Whispers Turn to Whimpers: Could He Ever Change?

"Ah! Please help me! It hurts so much!"

Amidst the agonizing cries for help, a crowd gathered, swelling in number.

Sherilyn Gomez stood frozen at the top of the staircase on the second floor, her gaze shifting from the tumbling figure of Caroline Bennett below to her hands, utterly bewildered.

"How did this happen?" she murmured.

Why did Caroline suddenly fall?

"What's going on here?" someone asked.

It was the Johnson family's annual feast, attended by numerous guests. The arriving crowd encircled Caroline, who lay at the bottom of the stairs.

"What happened? How did she fall?"

"She, she..." Despite her pain, Caroline looked up toward the top of the stairs. It suddenly dawned on everyone.

"Sherilyn pushed her!"

"Oh my God! Sherilyn, no matter how much you dislike Caroline, you can't go this far! She's pregnant, for heaven's sake!" "Exactly! That's too much."

accusations, Sherilyn went pale as she

that she hadn't pushed Caroline. But no one was willing to

sliced through

Johnson, Sherilyn's husband of barely

up, hoping for

piercing as a knife, landing squarely on her. "What have you

shaking her head.

Gilbert didn't buy it, and his good-looking face scrunched up in disgust and hate. "You think Caroline jumped by herself, huh? Do you think nobody knows you've

tone left

Caroline clutched her stomach, leaning into Gilbert's embrace, her voice barely a whisper, "Gilbert, it hurts.

wrong?" Then, Sylvia Johnson, the family's matriarch, also

blood!" Suddenly, someone screamed. "She's

pool of red began

Gilbert, sobbing,

afraid." Even as he said it, Gilbert's face was

arms, and with a fierce glare at Sherilyn, he warned, "You'd better pray the

finishing his words, Gilbert turned and

then

shaking her head, words failing her, "Sherilyn,

mouth when Sylvia turned away and