Chapter 3: The Woman Who Wanted My Mother’s Life
My father answered the phone slowly.
“Hello?””
I watched his face change with every second.
Confusion.
Shock.
Then anger.
Karen noticed it too.
“What happened?””
My father ignored her.
“Yes, this is James Carter.””
A pause.
“No, I don’t know why you’re calling about my late wife.””
My heart started racing.
My late wife.
Those words sounded strange coming from him.
Like he was suddenly remembering there were things about my mother’s death that never made sense.
He listened again.
Then his eyes moved toward Karen.
“What?””
Karen stepped forward.
“James?””
He raised a hand.
“Don’t.””
The room went silent.
After a few more seconds, he ended the call.
“What did they say?”” I asked.
My father looked at the documents on the table.
Then at Karen.
“They found another report.””
Karen’s face changed.
“What report?””
My father’s voice was cold.
“A report about your visits to the hospital.””
My breath caught.
Karen shook her head.
“That’s ridiculous.””
“Is it?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did the officer say your name appears in their records three times?””
Karen said nothing.
I felt like I was watching a stranger.
The woman who had tucked me into bed when I was thirteen.
The woman everyone believed was kind.
The woman who smiled in family photos.
Suddenly, I saw all the cracks.
My father picked up the flash drive from the safe.
“What is this?””
I looked at it.
“I don’t know.””
Karen moved toward him.
“James, don’t plug that in.””
He looked at her.
“Why?””
She froze.
A second.
Just one second.
But it was enough.
Because my father finally saw what I had seen for years.
Fear.
Real fear.
He walked to the computer on my mother’s desk and inserted the flash drive.
A folder appeared.
Only one file.
“Evidence.””
Karen whispered.
Nobody missed it.
My father slowly turned around.
“You know what’s on this?””
Karen looked away.
“I…”
“No.””
His voice cracked.
“You knew.””
The computer screen loaded.
A video appeared.
My mother again.
But this time, she wasn’t sitting at home.
She was in the hospital.
Her face was tired.
Her voice was weaker.
“James, I don’t have much time.””
My father covered his mouth.
I grabbed the edge of the desk.
My mother continued.
“I found out Karen has been lying to us.””
Karen stepped backward.
“No.””
My mother’s video played.
“She wants my position in the company. She wants my money. She wants the life I built with James.””
My father looked destroyed.
Because my mother wasn’t guessing.
She knew.
“I confronted her,” my mother said.
“She denied everything.””
The video paused for a moment.
Then my mother whispered:
“But after that conversation, my medication started disappearing.””
The room became ice cold.
I looked at Karen.
“No.””
She shook her head.
“You don’t understand.””
My father turned toward her.
“Did you take her medication?””
“No.””
“Did you?””
“I said no!””
Her scream echoed through the room.
For years, Karen had controlled every conversation.
But now she was losing control.
My father stepped closer.
“You were jealous of my wife.””
Karen’s eyes filled with rage.
“Your wife had everything.””
I felt my stomach twist.
There it was.
The truth.
Not hidden.
Not softened.
“I had nothing,” Karen said.
My father stared at her.
“You had a family.””
Karen laughed bitterly.
“A family that was never mine.””
She looked at me.
“You were always in the way.””
The words hurt.
Even after everything, they hurt.
My father’s face turned red.
“Get out.””
Karen looked at him.
“You’re choosing her?””
He pointed toward me.
“I’m choosing the truth.””
Karen stared at both of us.
Then she smiled.
Not kindly.
Not sadly.
A dangerous smile.
“You really think this is over?””
I felt a chill.
“What does that mean?””
She walked toward the door.
“Your mother was smarter than you.””
My father stepped forward.
“What did you do?””
Karen stopped.
Her hand touched the doorknob.
Then she turned around.
“There’s something your mother never found.””
The room went silent.
“What?”” my father asked.
Karen smiled.
“The person who helped me.””
She opened the door.
And before anyone could stop her, she said one name.
A name that made my father’s face lose all color.
Because it was someone we all trusted.
“Your brother, Michael.””
May you like
The door slammed shut.
And for the first time that night, I realized Karen might not have been the only monster in our family.
