Chapter 41

Rebecca Grey would have surely died had Mrs. Silverman not intervened. She had suffered heavy blows on her sides as well as abdomen and with each blow, she felt as if a beast was trying to force its way out of her throat. She could not catch her breath. And the pain – it felt like her stomach was endlessly being stabbed with a thousand poisoned knives.

“Thomas Silverman!”

A woman’s voice boomed in the basement, and the sheer volume of her voice bounced off the cement walls in resounding echoes. Rebecca was still conscious enough to recognize that voice for she had heard before – at William’s penthouse. It was his mother.

Somehow, during the course of the attack, Rebecca’s blindfold had slipped downwards, and she could see the silhouette of Mrs. Silverman walking towards them. The room was not as dark as she had first thought it to be, there was a dull fluorescent light that flickered above them and as her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw Thomas turn to face his mother.

“Mother,” he called out in his scratchy and high-pitched voice. The metal rod dropped onto the damp and icy cold floor like a lump of hot coal.

Was that fear she detected in his voice? She tried to take in a breath only to exhale in a continuous fit of cough.

“What blasphemy is this?!” his mother shouted, her eyes bloodshot and bulging wide. If Rebecca had detected fear in Thomas at first then his reaction confirmed her suspicions. Thomas flinched at his mother’s screams.

The older woman brushed past her gaping son and went over to Rebecca who laid helplessly on the ground. Quickly, she started to untie Rebecca’s bloodied wrists and ankles.

“Do you know what you are doing?!” Mrs. Silverman continued, still yelling from the top of her lungs. Thomas stood in the middle of the poorly lit room like a guilty little child, shuffling his feet back and forth. With just a few words, the older woman had rendered the murderous Thomas Silverman into the helpless little boy that he once was.

“You are ruining your life!” Mrs. Silverman continued furiously.

Her son continued to remain silent. Rebecca could not see his face now – he had his head lowered and was standing directly under the fluorescent light. His face was shrouded in the shadow of his head. The knots on Rebecca’s wrists must have been tighter than she expected, Mrs. Silverman was having trouble untying her.

“I had EVERYTHING planned out for you! All you had to do was wait for the Silverware to be launched and you would have been named the Chief Financial Officer of the branch!”

His mother’s words must have raised some ire in Thomas, even in her weakened state, Rebecca could sense a shift in his demeanor. A bitter chuckle came from the shadows.

“Lies.”

His mother frowned, her forehead creaked with wrinkles, “What? Come here… untie her this instant.”

“No.”

It seemed to Rebecca that Mrs. Silverman was not used to her son saying ‘no’ to her. She gave up untying Rebecca and haughtily stood back up from her initial hunched position, “What did you say?” She was seething. And so was he.

Rebecca anxiously tried to loosen the binds. She had to get out of this forsaken place and get help. She spotted a narrow stairway behind where Thomas stood. That her route to freedom. Quickly, she worked at the knot, struggling to free herself. It was not as tight as before and she had regained her breath, now all she needed was some form of distraction and she would be able to free herself.

“All lies.”

Mrs. Silverman walked over to where the metal rod lay and picked it up.

“I went to see William the other night. He told me there would be no such thing. That he wouldn’t hand over the Silverware to a murderer.”

His words were filled with hatred, and slowly but surely he lifted his head– only this time, what greeted them was not the face of a scared and intimated man. What greeted them was the face of a serial killer. He smiled, albeit bitterly at his mother.

“I hate you.” Such simple words, and yet they were filled with so much venom.

“How dare you? I gave you life!” his mother screamed as she lifted the rod above her head to swing it down upon her son. This was something she used to do when he was younger., She would hit him over and over again until he submitted to her, and he would never retaliate, not even once. Not even when he had been bruising and bleeding from all the physical and emotional abuse.

But there was only so much a man could take before enough was enough. With one hand he swiftly disarmed her, knocking the rod out of her hand. It landed a few feet away from Rebecca.

She pulled at her binds more furiously. Please, please, please!

Dumbfounded by her son’s reaction, Mrs. Silverman stood unmoving, looking at her hand in disbelief.

Thomas stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face, causing her to stumble and fall onto the cold damp floor. The older woman gasped, both from the sting of his hand and the revelation that her son was no longer under her control. He started circling her like an eagle, “You NEVER gave me life! YOU TOOK AWAY MY LIFE!” He was screaming now, his hands balled into fists so tight they turned red.

He bent over where his mother sat, now cowered, “You locked me up!”

His mother stared right back “ I protected you from the world!”

The knot! It’s loose! Thomas had his back towards Rebecca and the mother and son pair were too engrossed in their argument to pay attention to her. Rebecca took the opportunity to crawl towards the stairway, hoping that they would not notice. But her movements were sluggish and required great effort. She had to wonder if she would collapse before even making it to the stairway. Her vision would blur and darken slightly with each move and she had to blink and will herself to stay conscious.

Thomas spat into his mother’s face, “You killed me! You told the world I died! I had to live a life hidden away like an unwanted child! Father never even knew I existed! Bitch!”

SLAP! His mother struck his face.

That was when he truly lost it. He clamped his hands around his mother’s neck and started strangling his own flesh and blood. Mrs. Silverman fought back in vain, choking and gasping for air.

Rebecca could have left; she could have taken the opportunity to save herself, but she could not let the woman die. Twisted or not, Mrs. Silverman needed to be saved. So, Rebecca did what every sound-minded civilian would do, she picked up the metal rod and dragged herself over to the struggling duo.

Quietly, Rebecca lifted the rod above her head and then, with all her might, she struck Thomas Silverman’s head.

There was a loud sickening thud and Thomas groaned, releasing his grip on his mother before slumping onto the floor lifelessly.