Chapter 9: The Person Pulling The Strings
I drove back to the house that afternoon.
Not because I trusted Jason.
Not because I wanted to forgive him.
I went because I needed answers.
The truth had become bigger than my anger.
When I arrived, the front door was unlocked.
That alone made me nervous.
I stepped inside.
The house looked exactly the same.
The couch.
The television.
The kitchen.
The same place where everything changed.
Jason was standing by the window.
Alone.
“Where’s your mother?””
He looked surprised.
“She left.””
“Good.””
He nodded slowly.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Jason said:
“I know how this looks.””
I interrupted.
“Stop saying that.””
He looked down.
“Okay.””
I placed the documents on the table.
“Tell me everything.””
Jason sat.
And for the first time, he didn’t try to defend himself.
“My mother had debts.””
I crossed my arms.
“Diane?””
He nodded.
“She started the company years ago. It failed. She owed people money.””
“So you used my money to save her?””
“Yes.””
The honesty shocked me.
But it didn’t help.
“Why?””
He looked at the floor.
“Because she threatened me.””
I frowned.
“What?””
Jason rubbed his hands together.
“She said if I didn’t help her, she would expose something.””
“Expose what?””
He looked at me.
And I saw real fear.
“Something from my first marriage.””
I waited.
“My first wife wasn’t just a business partner.””
I said nothing.
Jason continued.
“She was Diane’s daughter.””
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“What?””
“My first wife was my mother’s daughter from another marriage.””
I stepped back.
The family tree in my head collapsed.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because it was embarrassing.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“It was a secret.””
He looked away.
“Yes.””
I walked around the room.
“So Diane used your past to control you.””
Jason nodded.
“But that doesn’t excuse what I did.””
For once, he was right.
It didn’t.
“Why involve my mother?””
His face changed.
“She wasn’t supposed to be involved.””
I looked at him.
“But she was.””
Jason closed his eyes.
“My mother thought she could use your mother’s signature to make everything easier.””
I felt sick.
“And you let her.””
“Yes.””
The answer was painful because it was simple.
I grabbed my bag.
“I’m leaving.””
Jason stood.
“Sarah.””
I stopped.
“There’s one thing you need to know.””
I turned.
“What?””
He walked to the desk.
He pulled out a small box.
“I found this after you left.””
He opened it.
Inside was a flash drive.
“What is it?””
Jason looked terrified.
“Evidence.””
“Of what?””
He swallowed.
“Of Diane planning everything.””
I stared at him.
“Why would you have that?””
“Because I started recording conversations after I realized she was going too far.””
I didn’t know whether to believe him.
But then he pressed play.
Diane’s voice filled the room.
Clear.
Cold.
“Once Sarah signs the final transfer, the house will be ours.””
I froze.
Then another voice answered.
Jason’s.
“I don’t know if I can do this.””
Diane laughed.
“You already did.””
The recording continued.
Then Diane said something that made my entire body go cold.
“She trusts her mother. That’s why we used her first.””
I stopped the recording.
My hands shook.
They didn’t just hurt me.
They planned how to hurt me.
Then the audio continued automatically.
A new voice appeared.
A man’s voice.
Not Jason.
Not Mark.
Someone else.
And he said one sentence.
“After Sarah loses the house, we take Noah.””
I looked at Jason.
“Who is that?””
Jason’s face went pale.
Because he recognized the voice.
And before he answered…
The back door opened.
A man walked into the house.
The same man from the recording.
May you like
Jason whispered:
“That’s the person who started everything.””
