Chapter 122: Agnes Rises

Rose Jackson stood before the low adobe hut, tears streaming down her face. She gripped her sister's hand so tightly her nails nearly dug into Elena's flesh. "You lived here?" Her voice trembled uncontrollably.

The shack beside the pigpen reeked of filth, its walls peeling and roof leaking. Rose's chest tightened as she recalled the monthly allowance she'd sent to their grandmother, the weight of betrayal crushing her lungs.

"Sis, it's over now," Elena murmured softly, her cold gaze flickering toward the rickety wooden door.

Wiping her tears, Rose remembered how her sister had always been working in the front yard whenever she visited. Who could have imagined Elena slept in such squalor at night?

The door creaked open with a piercing screech.

The stench of urine hit them like a wall, forcing them back half a step. Inside the dim room, Agnes Ward lay on the heated brick bed like a desiccated corpse, only a grimy sheet covering her lower half.

"Grandma!" Rose rushed forward.

Agnes hadn't eaten a proper meal in three days. Her clouded eyes rolled before suddenly flashing with manic energy, her bony fingers clamping around Rose's wrist like talons.

"Guh... guh..." The old woman's throat produced guttural noises.

Rose scrambled to fetch warm water. It took three basins before Agnes looked remotely human again. Elena watched impassively, breaking off a piece of coarse cake and offering it.

Agnes snatched it like a starving wolf, her nails sinking deep into Rose's hand.

"Uncle Calvin is too cruel!" Rose shook with rage.

Elena's lips curled. "How could he be? Grandma always doted on him the most." She subtly channeled her healing force, her fingertips brushing Agnes's wrist for just an instant.

The old woman's eyes flew wide.

"Carry... me... out..." Agnes's voice rasped like a rusted saw, yet every word was clear. "I need... to see the mayor..."

Rose stumbled back in shock. Before her eyes, Agnes's twisted mouth straightened, her pallid complexion flushing with color.

"Grandma, you can speak?" Rose stared at Elena in disbelief.

Elena cursed inwardly. She'd overdone it—Agnes could actually stand now! The old woman shakily pushed herself up, even managing to pull on her pants unaided.

"Quick... fetch the mayor..." Agnes's eyes burned with terrifying intensity.

Rose turned and bolted outside. Behind her, a heavy thud echoed—Agnes had jumped down from the heated brick bed by herself.

This was going to be interesting. A cold smile played on Elena's lips as she ran. Calvin Ward, your reckoning has come.