Chapter 168: The Madhouse

Chapter 168: The Madhouse
Nina’s POV
"Mom! Mom, where are you?"
Nothing. Just the hollow sound of my own desperation bouncing back at me.
Tears streamed down my face as panic clawed at my chest.
Kevin's hand settled gently on my shoulder. "Nina, maybe she just went out for a while."
"No." I shook my head violently, wiping at my tears with the back of my hand. "She always answers my calls. Always. I've tried twenty times. Something's happened to her."
"Where else could she be?" Kevin asked quietly.
The boathouse. Of course.
I ran.
The docks were quiet as we approached, the water lapping gently against the pilings. The familiar scent of river water and old wood filled my nostrils, bringing back a flood of memories. Better times. Simpler times.
When I finally climbed aboard the Harlan and pushed open the cabin door, the sight that greeted me made my breath catch in my throat. Everything was neat, orderly. Mom's things were still here, and June's too, arranged carefully as if waiting for us to return. A worn blanket folded precisely on the bunk. June's favorite mug sitting on the small shelf. Mom's old cardigan hanging on a hook.
Through my tears, I could see she'd been coming here regularly, maintaining this ghost of our former life. Keeping it alive when everything else had died.
I sank down onto the bunk, running my fingers over the blanket. We'd been so poor back then, struggling to make ends meet, never knowing where our next meal would come from. But we'd been together. We'd had each other. Now we had money, and I had nothing. No mother. No sister. No family.
I waited as the afternoon sun moved across the sky, casting long shadows through the cabin windows. I waited as those shadows deepened and darkness fell. But she never came.
"I need to report this to the police," I said finally, standing abruptly.
As Kevin and I stepped out of the cabin onto the deck, two women passed by on the dock below. They were dressed like the prostitutes who worked the riverfront, their clothes garish and worn. When they saw us emerge from the Harlan, they let out startled shrieks that cut through the night air.
One clutched her chest dramatically, stumbling backward. "Jesus, you scared me half to death! I thought it was that crazy woman again!"
I hurried down the gangplank, my heart racing with a new kind of fear. "You've seen Lorraine? Where is she?"
The woman snorted, recovering her composure. "That lunatic smashed a bottle over some john's head last week. Split it wide open. Then she was running around the riverbank naked, screaming her head off. Ruined our business for three straight nights. We had to call the cops. They took her to the nuthouse."
Her companion nodded vigorously. "Yeah, she was completely out of her mind. Talking to people who weren't there, crying and laughing at the same time. It was scary."
The first woman paused, looking at us curiously in the dim light from the dock lamps. "Who are you people anyway? What do you want with Lorraine?"
I pointed at Kevin, the lie coming smoothly despite my shock. "He's Lorraine's nephew. We came to visit her. We've been out of town and just heard she was in trouble."
The woman's expression softened slightly, her hard edges melting just a bit. "Poor thing. Didn't know she had any family left. Thought she was all alone in the world. If you want to see her, try Willowbend Manor. That's where they took her."
At Willowbend Manor, I kept my identity hidden. Kevin continued playing the role of my mother's nephew, and I was introduced simply as his friend. I couldn't reveal who I was. Not yet. Not until I was ready. From this moment on, Nina needed to disappear from the world. Only then could I be free.
The facility was cleaner than I'd expected, but it still had that institutional smell. Antiseptic and sadness mixed together. A nurse led us down a long corridor with pale green walls to a small visiting room.
When they brought her in, my heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
My mother looked so small, so fragile. But it was her eyes that destroyed me. They were empty and wild at the same time, looking right through me as if I were made of glass.
"Mom," I whispered, barely able to speak.
She looked right through me, her eyes vacant and wild at the same time. Then her expression shifted to something like anger, like fear.
"You're not my daughter," she said, her voice rising with agitation. She began backing away from me. "My daughter doesn't look like that. She doesn't look like you. My Nina is beautiful and young and happy. You're not her. You're not her!"
I reached out instinctively, wanting to grab her, to hold her, to make her see me. But the nurse quickly intervened, stepping between us.
"I think that's enough for today. You're upsetting her." The nurse's voice was kind but firm. "Please, you need to leave now."
I stood there frozen, watching as they led my mother away. Each word was a knife to my heart.
The doctor was equally discouraging when I spoke to him in his office afterward. He was an older man with tired eyes and a gentle manner.
"Moving her would be a mistake right now," he said, shaking his head. "Your friend's aunt is in a very fragile state. She can't handle the stress of relocation. The journey alone could cause a complete breakdown. At least here, she has moments of peace in her delusions. We have staff who know how to handle her episodes. Any major change could destroy what little stability she has left."
That night, I couldn't sleep. I lay in the hotel room, staring at the ceiling, feeling utterly helpless. Kevin had arranged for the best private room Willowbend Manor offered. But money couldn't fix this.
Three days. I'd only been there three days when Raymond's call came, his voice tight with impatience.
"Where are you? You need to come back now."
"I'm dealing with a family matter."
"I don't care. Get back here."
I hung up without responding, but I knew I couldn't stay much longer.
I would come back for her. Once I was free of Raymond, I would return and stay by her side for as long as she needed me. I would move her somewhere better, somewhere with gardens and sunshine. I would hire the best doctors. I would fix this. This knowledge only strengthened my resolve.
To completely escape Raymond, there was only one way.