Chapter 5: The Woman Who Wanted Revenge
I couldn’t speak.
The words hung in the air.
Your father destroyed my family.
It sounded like something from a movie.
Not something a woman would say in my kitchen after trying to hurt me.
I stared at Patricia.
“You expect me to believe that?””
She walked toward the table and sat down calmly.
That scared me more than yelling.
Patricia was always most dangerous when she was calm.
“You never knew your father the way I did.””
I shook my head.
“You’re lying.””
“Am I?””
She opened her purse and pulled out an envelope.
Then she placed it on the table.
“Read it.””
I didn’t move.
Michael picked it up first.
His face changed as he read the first page.
“What is this?””
Patricia looked at him.
“The truth.””
I grabbed the papers.
The first page was a legal document.
A business agreement.
My father’s name was there.
So was Patricia’s late husband’s name.
I read the details slowly.
My father had worked with Patricia’s husband years before I met Michael.
They had invested in a small company together.
Then something happened.
Money disappeared.
The company collapsed.
And Patricia’s husband lost everything.
But the more I read, the more confused I became.
Because the documents didn’t show my father stealing anything.
They showed mistakes.
Bad decisions.
A failed investment.
Not betrayal.
I looked up.
“This doesn’t prove what you’re saying.””
Patricia’s eyes narrowed.
“You think because there’s no confession written on paper, it didn’t happen?””
“No.””
I placed the documents down.
“I think you wanted to hate my father, and now you’re taking it out on me.””
Michael looked at his mother.
“Mom.””
She ignored him.
“You don’t know what he did.””
“Then tell me.””
Patricia stood.
“He ruined my husband.””
Her voice cracked.
For the first time, I saw something real in her expression.
Pain.
“My husband spent the last years of his life believing he was a failure.””
She looked at me.
“And your father walked away.””
I shook my head.
“My father died believing he was a good man.””
Patricia laughed bitterly.
“Of course he did.””
Michael stepped between us.
“Mom, enough.””
She turned to him.
“You always protect her.””
“No.””
His voice was stronger.
“I’m trying to understand.””
Patricia’s expression softened for a moment.
Then she said something that made both of us freeze.
“Ask your wife why her father left her that letter.””
I looked at Michael.
“What letter?””
Michael’s face changed.
“Mom…”
“What?””
Patricia smiled.
“She never told you.””
My heartbeat became louder.
“What letter?””
Michael looked away.
And that hurt.
Again.
“Michael.””
He swallowed.
“When your father died, there was a letter.””
“From my father?””
“Yes.””
“Where is it?””
He didn’t answer.
I felt my chest tighten.
“Where is it?””
Finally, he whispered:
“My mother has it.””
I looked at Patricia.
“You stole my father’s letter?””
“I kept it safe.””
“You hid it.””
“I protected you.””
I stepped closer.
“No. You controlled the truth.””
For once, Patricia had no immediate response.
Then her phone rang.
The same phone that had received the message from my father’s name.
She looked at the screen.
And this time, I saw fear.
Not anger.
Not arrogance.
Fear.
She answered quietly.
“Hello?””
A voice spoke on the other end.
I couldn’t hear everything.
Only Patricia’s side.
“No.””
A pause.
“That’s impossible.””
Another pause.
Then her face turned completely pale.
“You told me he was gone.””
Michael frowned.
“Who is that?””
Patricia ended the call.
Nobody spoke.
Then I asked:
“Who was it?””
She looked at me.
May you like
And for the first time since I met her, Patricia looked powerless.
“It was someone who knows what happened the night before your wedding.””
