Chapter 3 - The Secret Rachel Was Afraid To Reveal
The woman standing outside my front door whispered: "Rachel, I think they finally found out."
Rachel stepped backward.
Her face lost all color.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The woman standing outside wasn't a stranger.
It was Linda.
Rachel's closest friend.
The same person who had been sitting at my dining table minutes earlier.
But now she looked completely different.
She wasn't confident.
She wasn't relaxed.
She looked worried.
Rachel stared at her.
"What are you doing here?"
Linda glanced behind Rachel.
She saw all of us watching.
Then she lowered her voice.
"We need to talk."
Rachel immediately stepped outside and closed the door halfway.
But not before I noticed something.
Fear.
Real fear.
Not the kind Rachel showed when she was angry.
Something deeper.
Something she couldn't control.
I looked at my husband.
He looked back at me.
Neither of us understood what was happening.
A few minutes later, Rachel walked back inside.
Linda followed.
Nobody said anything.
Rachel slowly returned to her chair.
But she didn't sit the same way anymore.
The woman who had walked into my house twenty minutes earlier like she owned the place was gone.
Now she looked like someone who had just discovered the ground beneath her was moving.
I looked at her.
"Rachel, what's going on?"
She stared at the table.
"I didn't want this to happen."
My mother looked confused.
"What didn't you want?"
Rachel didn't answer.
Linda sat beside her.
Then she looked at me.
"I think you deserve to know the truth."
My heart started beating faster.
Because I had spent the entire evening thinking the truth was simple.
Rachel was taking advantage of my mother.
She was wrong.
She needed to apologize.
But now I realized there was something else.
Something Rachel had been hiding.
Linda took a breath.
"Rachel didn't tell you everything about why she kept bringing the kids here."
I looked at Rachel.
She immediately looked away.
"What does that mean?"
Linda hesitated.
Then she said:
"Rachel wasn't just leaving the kids with your mother because she wanted free babysitting."
The room became silent.
My mother looked at Rachel.
"Then why?"
Rachel closed her eyes.
For the first time, she looked ashamed.
"I was embarrassed."
I waited.
She continued.
"After my divorce..."
I froze.
"Your divorce?"
Rachel nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Nobody had known.
Not even us.
She had hidden it.
Rachel and her husband had always appeared perfect from the outside.
They posted family pictures.
They went on vacations.
They smiled at gatherings.
But apparently, behind closed doors, everything had fallen apart.
"My husband left months ago," she whispered.
My husband looked shocked.
"Rachel..."
She shook her head.
"I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want people feeling sorry for me."
I watched her carefully.
This didn't erase what she had done.
But suddenly, the situation became more complicated.
Rachel continued.
"When he left, I had to work more hours."
She looked at my mother.
"I needed someone to watch the kids."
My mother's expression softened.
"But why didn't you tell me?"
Rachel looked down.
"Because I knew you would worry."
My mother sighed.
"I already worried."
That sentence made Rachel look up.
Because sometimes the truth hurts more when it comes from someone who loves you.
"I thought if I admitted I couldn't handle everything, everyone would think I failed," Rachel said.
Nobody spoke.
Then she added:
"So I convinced myself it wasn't a big deal."
I leaned back.
There it was.
The excuse.
The thing people tell themselves when they don't want to face what they are doing.
"It's not a big deal."
But it was.
It had been a big deal to my mother.
It had been a big deal every morning when she woke up tired.
Every afternoon when her back hurt.
Every night when she cleaned after everyone left.
I looked at Rachel.
"Why didn't you ask for help?"
She looked at me.
"I did."
I frowned.
"When?"
Rachel pointed at my mother.
"She was the only person who never made me feel like a burden."
My mother looked surprised.
Rachel continued.
"Everyone else had advice. Everyone else had opinions."
Her voice became quieter.
"But Mom just helped."
The room changed.
Because now I understood something.
Rachel hadn't only taken advantage of my mother.
She had also been drowning.
But instead of asking for help honestly...
She hid.
She pretended.
And my mother paid the price.
I reached across the table.
"Rachel, you should have told us."
She nodded.
"I know."
"That doesn't excuse what you did."
"I know."
For once, she didn't argue.
She didn't defend herself.
She just admitted it.
My mother looked at her.
"Rachel."
Rachel looked up.
"I'm sorry."
Those two words were quiet.
Almost impossible for Rachel to say.
But she said them.
"I am really sorry."
My mother looked emotional.
"I wish you had just told me."
Rachel wiped her eyes.
"I was scared."
I believed her.
But then Linda suddenly interrupted.
"That's not the only thing."
Everyone turned.
Linda looked uncomfortable.
Rachel immediately looked at her.
"Linda."
"No."
Linda shook her head.
"She needs to know."
My stomach tightened.
"Know what?"
Linda looked at me.
Then at my mother.
"Rachel wasn't only hiding the divorce."
Rachel stood up.
"Stop."
Linda ignored her.
"She was hiding the reason she needed more time away from home."
The room went silent.
Rachel's face changed.
"Linda, don't."
But Linda continued.
"Because someone has been threatening her."
My breath caught.
"What?"
Rachel looked furious.
"That is enough."
Linda stood.
"No, Rachel. You can't keep protecting everyone while pretending you're fine."
I looked between them.
"Who is threatening you?"
Rachel didn't answer.
Her hands were shaking.
My husband stood up.
"Rachel."
She finally looked at us.
Then she said something that made everyone freeze.
"It's my ex-husband."
Nobody moved.
The room became completely silent.
My mother whispered:
"Why would he threaten you?"
Rachel looked down.
"Because he wants the children."
I felt a chill.
"What does that have to do with Mom?"
Rachel swallowed.
"Because he knows I need someone to watch them."
Linda nodded.
"And he knows exactly where the children are every day."
I looked at my mother.
A horrible thought entered my mind.
"Wait..."
Rachel looked at me.
"He knows your mother."
I stared at her.
"What?"
Rachel's eyes filled with fear.
"He came here before."
My mother's face changed.
She looked confused.
"Who came here?"
Rachel didn't answer.
Instead, she reached into her purse.
She pulled out her phone.
Then she showed us a message.
The number was unknown.
The message only had one sentence.
"Stop hiding the children at her house."
My blood went cold.
Because there was something else attached.
A photo.
Rachel enlarged it.
And everyone at the table stopped breathing.
It was a picture taken from outside my mother's kitchen window.
My mother.
The children.
All inside the house.
Someone had been watching them.
I looked at Rachel.
"How long has this been happening?"
She didn't answer.
Her silence told me everything.
"Rachel."
She slowly looked toward the hallway.
Then she whispered:
"Since the day you found them here."
A sudden sound came from outside.
A car door closing.
Everyone froze.
Rachel grabbed her phone.
Her face turned pale.
"No..."
I stood up.
"Who is it?"
Rachel looked at the front window.
Then she whispered a name.
A name nobody in that room expected to hear.
"He's here..."
May you like
She walked toward the window.
And the front door handle slowly began to turn.
