Chapter 25 - The Call from the Cell
Later that afternoon, the telephone in the living room rang loudly, shattering the peaceful silence.
Carlos walked over and picked up the receiver.
"Hello?"
Carlos answered.
"This is an automated call from the State Correctional Facility. You have a collect call from an inmate. To accept, press one."
The robotic voice echoed slightly through the receiver. Carlos froze, his grip tightening on the plastic phone. He pressed the button.
"Carlos! Oh my god, Carlos, you have to help me!"
Valeria’s voice shrieked through the line, frantic and weeping hysterically.
"They put me in a cell with actual criminals! You have to call a lawyer! You have to get me out of here!"
"You belong in that cell,"
Carlos replied, his voice colder than ice.
"It was a mistake! The video looks worse than it was! They are just disobedient children, Carlos! I was just disciplining them!"
Valeria begged, trying to deploy the same manipulative gaslighting she had used for years.
"You forced my sons to their knees to eat dog food off the floor,"
Carlos stated, his voice vibrating with absolute, unyielding rage.
"If I had been there, I would have killed you myself. Do not ever call this number again."
"Carlos, please! I am your wife!"
Valeria screamed desperately.
"You are nothing,"
May you like
Carlos finalized.
He slammed the phone down onto the receiver with enough force to crack the plastic casing. He disconnected the cord from the wall, permanently severing her last desperate lifeline into our home.
