Cecelia tore at Mom's clothes, spiteful, "You think you can hide out, live it up while others suffer? Not on my watch!"

"Stop, just stop!"

I watched, heartbroken, as Cecelia trashed what little I had left of Mom. I pleaded with Alex, "Make her stop!"

Alex cold as ice, "Then call your mom out."

Rage mixed with helplessness, I said, "I told you, she's gone. Why would you think it's her in the video?"

Alex claimed, "She was live streaming right there on the street. Cecelia's girls saw it."

Glaring at Cecelia, memories and realizations flashed through my mind, but I was too upset, too constrained, to think straight.

As we talked, Cecelia wrecked all of Mom's belongings, stomping on them and spitting on them.

I snapped like a frantic beast and bit Alex hard, no holding back.

I almost tore off a chunk. I used to cry over his smallest cuts, but now, the pain drove me to bite with all I had.

Alex yelped in pain, let me go. I shoved Cecelia away and stopped her from ruining Mom's things.

Enduring the pain, Alex grabbed me, forced me down, and made me kneel before Cecelia. "You've bullied her again and again. Apologize to her now!"

At that moment, the pain didn't even register. The man in front of me wasn't my husband, he was a monster wearing human skin.

Seeing no reaction from me, he grabbed my head and smashed it against the ground repeatedly. Eventually, he stopped.

He stood up, his voice ice cold. "Think we can't track down your mom? I'll call the cops, plaster her face online, and offer a reward. We'll find her, no doubt!"

After his threat, he helped Cecelia up, looking all worried for her, and then they left.

I was left in tears, clutching those trampled relics of my mom. Even those felt like they were slipping away from me.

Alex threw a sneer back at me, "No need to play it up, you'd make a great actress."

Cecelia chimed in, sweet as poison, "Maybe she's just jealous seeing you protect me, doesn't want to let go."

Alex scoffed, "You think she's in your league?" Then he ushered Cecelia into the elevator.

I sat there a long while before I gathered the ruined mementos into a box. I took them downstairs, burned them, and buried the ashes.

Guess this is a different kind of rest-in-peace.

Just as I buried the last of my mom's things, I turned to find Alex not far off, his eyes wide with panic.