Chapter 8: The Mother I Never Knew
The video froze.
My father’s face remained on the screen.
His eyes.
His expression.
The small scar above his eyebrow that I remembered from childhood.
Everything about him felt real.
Too real.
After twenty years of believing I would never hear his voice again, I was finally looking at him.
And the first thing he did was reveal another impossible truth.
My mother helped him disappear.
My mother.
The woman everyone told me died when I was young.
The woman whose photograph sat beside my father’s on the small shelf in my childhood bedroom.
The woman whose face I barely remembered.
I looked at Harold.
Then Victor.
Then Derrick.
Nobody had an answer.
And that scared me.
Because everyone had known pieces of my life except me.
“What does that mean?””
My voice cracked.
“What does he mean my mother helped him?””
Nobody spoke.
The video remained paused.
My father frozen in time.
Victor took the phone gently from my hand.
“Let’s watch the rest.””
I nodded.
My hands felt numb.
He pressed play.
The video continued.
My father looked older than the man in my memories.
But his voice was the same.
“Naomi, if you’re watching this, then Harold finally gave you the letter.””
He paused.
“I’m sorry it took so long.””
I sat down slowly.
Because suddenly I couldn’t stand.
“I know you believe I abandoned you.””
My eyes filled.
“But that was never true.””
The room became silent.
“I need you to understand what happened.””
My father looked away from the camera.
Like he was gathering courage.
“Your mother discovered something before I did.””
Harold stepped closer.
“Something about Patricia?””
The video continued.
“Patricia Bennett wasn’t working alone.””
A chill moved through me.
“My wife discovered that Richard Bennett and Patricia were moving money from companies they controlled.””
Derrick’s face changed.
His father.
His mother.
Both involved.
“My wife found evidence.””
My father continued.
“And when they realized she knew, they came after her.””
I covered my mouth.
My mother.
The woman I barely remembered.
The woman I thought life simply took away.
She had been fighting.
“She knew they would come after me next.””
My father looked directly into the camera.
“So she made a choice.””
The screen flickered.
“She helped me disappear.””
A tear rolled down my cheek.
“Why?””
The question escaped my lips even though nobody could answer.
My father answered from the screen.
“Because if they thought I was gone, they would stop looking for me.””
He took a breath.
“But if they knew Naomi had access to everything I built…”
The video paused for a second.
“They would use her to find me.””
My heart tightened.
My father wasn’t hiding from me.
He was hiding from them.
The video continued.
“Your mother stayed behind to protect you.””
I closed my eyes.
The memories came back.
A woman’s perfume.
A soft voice singing.
A hand brushing my hair.
Small pieces of a person I thought I lost forever.
“She made them believe she disappeared.””
My eyes opened.
“Wait.””
I looked at Harold.
“My mother didn’t die?””
Harold looked down.
“No.””
The word broke something inside me.
“No?””
He shook his head.
“She was alive when Marcus recorded this.””
I stood.
“How long?””
Nobody answered.
“How long was she alive?””
Harold looked at Victor.
Victor’s expression was heavy.
“Naomi…”
“How long?””
Harold finally said:
“Until three years ago.””
The room spun.
Three years.
The same year Derrick left.
The same year my entire life collapsed.
The same year I thought I lost everything.
My mother was alive.
Somewhere.
And nobody told me.
I turned toward Derrick.
He looked horrified.
“You knew?””
He immediately shook his head.
“No.””
“Did your family know?””
“I don’t know.””
That answer wasn’t enough anymore.
I looked at him.
“You always say you don’t know.””
He flinched.
Because he knew I was right.
Victor stepped forward.
“Naomi, we need to focus.””
I looked at him.
He was right.
But my heart was racing.
My father.
My mother.
Derrick’s family.
Twenty years of lies.
The video continued.
My father’s voice became softer.
“Naomi, there is one thing I need you to know.””
I looked back at the screen.
“I never stopped watching over you.””
The tears came faster now.
“I saw your graduation.””
A breath.
“I saw you get your first apartment.””
Another pause.
“I saw you marry Derrick.””
The room became tense.
“I wanted to come home that day.””
Derrick looked down.
“But I knew I couldn’t.””
My father’s expression changed.
“I saw the way he looked at you.””
Derrick froze.
“He loved you.””
A pause.
“But he was afraid.””
I looked at Derrick.
My father continued.
“And fear makes people make choices they regret.””
Derrick closed his eyes.
Because my father had seen him.
Not just the man he became.
The man he was.
Then my father said:
“But someone else was controlling the situation.””
Harold stepped closer.
“Who?””
The video continued.
“Richard Bennett.””
Derrick looked up.
“My father?””
“Yes.””
My father’s voice was clear.
“Richard discovered Derrick knew the truth.””
The room became still.
“Derrick was given a choice.””
My chest tightened.
“What choice?””
The answer came from the screen.
“Protect Naomi.””
A pause.
“Or protect his family.””
Everyone looked at Derrick.
His face broke.
Because now there was no hiding.
My father knew.
He knew everything.
The video continued.
“Derrick chose his family.””
Derrick whispered:
“I was scared.””
Nobody responded.
My father’s voice continued.
“But I don’t blame him.””
I stared at the screen.
How could my father forgive someone who hurt me?
Then he said something I never expected.
“Because Naomi doesn’t need revenge.””
The room became quiet.
“She needs freedom.””
I looked at Victor.
He looked back at me.
Because that was exactly why he loved me.
Not because I won.
Not because I proved everyone wrong.
Because I was still me.
The video ended with my father looking directly into the camera.
“One day, Naomi, you will have to choose.””
My breath caught.
“Choose whether you want the truth…”
A pause.
“Or whether you want peace.””
The screen went black.
Nobody moved.
Then Derrick spoke.
Quietly.
“I’m sorry.””
I looked at him.
Really looked at him.
The man who broke my heart.
The man who hid the truth.
The man who still had pieces of the person I once loved.
“I know.””
His eyes filled.
“But I need you to know something.””
“What?””
He swallowed.
“I didn’t leave because I stopped loving you.””
The words hurt.
Because once, they would have saved me.
Now they were only a memory.
“I left because my father threatened you.””
Everything stopped.
“What?””
Derrick looked at Harold.
Then at me.
“He told me if I didn’t end the marriage, he would destroy everything connected to you.””
My heart pounded.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because he showed me documents.””
“What documents?””
“Bank records.””
He looked ashamed.
“He made it look like your father’s company was about to collapse.””
I stared.
“He lied.””
“Yes.””
“And you believed him?””
Derrick looked away.
“I was twenty-nine.””
I shook my head.
“You were my husband.””
“I know.””
The answer was quiet.
“I know.””
For once, he wasn’t defending himself.
And somehow that hurt more.
Then Victor’s phone rang again.
This time, the number wasn’t unknown.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“Naomi.””
“What?””
He turned the phone toward me.
A message from a hospital.
An emergency contact request.
The name attached to it made my heart stop.
*Marcus Carter.*
My father.
Alive.
The message contained one sentence.
*Your father woke up. He asked for Naomi.*
I couldn’t move.
After twenty years.
After every lie.
After every secret.
My father was waiting for me.
But beneath the message was another line.
A warning.
*Security footage shows someone arrived at the hospital before you.*
I looked at Victor.
“Who?””
He stared at the screen.
Then slowly answered.
“The same person who sent the video.””
My stomach dropped.
“Who?””
Victor looked at me.
May you like
And his expression told me I already knew the answer.
“Your mother.””
