Chapter 8 - The Man Who Thought I Was Still Weak
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The kitchen felt frozen.
Ryan knew about the files.
He knew about the USB drive.
The question was simple.
How?
Grandma looked around the room.
“Someone told him.”
Daniel nodded.
“Or someone is still watching.”
I looked at my phone.
At the message.
At his confidence.
Ryan wasn’t guessing.
He was sure.
And that scared me.
Because it meant he still believed he had power over me.
I called him.
Daniel immediately looked at me.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
I swallowed.
“But I need answers.”
I pressed call.
Ryan answered after one ring.
Like he had been waiting.
“Emily.”
His voice was calm.
Almost friendly.
That made me angrier.
“How did you know about the USB?”
A pause.
Then:
“You really think you’re smarter than everyone?”
My jaw tightened.
“Answer me.”
“You always did this.”
“Did what?”
“Jumped to conclusions.”
I laughed.
A cold laugh.
“Ryan, you stole money from me.”
“You don’t understand.”
“No. I understand perfectly.”
“You’re being manipulated by your grandmother.”
I looked at Grandma.
She heard every word.
“By Grandma?”
“Yes.”
“Funny.”
I stared at the phone.
“Because Grandma is the only person who actually tried to protect me.”
Silence.
Then Ryan’s voice changed.
“You need to think carefully.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
A pause.
“It’s advice.”
I hated how calm he sounded.
“Where is the money, Ryan?”
“You’re asking the wrong question.”
“Then what’s the right question?”
His answer came quietly.
“Why did your mother help me?”
I froze.
Then the line went dead.
That night, I couldn’t stop thinking about his words.
Why did my mother help him?
I knew she had taken money.
I knew she lied.
But maybe there was more.
Maybe Ryan wasn’t the only person controlling the situation.
The next morning, Grandma received a letter.
Not an email.
Not a message.
A physical letter.
Inside was a legal notice.
Ryan was demanding access to Sophie.
He was claiming I had “created an unsafe environment.”
I read the words over and over.
Unsafe environment.
I almost laughed.
I was the mother who stayed awake every night with a sick baby.
I was the mother who skipped meals so Sophie had everything she needed.
And he was calling me unsafe?
Daniel prepared our response.
But then he found something.
A medical record request.
Ryan had contacted Sophie’s doctor.
Without my permission.
“He’s building evidence,” Daniel said.
My stomach turned.
“What kind of evidence?”
“That you’re an unfit mother.”
I felt tears forming.
“He’s trying to take my daughter.”
Grandma held my hand.
“He won’t.”
“But what if the court believes him?”
Daniel looked directly at me.
“Then we show them the truth.”
Later that day, we opened the video file from the USB.
The screen went black.
Then an image appeared.
A room.
Ryan’s office.
The date showed one year earlier.
And then Ryan walked into the room.
With my mother.
I stopped breathing.
They were talking.
And then Ryan said something that changed everything.
“Once Emily signs the final paperwork, we’re done.”
My mother looked nervous.
“She’s going to hate us.”
Ryan smiled.
“She’ll never know.”
Then my mother asked:
“What if Evelyn finds out?”
Ryan laughed.
“She won’t.”
The video continued.
Then Ryan said:
“Because by then, Emily will have nothing left.”
I covered my mouth.
Grandma whispered:
“Oh my God.”
But the worst part wasn’t what Ryan said.
It was what happened next.
My mother reached into her purse.
May you like
And placed a folder on the table.
A folder with my name on it.
