Chapter 6 - THE TRUTH WE BOTH HID
The drive home was silent.
Too silent.
I watched the city pass outside the window.
Leo kept both hands on the steering wheel.
Neither of us spoke.
Finally, I asked.
“What hospital bills?”
He exhaled slowly.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
“When were you going to tell me, Leo?”
His grip tightened.
“I was trying to fix it.”
“Fix what?”
He looked at me.
“The debt.”
I stared.
“What debt?”
He swallowed.
“My business isn’t doing as well as I told you.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
Not because of money.
Because of trust.
“You lied to me.”
“I was protecting you.”
“No.”
My voice shook.
“You were protecting yourself.”
He looked hurt.
But he knew I was right.
For years, I thought I was the only person hiding pain.
I was wrong.
Leo had been carrying his own secrets.
But there was one difference.
My secrets were about surviving.
His were about avoiding the truth.
That night, we sat across from each other.
Two people who loved each other.
Two people who had both been alone.
“I should have listened,” he said.
“Yes.”
“I should have seen what was happening.”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“I failed you.”
I looked away.
Because hearing him admit it hurt.
But it also mattered.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Leo answered.
“Hello?”
His face changed.
“What?”
I watched him stand.
“Who is this?”
A pause.
Then:
“No. That’s impossible.”
I felt my heartbeat increase.
He looked at me.
The fear in his eyes was real.
“What happened?”
He slowly lowered the phone.
“Someone accessed my company accounts.”
I stood.
“What?”
He looked toward the window.
“Money is missing.”
“How much?”
He whispered the number.
And suddenly, our problems became much bigger than Agnes.
Because someone had been planning this.
Someone had been watching.
Someone had a reason to destroy us.
Leo looked at me.
And said the words that changed everything.
“I think my mother knows more than she’s telling us.”
The room went cold.
Because if Agnes wasn’t just cruel...
If she was involved...
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Then the skillet wasn’t the beginning of the nightmare.
It was only the first warning.
