Chapter 4 - THE FAMILY WAR
By evening, the story had already changed.
According to Agnes, I was unstable.
According to Chloe, I was dramatic.
According to them, I had “attacked the family.”
I almost admired how quickly they created a new reality.
Almost.
Leo sat at the kitchen table reading messages from his mother.
His face became darker with every sentence.
“What did she say?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
Then he handed me the phone.
I read:
“She came home angry and threatened to leave.”
“She said she hated living here.”
“She scared Chloe.”
I looked up.
“Seriously?”
Leo rubbed his forehead.
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
He looked at me.
“She is rewriting everything.”
“Yes.”
I put the phone down.
“And she’s been doing it for years.”
That night, Leo finally asked the question I had been waiting for.
“How long?”
I looked at him.
“How long what?”
“How long have you been unhappy?”
I stayed silent.
Because the truth was too big.
“Years.”
His eyes closed.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
I laughed softly.
“I did.”
“You never said it was this bad.”
“Because every time I tried, you defended them.”
That hurt him.
I saw it.
Good.
Because I had been hurting alone for too long.
The next morning, Leo made a decision.
“We’re leaving.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“This house.”
He looked around.
“This situation.”
He grabbed his keys.
“We need space.”
Before we could leave, Agnes blocked the doorway.
“You’re leaving because of her?”
Leo stared at her.
“I’m leaving because I need to think.”
She pointed at me.
“She’s turning you against your own mother.”
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“You’re showing me who you are.”
Agnes looked shocked.
Then angry.
“You ungrateful son.”
And there it was.
The same weapon she always used.
Guilt.
But Leo didn’t move.
For the first time, he didn’t apologize.
We left.
But I knew something.
Agnes wasn’t finished.
People like her don’t accept losing control.
They fight harder.
That night, I received an unknown message.
One sentence.
“You think you won.”
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
“You have no idea what I know.”
My stomach tightened.
Because whoever sent it...
Wasn’t Agnes.
It was someone else.
May you like
Someone who had been watching.
Someone who knew things I didn’t.
