Chapter 13 - THE PERSON EVERYONE BLAMED
I didn't want to believe Deline.
But I couldn't ignore her.
She asked me to meet her.
Alone.
At the old flower shop.
The same place where everything started.
When I walked inside, I saw her sitting among empty shelves.
The confidence was gone.
The arrogance.
The attitude.
Just a tired woman.
"You came."
"Talk."
She nodded.
"I found old records."
"What records?"
"From when Dad was alive."
I froze.
Her father.
The man everyone remembered as kind.
Successful.
Perfect.
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to know why Mom became this way."
She opened a box.
Inside were old papers.
"I found letters."
I read the first page.
And my hands went cold.
The handwriting belonged to my father-in-law.
The letters revealed everything.
He had built a business empire.
But he had also built it on control.
He controlled money.
Decisions.
People.
And when he died...
Everyone continued the same behavior.
Because that was all they knew.
"Mom wasn't born this way."
Deline whispered.
"She learned it."
I looked at her.
"And you?"
She looked down.
"I learned from her."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then she said:
"I am sorry for what I did to Renley."
The apology was simple.
No excuse.
No explanation.
Just regret.
I believed she meant it.
But forgiveness wasn't something I could hand out because someone finally felt bad.
"She needs to hear that from you."
Deline nodded.
"I know."
When I returned home, Callum was waiting.
"We need to talk."
I sighed.
"What now?"
He held out his phone.
"It's the bank."
My heart sank.
"What happened?"
"The investigation is complete."
"And?"
He looked at me.
"They found enough evidence."
"Against who?"
He answered:
"My mother."
I closed my eyes.
After everything...
it was finally happening.
The truth was no longer something they could hide.
The next week changed everything.
The family that spent years pretending nothing was wrong was forced to face every decision.
Every signature.
Every lie.
And the hardest part?
Everyone finally had to admit what I already knew.
May you like
The problem wasn't one bad moment.
It was years of choosing silence.
