CHAPTER 2 — THE LIES BEGIN TO CRUMBLE
Nobody spoke first.
The music from the party continued inside.
People laughed.
Glasses clinked.
Someone started singing karaoke.
Only a single wall separated luxury from starvation.
I looked at Sarah.
"What happened?"
She lowered her head immediately.
"It's okay..."
"No."
My voice shook.
"It isn't."
Prudence suddenly laughed nervously.
"Oh Daniel, don't misunderstand."
Sarah flinched.
That tiny movement told me everything.
My sister wasn't nervous because I had arrived.
She was nervous because Sarah might finally tell the truth.
Mother quickly stepped forward.
"Daniel, sweetheart..."
"I can explain."
I slowly looked at her.
"No."
"You'll answer."
She forced out a smile.
"Sarah insisted on living back here."
My eyebrows lifted.
"She...what?"
Mother nodded confidently.
"She wanted privacy."
Prudence joined immediately.
"She said Jamie was too noisy for the guests."
Another lie.
Another effortless lie.
Then Mother added one more.
"Besides..."
"She wastes money."
I actually laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because my brain refused to believe the words I was hearing.
Sarah...
The woman who reused tea bags twice.
Who repaired old clothes instead of buying new ones.
Who skipped meals so Jamie could eat.
She wasted money?
I turned toward Sarah.
She remained silent.
Not because she agreed.
Because fear had become normal.
That terrified me more than anything.
Fear doesn't appear overnight.
It grows.
One insult.
One slap.
One humiliation at a time.
Until victims stop believing anyone will save them.
Jamie suddenly tugged my sleeve.
"Daddy..."
His voice barely existed.
"Don't make Grandma angry."
I froze.
"What?"
His little eyes filled with panic.
"If Grandma gets angry..."
"...Mom won't get dinner."
The room spun.
I slowly knelt before him.
"What did you say?"
He covered his mouth immediately.
Sarah pulled him behind her.
"It's okay..."
"It's over."
"No."
I whispered.
"It isn't over."
I stood.
Looked directly at my mother.
"When was the last time my son ate chicken?"
Nobody answered.
"When?"
Silence.
Jamie quietly counted on his fingers.
Then looked at me.
"I think..."
"...Christmas."
It was July.
My hands curled into fists.
Seven months.
Seven months inside a mansion filled with imported food...
...while my son remembered chicken like it was a birthday wish.
Then I noticed something else.
Around Prudence's wrist...
...was the gold watch I bought for Sarah three years earlier.
My heart stopped.
Around Mother's neck...
...hung Sarah's wedding necklace.
The one I had mailed from Jeddah.
The same necklace Sarah once cried over during our first anniversary.
Everything I had ever sent...
...they had stolen.
Everything.
And then the front door opened.
A loud voice echoed through the hallway.
"Mrs. Foster!"
"The mayor just arrived!"
Mother instantly smiled again.
She whispered urgently,
"Daniel."
"We'll discuss this tomorrow."
Then she leaned closer.
"But don't embarrass the family tonight."
I stared at her.
For five long seconds.
Then I smiled.
The calmest smile she had ever seen.
"You're right."
"We won't embarrass the family."
Her shoulders relaxed.
She thought she had survived.
May you like
She had no idea...
...that I had already decided to burn every lie to the ground.
Related Stories
