Chapter 10: The Accident Nobody Remembered
The room became silent.
Not the normal kind of silence.
The kind where every sound disappears because your mind is trying to understand something impossible.
My mother sat across from me, staring at the floor.
For the first time in my life, she looked small.
Not like the woman who always knew what to say.
Not like the woman who controlled every conversation.
Just a person carrying something too heavy.
“Say that again.””
My voice barely sounded like mine.
She looked up.
“Corinne…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I need to hear it.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I was there.””
“That’s not what the letter said.””
I held the paper tightly.
“It said you were the reason it happened.””
She closed her eyes.
“I made a mistake.””
I laughed quietly.
A broken, confused sound.
“A mistake?””
“You don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
She looked toward the window.
“When your father found out about the money…”
I froze.
“The money?””
She hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
“You knew about the company.””
She nodded.
“Yes.””
“You knew about the fraud.””
Another nod.
“I was desperate.””
My hands started shaking.
“Desperate enough to ruin everyone’s lives?””
Her face tightened.
“I was trying to protect myself.””
There it was.
The sentence Sterling had warned me about.
Not protect me.
Not protect anyone.
Herself.
“I thought Richard would forgive me.””
My father’s name sounded strange coming from her mouth.
“He wouldn’t expose me. He cared too much about you.””
I stared at her.
“So you knew he would stay silent.””
“Yes.””
“And when he didn’t?””
She looked away.
“I panicked.””
The memories came back.
My father leaving.
My mother crying.
The police cars outside.
The neighbors whispering.
I had always thought those moments were proof that he abandoned us.
But what if they were proof that someone forced him away?
“What happened that night?””
My mother didn’t answer.
“Mom.””
She finally spoke.
“I followed Richard.””
“Why?””
“Because he had proof.””
My stomach dropped.
“Proof of what?””
“Everything.””
She looked at me.
“He was going to Sterling.””
I remembered the documents.
The accident.
Wesley.
The connection.
“You knew he would tell him.””
“Yes.””
“So you tried to stop him.””
Her silence was enough.
I stood up.
“You caused the accident.””
“No.””
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
“I didn’t mean for that to happen.””
“But it did.””
Tears rolled down her face.
“I only wanted to scare him.””
The room spun.
“Scare him?””
“I thought if he lost control of the situation, he would stop.””
I stared at her.
“What did you do?””
She whispered:
“I followed his car.””
My heart pounded.
“And?””
“There was a storm.””
I remembered the rain.
The thunder.
The night my father disappeared.
“I saw another car.””
She covered her face.
“I thought it was Richard.””
“What was?””
“Wesley.””
I couldn’t breathe.
She continued.
“The cars collided.””
My voice cracked.
“And my father?””
“He stopped.””
“Of course he did.””
“He ran back.””
She looked at me.
“He saved Wesley.””
The tears came before I could stop them.
My entire childhood had been built around a lie.
My father wasn’t the man who left.
He was the man who stayed.
Even when everything fell apart.
“Why didn’t he come back?””
My mother looked devastated.
“Because I threatened him.””
I went completely still.
“What?””
“I told him if he exposed me, I would tell you he abandoned you.””
My stomach turned.
“You stole my father from me.””
“I was afraid.””
“No.””
I stepped back.
“You were selfish.””
She cried harder.
“I know.””
The honesty didn’t make it better.
It made it worse.
Because it meant she understood.
The entire time.
She understood exactly what she had done.
My phone buzzed.
I looked down.
A message from Wesley.
*Sterling found your father.*
My heart stopped.
Then another message arrived.
*He’s been waiting for you.*
I looked at my mother.
She saw the expression on my face.
“Corinne…”
I walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?””
“To meet the man I thought abandoned me.””
Before I left, my mother whispered:
“He won’t forgive me.””
I stopped.
Then I looked back.
“No.””
May you like
My voice was quiet.
“He won’t.””
