Chapter 4 - The Second Knock —
Victor came the next morning.
Mom had taken the day off, which meant losing money we didn’t have. She was on the phone with a legal aid office when his silver car stopped outside.
I recognized him before she did.
He had attended Dad’s funeral.
He’d hugged Mom.
He’d called me brave.
Now he stood on our porch holding a white bakery box.
“Rachel. Can we talk?”
Mom ended her call.
She opened the door as far as the chain allowed.
“How did you know Lorenzo was here?”
Victor’s smile stayed in place.
“People talk.”
“What do you want?”
“To clear up a misunderstanding.”
He lifted the box.
“I brought breakfast for the kids.”
“We have breakfast.”
I had never heard my mother make three words sound so sharp.
Victor lowered the box.
“Lorenzo can be impulsive. He hears a sad story, he makes a gesture. Then other people have to clean up the confusion.”
“There’s no confusion.”
“Good. Then you understand the settlement is final.”
Mom didn’t answer.
His voice softened.
“Rachel, you signed it. You were upset. That’s understandable. But grief can make memory unreliable.”
I stepped closer.
“She remembers.”
Victor looked at me.
His smile changed.
“Emily. You’ve gotten tall.”
Mom moved in front of me.
“Leave.”
“Don’t turn this into something ugly.”
“It already is.”
He set the bakery box on the porch.
Then he pulled an envelope from his coat.
“Five thousand. A goodwill payment. No lawyers. No more calls.”
Mom stared at it.
For one terrible second, I knew how much she wanted it.
Five thousand meant heat. Rent. Shoes without cardboard under the insoles.
Victor knew it too.
“That baby needs stability,” he said.
Mom’s hand tightened around the door.
“Then you should have paid what his father was owed.”
She closed it.
Victor knocked again.
She didn’t answer.
After his car left, Mom sank onto the stairs.
I sat beside her.
“You did the right thing,” I said.
She covered her mouth.
“I hope so.”
An hour later, her phone rang.
It was the cleaning service.
A client had accused her of stealing jewelry.
Until the complaint was resolved, she was suspended.
Mom didn’t cry.
She just stared at the wall.
May you like
Then a message appeared from an unknown number.
You have two children. Think carefully.
