Part 2-True Crime on YouTube – 74-Year-Old Self-Proclaimed Urban Gladiator Attacks Grieving Mother Relentlessly.

Aurelia’s eyes flew open in shock as she looked at the estimate to renovate her mother’s old house. It was twice the amount she expected. The contractor noticed the stunned look on Aurelia’s face and explained it was so high because the damage was extensive. He told her this was one of the worst cases he had seen. He explained all the flooring has to be ripped up as it’s far too damaged from all the years of cat urine and neglect. Aurelia had hoped to have been able to have the floors sanded and refinished, but the contractor now said that was impossible. Driving home, she called her husband to tell him the bad news.

“Well, my mother did it again. Why did I think with her living in South Carolina, she wouldn’t be able to hurt me?”

“What’s wrong?” her husband Chad asked.

“The estimate for the renovations is twice what we thought, thanks to Mom hoarding cats. The stench is so bad, Chad! At this point, I feel like striking a match is the best option.” Aurelia said disgustedly.

“We’ll have to make it work. It does make me wonder how she could have lived there.” Chad said.

“She never left the apartment; she was terrified of everything. Some gladiator. Oh, and get this, I saw these notebooks she left behind. She apparently is stalking some YouTube creator, a woman named Caroline, who has a food channel and lives on the west coast. I am telling you, her words in these books were beyond frightening.”

“Well, you know your mom has serious mental issues besides being mean.”

“Mean, now you are being kind; she is evil! Before the divorce, I remember how much abuse my poor dad took from her. She was vile; I was always scared she was my mother; I used to wish I would be told I was adopted.”

“Hah, that actually made me chuckle, but I understand. Hey, you know I love you, right? I do, despite your psycho mom.”

Aurelia and Chad shared a laugh; humor has seen them through so much, especially dealing with toxic Hope. They would need the humor to face this extensive renovation together.

Just before drifting off to sleep, Aurelia thought of that notebook she found. Whoever this Caroline was, her mother was obsessed and was on a mission to destroy her. Aurelia shuddered at the thought; her mother had caused so much havoc in people’s lives. Her mother was miserable, and it seemed she wanted everyone else to be just as miserable.

Hope didn’t care what she said or who she lied about. She wished the most horrific things on people and thought nothing of voicing it out loud. She detested that Aurelia told her to be careful with that. Aurelia told Hope that she was putting evil things out there toward others, and it was not good to do. She remembered how her mother bellowed back at her, “Oh, is this all your spiritual reiki stuff, or are you now reading the Bible?”

Aurelia hesitated before saying, “Mother, stop it! You sound insane! Do you think anything good will come your way when you act like this? Do you think God will hurt someone because you wish it on them? I am so ashamed of you. I can’t take this anymore; I am afraid things that come back on you will hurt me or Liza. Why can’t you stop this?”

Liza was Hope’s younger daughter; she moved to South Carolina about a year before her mother did. Liza went down with her husband and toddler daughter to pick out a town house for herself that her mother would purchase and a house for her mother. Liza had a very strained relationship with her mother, who never approved of her getting pregnant out of wedlock and with a man that Hope felt was beneath her. Liza sucked it up and tried because she needed her mother’s money. That need made Liza go through the motions, but she called Aurelia daily to vent about Hope.

Liza had been having a good time until it was time to pick up Hope from the airport. Before that, she kept busy setting up a home in the town house. With her mother coming to live near her, she would have to tell her she was expecting twins. Liza dreaded that because she knew her mother felt she ruined her life and now twins would cement that idea for Hope.

Until now, Liza only spoke to her mother about twice a week. Those conversations were short and only to relay information about the house. Liza’s heart sank as she walked around the empty, clean house taking photos for Hope. Liza could not help thinking about the truck on its way down. The moving truck was filled with boxes and bins of her mother’s junk. Boxes Hope would likely never unpack and would end up being shoved in the rooms, making them unlivable.

Beyond the boxes, her mother was having all 10 of her cats brought down. Liza cringed, thinking how the house would smell. It had just been freshly painted. The way Aurelia explained the disgusting smell and damage to the apartment, Liza wondered how long before Hope destroyed this house.

Liza locked the door, got in her car, and headed home. Hope will be arriving soon. Liza wondered if she could handle this. Her mother was notorious for holding things over her head. How often would her mother remind her that she had to pay for the town house Liza and her family lived in? Liza knew she would use it as leverage. She imagined that Hope would remind Liza that her lazy, out-of-work husband could not provide for his family. Wait until she learns about the twins she is carrying. Liza’s heart sank as she felt the babies kick. The babies were getting big; Liza was due in a few weeks. Would Hope totally make her life miserable? As Liza waited at the red light, she already knew the answer.