I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Mom, where's the scarf I gave you?"

She trembled, her hands shaking as she gestured, "Ysabell, I'm sorry. I thought the scarf looked too old-fashioned, so I threw it away."

My mother suffered her whole life. The reason I brought her to the city was so she could finally enjoy some peace, but now her profoundly wrinkled face was covered in tears and her lips quivering. Everything was fine before I left. So, why did she look so scared and miserable now? My chest tightened with pain.

Just then, Jude's phone started ringing urgently. His expression shifted slightly and a flash of panic crossed his eyes. He quickly walked to the corner and lowered his voice to answer the call. A moment later, he hung up, hurried over and said anxiously, "Ysabell, there's a data issue at the company. I have to go fix it right away. I drank at dinner earlier, so Jared, you drive me."

Before he even finished speaking, he turned and rushed out the door with Jared. My mother watched them leave, her expression a mix of fear, worry and sadness. My gut told me something was off with Jude.

Our marriage had been rushed and forced from the start. It was an accident after a drunken night at a business event. After we got married, he said he was too lazy to learn sign language and I never pushed him. I was always busy with work.

Six months ago, after my mother recovered from a broken bone, I figured our place was spacious enough, so I brought her to live with us. It was easier to take care of her and it was the least I could do for her. Jude agreed right away and after some hesitation, my mom happily moved in. I thought I could finally be a good daughter, yet now nothing feels right. There were too many strange things happening and I couldn't shake this uneasy feeling.

"Mom, if you really want to go back home, I'll take you for a couple of days. You can always come back," I reassured her, trying to ease her anxiety. My mother looked conflicted. She moved her lips, but no words came out. After a moment of silence, she gestured, "I am fine, really. I just miss the farm work back home."

No matter how much I tried to convince my mother, she insisted on going back to our hometown. That night, after she fell asleep, I quietly got up. I went to the living room and called my best friend, Catherine Warren. "Hey, doesn't your company have some IT geniuses? Can you help me recover some surveillance footage?"

In the middle of the night, I lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Suddenly, the front door swung open, followed by a deafening sound of the TV. I rushed to my door and looked downstairs.

"Damn! What a goal!" a deafening shout echoed through the house. Jared was watching a soccer game with a beer in his hand, smoking a cigarette and the living room filled with smoke.

I was startled for a few seconds before I realized what was happening. I rushed downstairs, turned off the TV and glared at Jared angrily. "Jared! What are you doing in the middle of the night?"

Jared reeked of alcohol. He looked up drunkenly and snapped, "Watching the game! You blind or what?"

"My mom's a light sleeper. Go to your room!" I tried to keep my anger in check. "Just because Jude and I take care of you doesn't mean you can do whatever you want here!"

He grumbled, still unwilling to move. "Mr. Jude said I could watch TV."

I shot him a cold glare, my voice firm and sharp. "I'm the lady of this house. If you want to keep staying here, you better follow the rules!"

"He stubbed out his cigarette and finally went back to his room, but not before kicking the trash can over with a loud crash. I was shaking with anger, swearing to myself that I wouldn't keep him around. He was out of here tomorrow!

The following day, I woke up and went to the kitchen for something to eat. What I saw stopped me in my tracks. Mom was squatting in the corner of the kitchen, eating a sweet potato. When she saw me, she quickly hid the sweet potato behind her back, looking flustered and uneasy. "Mom! Why are you eating here by yourself? Where's the cook?" I asked, my eyes wide with surprise.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Jared rushed to open the door. Two delivery guys stood there, holding a bunch of boxes with the "The Jordan" logo on them. They bowed deeply to Jared and said respectfully, "Mr. Lopez, your meals are here. Enjoy!"

Jared swaggered over to the table. He opened the boxes and there were all kinds of fancy dishes like shrimp and abalone, smelling delicious. I stormed over and grabbed his arm, demanding, "What's going on?"

Jared just shrugged, "Mrs. Ysabell, your mom fired the cook, said the food wasn't to her taste and was a waste of money. Mr. Jude told them to just send food from the hotel."

I turned to look at my mom. Her eyes were full of fear as if she had done something terribly wrong. My heart sank and anger boiled up inside me. "If the hotel's sending food, then why is my mom in here eating a damn sweet potato?" My voice rose, shaking with fury. "She's the homeowner and yet you're the one feasting on luxury meals?"

Thinking about how off my mom had been acting lately, I couldn't hold back my rage any longer. "Pack your things. You're out by the end of the week! I'm done feeding a freeloader like you!"

To my surprise, Jared looked even angrier than me. His face turned red and he shouted, "I'm Zaretsky's family! Who the hell do you think you are to kick me out?! Fine! You wanna play rough? I'll go tell Mr. Jude about this!" With that, he stormed out of the house.

A sharp pain clenched my chest. I could hardly believe what I had just heard. Just then, my best friend, Catherine, called me. Her voice was full of anger and concern. "Ysabell, you need to prepare yourself. I think you should call the cops."

My hands trembled, almost dropping the phone. I quickly opened the video Catherine had sent me. The surveillance footage showed my mother, Jared and Jude in the living room. Next to Jude was a tall, skinny woman. Jared lounged on the couch like he owned the place, a cigar hanging from his mouth, cigarette butts littering the floor. He looked arrogant and smug.

Meanwhile, Jude and the woman were making out passionately, hugging each other tightly, their lips locked and their hands all over each other, completely ignoring my mother. My mother pointed at them, her eyes full of anger and disbelief. However, Jared just smirked and stood up. He kicked my mother, knocking her to the ground.

That man wasn't satisfied yet and gave her another brutal kick. My mother fell to the ground, her forehead badly bruised from the impact. She covered her forehead, pale and shaking. Jared pulled out his phone, zoomed in on her and started recording, sneering as he cursed, "Stupid old hag, what are you pointing at? Trying to curse us? Don't mess up my sister and brother-in-law's good time!"

The woman joined in, covering her mouth and laughing gleefully, "Yeah, yeah, you old bat, stop getting in the way!"

My mother lay on the ground, trembling with anger, trying to knock Jared's phone away, telling him to stop filming. Jude waved his hand impatiently, "All right, all right, Jared, stop filming. Don't scare the old woman to death just yet."

Only then did Jared put his phone away and flop onto the sofa, lazily crossing his legs and bouncing them smugly. The woman pulled Jude towards the bedroom, saying as they went, "Honey, let's take care of business first, then we can deal with the old lady later."

Seeing this, my mother quickly got up and grabbed Jude's arm, trying to stop him. Jude shook off my mother's hand, yelling impatiently, "Let go!"

My mother's face twisted with anger and she pointed at the wedding photo on the wall, trying to bring Jude to his senses. Jude glanced at the wedding photo and sneered, "I'm going to sleep with another woman in this house, so what?" With that, he slammed the door shut and sounds that would make anyone blush immediately came from inside.

I gritted my teeth and fast-forwarded a few seconds. In the recording, my mother was kneeling on the floor, slowly and painfully scrubbing the floor. At some point, Jared stood behind her and suddenly gave her a hard push, "Useless! You can't even clean properly while kneeling!"

She wasn't expecting it and tumbled down the stairs, hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Blood gushed from her head, staining both her hair and the floor. Jude rushed over, panic creeping into his voice. "Jared! Are you out of your damn mind? A few slaps are fine, but pushing her down the stairs? What if she dies?"

Jared just shrugged, smirking. "Come on, Jude. She's always watching us like a damn ghost. If she dies, she dies. We'll just say she had a stroke."

Jude glared at him, scolding, "Idiot! If you're going to kill her, do it cleanly. Got it?"

After that, he grabbed my mother's hair and picked up the kettle of boiling water from the table. My mother shook her head in terror, her eyes filled with fear. Still, Jude showed no mercy. The next second, he poured the boiling water down my mother's throat.