2
365words
He stepped forward to pull the woman—Margaret Walsh—off me.
But Margaret,in a fit of rage,bit his arm.
The officer recoiled in pain,loosening his grip.
She seized a bucket of filthy water that was in the yard and doused me.
“Wash yourself,you filthy homewrecker!”
Rotten vegetable scraps clung to my hair,dripping.
The police swarmed,joined by plant security, and finally restraine her.
I collapsed in the yard,disheveled,wounds throbbing.
Margaret,pinned down and panting,still spat at me.
“Pfft,you shameless tramp!”
“Clear out!It’s late—go home,no more gawking!”
Security dispersed the crowd.A security officer handed me a clean towel to wipe my face.
“Check your place for damage,”an officer said,nodding toward my apartment.
I nodded,trudging inside.
I hugged my terrified daughter,Lily,and surveyed the wreckage.
Furniture was shattered—tables and chairs broken.
The floor was littered with fragments of pots,pans,and dishes.Smashed family photos were discarded in a corner.
My wardrobe was ransacked,clothes yanked out, and each one defaced with red paint.
Valuable appliances—TV,fridge,radio—were destroyed beyond repair.
Then my eyes locked on the hallway to the study.
Shards of a Colonial-era porcelain vase gleamed under the ceiling light.
My world spun.
It was my husband’s family heirloom,an irreplaceable antique,worth a fortune.
This disaster came out of nowhere,and I didn’t even know why.
“Mom,why did they hit you?”
Lily’s small hand wiped my tears, her voice trembling.
I looked down at her.
She was bruised,her arms and cheeks scratched by flying glass.
“Lily,honey,I did nothing wrong.They’re falsely accusing me.”
She nodded,naive but trusting,burrowing into my arms.
“I know,Mom.I believe you.”
Then the police summoned Frank Walsh,the deputy manager of the factory.
I learned the woman was Margaret Walsh,and the mob consisted of her brothers.
After settling Lily,I pointed at Margaret.“Officers,you saw it all.She attacked me and trashed my home.That antique vase they broke?It’s worth over a million dollars!”
Margaret scoffed,with disdain dripping from her voice.
“I did it.So what?You’re a filthy homewrecker—how dare you talk back?”
“A million?Prove it!A single mom factory worker having cash like that?Who knows where it’s from!”
Lily rushed forward,pounding on Margaret’s legs with her tiny fists.
“Don’t lie about my mom,you bad woman!”
