Chapter 2 - THE LIE THAT NEVER DIED

Rhea stared at me.

I stared back.

Neither of us moved.

Then Perrin grabbed my hand.

“Dad…”

I looked down.

His little fingers were shaking.

“She said Mom was gone.”

The room became silent.

I slowly looked at Rhea.

“What did he just say?”

“Perrin is confused.”

“No.”

My voice was sharp.

“He isn’t.”

Rhea stepped forward.

“James, you have to understand. He’s been through a lot.”

I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“You’re blaming him?”

“No, I’m saying—”

“You locked him away.”

“I was protecting him.”

Those four words made my stomach turn.

“Protecting him?”

I pointed toward the hidden room.

“That’s your idea of protection?”

Rhea opened her mouth.

Then closed it.

Because she had no answer.

I carried Perrin away from that hallway and into the living room.

I didn’t care about the broken furniture.

I didn’t care about the expensive decorations.

My son mattered.

Only my son.

I sat him down.

“Perrin, I need you to tell me everything.”

He looked nervous.

“Will she get mad?”

I looked toward Rhea.

“She won’t touch you again.”

My words were a promise.

Perrin took a deep breath.

“After you left for work…”

His voice became smaller.

“Rhea changed.”

My hands tightened.

“What do you mean?”

“She stopped being nice.”

I felt my jaw clench.

“She told me I wasn’t your real family anymore.”

“What?”

“She said you loved her more than me.”

Rhea immediately interrupted.

“That’s a lie.”

Perrin flinched.

I turned toward her.

“Don’t.”

One word.

And she stopped.

Perrin continued.

“She put me in the room when she had visitors.”

“Visitors?”

He nodded.

“People came at night.”

My skin went cold.

“Who?”

“I don’t know.”

He looked down.

“But they talked about Mom.”

Everything inside me stopped.

“Your mother?”

Perrin nodded.

“She’s alive.”

The room felt like it was spinning.

I sat there trying to understand words that didn’t belong together.

My wife.

My first love.

The woman everyone told me died three years ago.

Alive.

Impossible.

“Perrin…”

My voice shook.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

He looked at me with tears in his eyes.

“Because Rhea showed me pictures.”

“What pictures?”

“She showed me you.”

My heart sank.

“She said you were happy without me.”

I closed my eyes.

Six months.

Six months I had been away believing everything was normal.

While my son was suffering.

While someone was controlling him.

While someone was hiding the truth.

I stood up.

And walked toward Rhea.

“You have five minutes.”

Her face changed.

“James—”

“Tell me where my wife is.”

“She’s not your wife anymore.”

The sentence hit like a punch.

“What did you say?”

Rhea smiled faintly.

A cold, confident smile.

“You really thought the past stayed buried?”

I felt anger rising.

“What did you do?”

She looked toward the hidden hallway.

Then whispered:

“You have no idea what your first wife did.”

Before I could answer…

the front door suddenly opened.

A man stepped inside.

A man I had never seen before.

But Perrin recognized him.

And the fear on my son's face told me everything.

“Dad…”

He grabbed my arm.

“That’s him.”

“Who?”

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Perrin whispered:

“The man who came to take Mom away.”