Chapter 5 - The Secret Behind The House

The next morning, I woke up before sunrise.

I didn’t sleep.

Not really.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Skylar sitting alone in that kitchen.

I saw Brandon laughing.

I saw Gertrude smiling.

And I remembered one sentence.

“She doesn’t need to know yet.”

Know what?

That question haunted me.

I made coffee and opened my laptop.

Then I searched through everything again.

Every email.

Every file.

Every transaction.

Until I found something buried.

A property agreement.

A document connected to our house.

But my name wasn’t the only name listed.

There was another person.

A person I had never heard of.

I stared at the screen.

“Who are you?”

I immediately called Rachel.

She answered quickly.

“Charlotte?”

“I found something.”

“What?”

“There’s another person connected to my property documents.”

There was a pause.

“Send it to me.”

Five minutes later, she called back.

“Charlotte…”

Her voice sounded different.

“What?”

“This is bigger than the renovation.”

My stomach tightened.

“What does that mean?”

She took a breath.

“Your husband’s family wasn’t trying to improve your house.”

“Then what were they doing?”

“They were preparing to use your property as security for a business deal.”

I closed my eyes.

“What business deal?”

“A failing investment.”

The room went silent.

“So they were risking my house?”

“Yes.”

My hands started shaking.

“My home?”

“Yes.”

“And if it failed?”

Rachel didn’t answer.

She didn’t have to.

I already knew.

I could lose everything.

The home where I raised my daughter.

The place where my husband promised we would build a future.

Everything.

That afternoon, Brandon came home.

He looked exhausted.

Different.

Less confident.

“Charlotte.”

I didn’t look up.

“What?”

“We need to talk.”

I continued reading my laptop.

“We’ve talked enough.”

“No, we haven’t.”

He walked closer.

“Please.”

I finally looked at him.

“Do you even know what you’re apologizing for?”

He went quiet.

That told me everything.

“You’re sorry because you got caught.”

“That’s not true.”

“Then tell me the truth.”

He sat down.

“My mother convinced me.”

I laughed.

Of course.

It was always someone else’s fault.

“She told me it would help the family.”

“And you believed her?”

He looked down.

“I thought we could fix it before you noticed.”

My chest tightened.

“You thought?”

I stood up.

“You risked my daughter’s home because you thought you could fix it?”

He had no answer.

Then he said quietly:

“I love you.”

Those words used to mean everything.

Now they meant nothing.

“You loved me?”

I shook my head.

“People who love you don’t secretly destroy your life.”

That evening, I received a package.

No return address.

Inside was a flash drive.

My heart raced.

I plugged it into my computer.

One video file.

Created two weeks earlier.

I pressed play.

The screen showed Brandon.

And Gertrude.

Sitting in a restaurant.

Talking.

I watched silently.

Then I heard my husband say:

“Once the loan goes through, Charlotte won’t have any choice.”

My blood ran cold.

Gertrude smiled.

“She always thinks she’s the smart one.”

Brandon laughed.

“She trusts me.”

Then Gertrude said something that made my entire body freeze.

“What about the daughter?”

Brandon looked uncomfortable.

“She’s just a kid.”

Gertrude leaned forward.

“She’s the only thing that could make Charlotte fight.”

The video stopped.

I sat there frozen.

They knew.

They knew Skylar was my weakness.

And they were planning around that.

Then my phone rang.

It was Skylar’s school.

I answered immediately.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end sounded nervous.

“Mrs. Carter…”

“Yes?”

“There’s something you need to know about your daughter.”

My heart dropped.

“What happened?”

A pause.

Then:

“Someone came to the school asking questions about Skylar.”

I stood up.

“Who?”

The woman hesitated.

“She said she was family.”

I looked at the video still open on my screen.

Gertrude.

My blood went cold.

Because I finally understood.

They weren’t just trying to take my house.

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TO BE CONTINUED…