The woman led the child toward the frozen lake, intent on a “tragic accident,” but before the ice gave way, he whispered something that would haunt her forever. The wind howled through the bare oaks of the park, carrying flurries of snow that danced like tiny ghosts under the dim glow of the streetlamps. The lake, a vast sheet of black ice reflecting the pale moon, sat motionless in the heart of the deserted park.
The temperature had plummeted so low over the past few weeks that even the birds had sought shelter, leaving behind a graveyard silence broken only by the crunch of snow under hurried footsteps. Two figures approached the water’s edge. The woman gripped the small boy’s hand tightly; her fingers, like talons, dug into his skin as she pulled him toward the center of the frozen expanse.
The seven-year-old stumbled, his tears freezing instantly on his wind-burned cheeks. His large, terrified eyes looked up pleadingly at the woman who had once promised to be a mother to him. Now, her face was a mask of cold, unrecognizable determination.
— Please, Mom! — the boy whispered through his sobs, his voice barely audible over the wind. — I promise I’ll be good! I promise I won’t tell Dad anything!
His pleas were lost in the night as she dragged him further onto the ice. The surface groaned under their weight—a sinister warning of the danger beneath. The cold seeped through the soles of the boy’s boots, chilling him to the bone.
Suddenly, the woman stopped and turned to him. For a split second, a shadow of doubt crossed her face, so brief it might have been a trick of the light. Their eyes met, but there was no trace of the warmth she had once faked for his father’s sake.
— Accidents happen every day, — she muttered.
The words hung in the freezing air like a death sentence. The boy tried to back away, but his feet slipped on the slick surface. Before he could scream, he felt her hands shove him hard. The impact with the ice was like a thousand needles. Then, the surface shattered. The freezing water closed over him in a deadly embrace, dragging him into the dark…
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