Chapter 7: The Lie That Started Twenty-Two Years Ago
Nobody spoke.
Not my mother.
Not Derek.
Not me.
The only sound in the room was the ticking clock on the wall.
A clock my mother had bought when I was ten years old.
A clock that had been there through every birthday, every holiday, every family dinner.
And now it was counting the seconds between the truth and another lie.
“Twenty-two years,” I repeated.
My voice sounded strange.
Almost like someone else was speaking.
Derek looked at me.
“Jason, there’s a lot you don’t understand.””
I laughed quietly.
“That seems to be everyone’s favorite sentence.””
I looked at my mother.
“Mom?””
She wiped her tears.
“Jason…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I need you to answer one question.””
She looked at me.
“Did you know him before?””
Her silence was enough.
But I needed to hear it.
“Yes,” she whispered.
My chest tightened.
“How?””
My mother sat down on the edge of the bed.
She looked exhausted.
Like she had been carrying a secret for years.
“We met when I was younger.””
Derek glanced at her.
“Emily.””
She looked back at him.
“No.””
Her voice was different.
Stronger.
“I’ve spent years protecting this secret.””
She looked at me.
“I’m tired.””
For the first time in days, I saw my mother standing up for something.
Even if it was only the truth.
“When I was twenty-seven, I worked at a property management company,” she said.
I listened.
“Derek was involved in some business deals with the company.””
I looked at him.
“What kind of deals?””
My mother hesitated.
“Complicated ones.””
Derek stepped forward.
“Emily, this isn’t the time.””
She looked at him.
“No. This is exactly the time.””
The room went quiet again.
She continued.
“Your grandfather trusted people carefully. He was not someone who gave his money or property away easily.””
I looked at the folder.
“So what happened?””
My mother looked down.
“Derek became close to our family.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Close how?””
She swallowed.
“He became friends with your grandfather.””
I stared at her.
“And then?””
“Then things changed.””
My eyes moved toward Derek.
He didn’t look confident anymore.
He looked cornered.
“What did he do?””
My mother closed her eyes.
“I don’t know everything.””
That shocked me.
“What do you mean?””
“I mean your grandfather discovered something before he died.””
“What?””
She looked at Derek.
“He found out Derek wasn’t being honest about his business.””
Derek immediately shook his head.
“That’s not what happened.””
My mother stood.
“Then explain it.””
For once, Derek had no answer.
I watched him carefully.
The man who had calmly packed my belongings.
The man who told me I had thirty days to leave.
The man who acted like he owned everything.
Now he looked like someone whose mask had cracked.
I opened the folder again.
There were more papers underneath.
A name appeared repeatedly.
Whitmore Holdings.
I looked at Derek.
“Is this yours?””
“Yes.””
“And my grandfather was involved?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
He didn’t answer.
My anger grew.
“Why?””
Finally, he said:
“Because your grandfather wanted to invest.””
I looked at my mother.
But she looked confused.
“That’s not what you told me.””
Derek froze.
I noticed.
My mother noticed too.
“What did you tell me?”” she asked.
He looked uncomfortable.
“Emily…”
“No.””
Her voice shook.
“What did you tell me?””
Derek looked away.
And that was when I realized something.
My mother wasn’t just protecting him.
She had been lied to too.
“I told you your grandfather was angry because the business failed,” Derek said quietly.
My mother stared at him.
“But?””
Derek didn’t respond.
“But what?””
I stepped closer.
“He wasn’t angry because the business failed.””
Everyone looked at me.
I held up the document.
“He was angry because Derek hid something.””
My mother took the paper.
Her eyes moved across it.
Then her face changed.
“What is this?””
Derek moved quickly.
“Give me that.””
“No.””
My mother stepped back.
That single word shocked me.
Because she wasn’t afraid of me anymore.
She was afraid of him.
“What did you do?”” she asked.
Derek’s voice became softer.
“Emily, listen to me.””
“No.””
Her hands trembled.
“You told me he abandoned you.””
Derek stayed silent.
“You told me my father ruined your life.””
Silence.
“You told me Jason and I were better off without people who didn’t care about us.””
My mother looked at me.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“I believed him.””
Those words hurt.
Not because she admitted it.
Because I realized how long she had been living inside someone else’s story.
Derek reached toward her.
“Emily, I did everything because I loved you.””
She stepped away.
“Don’t say that.””
His face changed.
“What?””
“Don’t use love to explain this.””
The room went silent.
I had never heard my mother speak to him like that.
Then my phone rang.
I looked down.
Thomas.
I answered immediately.
“Jason?””
“Yes.””
His voice sounded urgent.
“Where are you?””
“At home.””
A pause.
Then:
“You need to leave.””
My eyebrows tightened.
“What?””
“Right now.””
“Why?””
Thomas lowered his voice.
“Because if Derek knows you found the documents, he will try to get them back.””
I looked at Derek.
He was watching me.
And suddenly, I understood.
He already knew.
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The question was…
What was he willing to do to keep the truth hidden?
