After watching his wife cheat through his phone's security app, Jacob plans to serve an act of revenge so cruel they would never recover. He never imagined how his plan would affect the entire family, and it only got worse when his brother called unexpectedly.
"No! Uncle J! Barbie is married to Ken!" his niece, Mia, laughed, and it was good to hear that sound after everything that happened. Jacob smiled brightly and almost got emotional, but he was trying to contain his emotions for his nieces.
Mia and her younger sister, Ella, played with him on his brother Liam's living room floor. Jacob had started visiting them every Thursday when he got off work after Mia's diagnosis. Her liver was failing, and she was currently on the transplant list.
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No one in the family was a proper match, and they had to be put on the official waiting list. Luckily, she was allowed to be home for a while as long as everyone let her rest. Her disease had progressed so much that her coloring was always off, and she was usually too weak to play.
However, his visits every Thursday gave her energy. Hence, his big brother, Liam, and his wife, Emma, encouraged him to keep coming over. Jacob's own wife, Melissa, also loved what he was doing for the family but couldn't join them because of her work schedule.
Liam had already taken too much time off his job, so he had to work when things were relatively calm. Therefore, most Thursdays, it was just Jacob, Emma, and the girls in Liam's home. But it was lovely. Jacob adored every moment because no one knew how long they had been with Mia.
"Well, Mia. Barbie could have a girlfriend, right? It's the 21st century, girl," Jacob teased, grinning and poking her stomach gently.
Ella laughed. "Yeah, a girlfriend!" she agreed with her uncle, and they all continued playing for a while, trying to decide who Barbie was dating. Jacob made special voices for other characters, and the girls ate it up.
Emma came over and smiled at the scene, grateful to have such a caring brother-in-law for her daughters. She made sugar-free lemonade and healthy cookies for everyone because Mia had to eat healthily. But no one minded, not even Ella. She was only four but understood how her sister needed to improve and tried to help.
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"Hey, everyone. Let's put the Barbies down for a while and eat some treats," Emma said, putting the tray with glasses and cookies on the coffee table. The girls went for it, and Emma reminded Mia to eat slowly and carefully.
Jacob wished he could take them out for real ice cream, but it wouldn't be possible until they found a match for Mia. For now, they had to find happiness in these quiet, joyful moments where she was having fun surrounded by family.
He could watch those girls for hours, but a particular phone notification went off on his phone. It was his security system. His entire home was smart, and he could control almost everything remotely. He was also alerted to almost everything happening when no one was home.
Jacob looked at the time, and his wife, Melissa, wouldn't be home from work yet, so he frowned as he opened the app. However, something told him to step away from his nieces and Emma.
"Can you excuse me for a second, Em?" he said, and she nodded, crinkling her eyes. Jacob walked to the kitchen, pulled his AirPods out, and opened the live stream to his security camera. At first, he had no idea what he was watching, not because it was blurry. But because it was impossible.
He saw his living room, which was similar to his brother's house, as they had gotten a deal on some furniture, but something insane was going on. Jacob saw Melissa, who should've been at work still, taking her tight skirt off and jumping on the lap of his brother Liam.
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Jacob's brain commanded his hands to stop the live stream and demanded to look away. But his body wasn't listening. He was glued to the stream and the sounds of his brother cheating with his wife, and by the looks of it, they were having a fantastic time.
Finally, he was able to look away and stared at Emma and Liam's fridge. It was covered almost completely with magnets from their travels. They had been high school sweethearts. In the center, they had Mia's medication schedule and a calendar of future doctor visits.
Jacob hoped that looking away would help him calm down his heavy breathing, but it only got worse. He felt destroyed, He and Emma tried to cheer the girls up during the worst time of their lives while their spouses were having an affair.
The worst part is that he didn't know how long they had been doing it. Was it the first time? His phone had never notified him like this before, even though the cameras had been installed for months after a series of burglaries around their neighborhood.
But how could they do this? How could they betray the family like this? They were all close, but Jacob would never have suspected any attraction between his wife and big brother. His thumb began to hurt, snapping him out of his thoughts.
He realized he had been holding the phone too firmly and looked back at the stream. It was still going on, and he finally closed it. The app would record it automatically. He didn't want to wait until they finished their activities.
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"Jacob, are you alright? Do you want something to eat?" Emma asked, scaring him.
"Jesus," he said, holding his chest but putting the phone quickly in his pocket.
"I'm sorry," she smiled.
"No, I just was distracted. No, I'm not hungry. I got an email from work," he shook his head and grinned slightly to assure her. "Let's get back to the girls."
They returned to the living room, where the girls had started playing with the dolls again. They called their uncle over, and Jacob mustered his best poker face to sit with them and continue their afternoon. Mia suddenly got tired and asked about taking a nap, so he helped Emma as best he could and bid her goodbye.