Chapter 5: My Mother’s Confession
I drove to my mother’s house without telling anyone.
Not Marcus.
Not Elena.
Nobody.
I needed one person to finally tell me the truth.
When my mother opened the door, she already knew.
Her face fell.
“You found out.””
I walked inside.
“Yes.””
She closed the door slowly.
“About Marcus?””
“About everything.””
Her shoulders dropped.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t find out this way.””
I stared at her.
“How else was I supposed to find out?””
She didn’t answer.
That was becoming the pattern of my life.
Questions.
Silence.
Pain.
I placed the documents on the kitchen island.
The same island where I held the pregnancy test.
“Did you know he was taking money from me?””
My mother looked shocked.
“No.””
For the first time, I believed her.
Not because I trusted her.
Because her face changed.
She looked genuinely devastated.
“I swear, Nia.””
I sat down.
“Then tell me what you know.””
She sat across from me.
For several seconds, she just cried.
Then she spoke.
“Marcus came to me because Elena found out she was pregnant.””
I clenched my hands.
“He said he was scared.””
“He said he loved you.””
I looked away.
“He always said that.””
My mother nodded.
“I believed him.””
The words hurt.
“You believed him more than me.””
“No.””
She reached across the table.
I pulled my hand away.
That broke something in her face.
“I was lonely,” she whispered.
I closed my eyes.
“I know.””
“No, Nia.””
Her voice cracked.
“I was lonely in a way I was ashamed of.””
I looked at her.
“I lost your father. I lost the person who knew me before I became just your mother.””
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“When Marcus started coming over, he listened.””
I laughed softly.
“He was my boyfriend.””
“I know.””
“He was supposed to listen to me.””
“I know.””
She covered her face.
“I hated myself every day.””
“Then why keep going?””
My mother looked at me.
“Because I thought I was helping you.””
I stared at her.
“That makes no sense.””
“He told me he would leave Elena. He told me the baby wasn’t his responsibility.””
My mother shook her head.
“I thought if I gave him time, he would fix everything.””
“You protected him.””
“I was wrong.””
The kitchen fell silent.
Then my mother reached into a drawer.
She pulled out an envelope.
“I found this after he left yesterday.””
I opened it.
Inside was a DNA test.
My hands froze.
“Why do you have this?””
My mother looked terrified.
“Because Marcus was afraid of the results.””
I looked at the paper.
The name.
The date.
The result.
My heart stopped.
The baby was not Elena’s husband’s.
It wasn’t Marcus’s either.
The father was listed as unknown.
I looked up.
“What does this mean?””
My mother shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
Then her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her face changed.
“Who is it?””
She didn’t answer.
The phone kept ringing.
Finally, she whispered:
“It’s your father.””
I froze.
My father had been dead for twelve years.
My mother answered.
A man’s voice came through the speaker.
And the first thing he said was:
“Nia?””
My entire body went cold.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it before.
Not in a memory.
Not in a dream.
Recently.
The voice continued:
“I know you just found out about Marcus.””
My mother started crying.
The man said:
May you like
“But before you hate the wrong people, you need to know what really happened the night your father died.””
And then the call disconnected.
