The bright afternoon sun poured through the massive bay window of the high-key luxury bedroom, illuminating the white marble floors and polished white walls. On the back wall, a neatly framed US flag hung above the king-sized bed. Jake sat on the edge of the mattress, his face pale with worry. Beside him under a heavy blue blanket, his young wife Megan was weeping hysterically, her shoulders shaking with deep, distressed whimps.
Megan: Jake, please don't... please don't look...
Jake: Megan, stop. You've been hiding under this blanket all morning. You're trembling.
At the bedroom doorway stood Evelyn, Jake's wealthy stepmother, dressed in an elegant burgundy designer dress. She held her black leather handbag tightly against her hip, forcing a calm, dismissive smile as she leaned against the doorframe.
Evelyn: Jake, darling, don't overwhelm the poor girl. She's just hysterical today. You know how emotional she gets over the smallest things.
Jake: She's not just emotional, Evelyn. She won't let me touch her arm. She's in pain.
Evelyn: She probably just had a bad dream or tripped on her way out of the ensuite bathroom. There's no need to make a grand scene out of nothing.
Megan: No... Jake, don't pull it back... please...
Ignoring Evelyn's smooth, dismissive voice, Jake reached down and pulled back the blue blanket under the full daylight. A sharp gasp escaped his throat. Long, deep red claw marks and severe, bloody scratches stretched across Megan's upper thigh, raw and inflamed against her pale skin.
Jake: What in the world...? Megan! Who did this to you?!
Evelyn: Oh dear, that looks awful! She must have fallen on the sharp edge of the marble nightstand when she woke up. I told her those sharp edges were dangerous.
Megan lay on the pillow, tears streaming down her bruised, pale cheeks. She didn't look at the floor or at Jake. Slowly, with her hand shaking uncontrollably, she raised her index finger and pointed it directly at the doorway.
Megan: She did!
Jake turned around abruptly, his eyes wide in absolute shock and sudden rage as he stared straight at his stepmother standing calmly by the door.