Chapter 11: The Woman From My Mother’s Past
The name changed everything.
Karen.
The same woman who had called me.
The same woman who knew about the family secrets.
The same woman who claimed she had something belonging to me.
Michael looked at me.
“You know her?””
I shook my head.
“She called me yesterday.””
Linda suddenly looked alarmed.
“She contacted you?””
The reaction was immediate.
Too immediate.
I noticed.
Michael noticed too.
“Why does that scare you?””
Linda didn’t answer.
“Mom.””
She looked away.
“I thought she was gone.””
Rachel frowned.
“Who is Karen?””
Linda’s face tightened.
“She was your father’s assistant.””
Michael stared.
“The one who disappeared?””
Nobody spoke.
I looked at the note again.
My mother trusted Karen.
Why?
What had happened before I even knew these people existed?
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone looked at it.
I answered.
“Hello?””
Karen’s voice came through.
“Sarah.””
I walked away from the group.
“You knew my mother?””
A long pause.
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I wasn’t sure who I could trust.””
I looked toward Linda.
“That’s what everyone keeps saying.””
Karen sighed.
“Your mother was afraid.””
“Of Linda?””
“Of what Linda had done.””
My heart raced.
“What did she do?””
Karen lowered her voice.
“Your mother discovered that Linda had been transferring money from the family company for years.””
I looked back at Michael.
His face changed.
“Is that true?””
Karen continued.
“She and Michael’s father planned to expose it.””
“Then why didn’t they?””
“Because Linda found out.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What happened?””
Silence.
Then Karen said:
“Your mother survived an attack.””
My breath stopped.
“What?””
“She was supposed to die that night.””
The room felt like it was spinning.
“But she lived.””
“For a while.””
I closed my eyes.
My mother’s death had always been explained as an accident.
A sudden illness.
Something nobody questioned.
Now every memory felt different.
“Why didn’t she tell me?””
“Because you were a child.””
I swallowed.
“What did she hide?””
Karen answered quietly.
“The original documents proving everything.””
I looked at the note.
“The evidence.””
“Yes.””
“Where is it?””
Karen hesitated.
Then:
“Your mother gave it to me.””
I froze.
“But she wrote that only I could find it.””
“That’s because she knew I would never reveal it unless you were ready.””
“Ready for what?””
Karen’s voice became softer.
“To learn the truth about your father.””
My heart stopped.
“My father?””
“Yes.””
I looked around the room.
“My father is part of this?””
“Sarah…”
Her voice cracked.
“Your father was the reason your mother got involved.””
I felt dizzy.
“I don’t understand.””
“Your father wasn’t just a stranger who left.””
My throat tightened.
“What are you saying?””
A long silence followed.
Then Karen whispered:
“Your father worked with Michael’s father.””
I couldn’t speak.
Two families.
One secret.
One hidden truth.
Before I could ask anything else, Karen said:
“Sarah, you need to leave that house.””
I looked toward Linda.
“Why?””
“Because Linda knows you found the note.””
My eyes moved.
Linda was no longer in the kitchen.
She was gone.
A cold feeling ran through me.
“Where did she go?””
Karen became silent.
Then she whispered:
“Check your bedroom.””
I ended the call.
And ran upstairs.
The door was open.
My room had been searched.
Again.
But this time…
Something was missing.
The note from my mother.
May you like
And on my pillow was a message written in black ink.
*You should have stopped looking.*
