Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
The next morning, Laura couldn’t sleep.
Every memory of her father felt different.
Every family dinner.
Every conversation.
Every “I love you.”
She wondered how much of it was real.
She found Mark sitting alone in the kitchen.
“You knew about Mom.”
He didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
Laura felt betrayed all over again.
“How long?”
“Six months.”
Her eyes filled with anger.
“You’ve known for six months?”
Mark looked down.
“I was trying to find answers.”
“No. You were deciding what we deserved to know.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Neither was watching our family fall apart because you kept secrets.”
Mark stood.
“You think I wanted this?”
His voice cracked.
“You think I wanted to discover that Dad lied to us?”
The anger disappeared.
For a second, Laura saw her little brother again.
The boy who used to follow their father everywhere.
“I loved him too,” Mark whispered.
That stopped her.
Because she knew he did.
Before they could say more, Evelyn rushed inside.
“We need to leave.”
They both turned.
“What happened?”
She held up her phone.
“There’s a news article from twenty years ago.”
Laura looked at the screen.
A headline appeared:
LOCAL BUSINESSMAN ACCUSED OF FRAUD AFTER PARTNER DISAPPEARS.
The photo beside the article showed their father.
And standing next to him…
Was Daniel Cross.
But there was another person.
Someone they recognized.
Their mother.
Laura’s face went pale.
“Mom was there?”
Evelyn nodded.
“And that’s not all.”
She zoomed in.
The article mentioned a witness.
A woman who disappeared after exposing the truth.
Her name:
Sarah Bennett.
Their mother.
Suddenly, the front door slammed.
Someone was inside.
Mark grabbed the nearest object.
“Who’s there?”
No answer.
Then a voice came from the hallway.
A woman’s voice.
“Your father wasn’t the monster you think he was.”
They stepped forward.
And saw someone standing in the shadows.
A woman they had never met.
But who knew everything about their family.
May you like
She looked at Mark.
“I’m the reason your father died.”
