Chapter 6: The Person Behind the Lie
The name on my phone stayed there for almost a full minute.
I couldn’t touch it.
Couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t believe it.
My father noticed my expression.
“What is it?””
I handed him the phone.
He read the message.
Then his face became completely still.
“Who sent this?””
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.””
But I knew the name.
Everyone in my family knew the name.
Someone who had been at my wedding.
Someone who had hugged me.
Someone who had smiled while I promised forever to a man I didn’t truly know.
My father looked at me.
“Tell me.””
I whispered:
“Patricia.””
Emma gasped.
“Ethan’s mother?””
I nodded.
The message was from her.
My father immediately called his security team.
“Find out where she is.””
I sat on the couch, trying to understand.
Everything I thought I knew had collapsed.
Ethan had lied.
My sister had lied.
My father had hidden things.
And now Patricia was sending warnings?
It didn’t make sense.
An hour later, Patricia agreed to meet.
Not at her house.
Not at a restaurant.
At a quiet hotel conference room downtown.
When she entered, she looked different.
Gone was the woman who laughed while I stood in my wedding dress holding a dirty towel.
She looked afraid.
She sat across from us.
“I know what you think of me.””
I looked at her.
“You humiliated me on my wedding night.””
She lowered her eyes.
“I know.””
“Then why should I listen?””
She looked at my father.
“Because Ethan is in danger.””
My father leaned forward.
“Explain.””
Patricia took a deep breath.
“My son made mistakes.””
I almost laughed.
“Is that what you call stalking someone?””
Her face tightened.
“You don’t understand.””
“No,” I said.
“I don’t.””
She looked at me.
“Ethan wasn’t trying to use your family.””
My father’s voice sharpened.
“Then what was he doing?””
Patricia’s fingers trembled.
“He was trying to get close enough to find evidence.””
The room went silent.
Evidence.
I stared at her.
“Evidence of what?””
She looked at my father.
“Your company.””
My father’s expression changed.
“What?””
Patricia nodded.
“Someone inside your company has been stealing money for years.””
I shook my head.
“That makes no sense.””
“It does if Ethan found out.””
My father stood.
“You expect me to believe my daughter’s husband secretly investigated my company?””
Patricia nodded.
“Yes.””
“Then why did he treat her like that?””
Patricia looked ashamed.
“Because he wanted you to hate him.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He knew if he acted like a cruel husband, you would leave.””
I stared at her.
“That’s insane.””
“Yes.””
She looked at me.
“But Ethan thought it was the only way to protect you.””
My father’s expression hardened.
“Protect her from what?””
Patricia opened her purse.
She removed a small flash drive.
Then she placed it on the table.
“From the person who planned this entire marriage.””
Nobody moved.
My father stared at the drive.
“Who?””
Patricia looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw genuine fear in her eyes.
“Someone much closer than Ethan.””
My heart started pounding.
“Who?””
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
“The person who convinced Ethan to marry you…”
She looked directly at me.
“Was your sister.””
Emma stood suddenly.
“What?””
Patricia shook her head.
“She didn’t tell you everything.””
I looked at Emma.
Her face had gone pale.
“Emma?””
She opened her mouth.
No words came out.
My father slowly reached for the flash drive.
“What’s on this?””
Patricia answered quietly.
“Proof of why Ethan needed your family.””
A pause.
Then:
“And proof that your sister wasn’t helping him.””
She looked at me.
“She was controlling him.””
The room went silent.
My phone buzzed again.
Another unknown number.
This time, there was no message.
Only a photograph.
I opened it.
And my entire body froze.
It was a picture of Emma.
Standing outside Ethan’s office.
May you like
Holding the same black folder my father had found that morning.
But the timestamp was from six months before I ever met Ethan.
