Chapter 4 - The Man Standing Outside My Mother's House
The front door handle moved slowly.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody breathed.
For a few seconds, all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat.
Rachel stood frozen near the window.
My mother immediately moved closer to the children.
It was instinct.
Even after everything, even after being exhausted for months, her first thought was still protecting them.
I saw that.
And it broke my heart.
Because my mother had spent her entire life taking care of other people.
And now someone had turned that kindness into a weakness.
My husband stepped between the living room and the front door.
"Rachel," he whispered.
She shook her head.
"No."
Her voice was barely audible.
"Don't open it."
The handle stopped moving.
Everyone looked at the door.
Then came three slow knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
The children became quiet.
Even they could feel something was wrong.
My youngest niece grabbed my mother's hand.
"Grandma..."
My mother squeezed her fingers.
"It's okay."
But I knew she was lying.
The same way she always lied when she said she was fine.
I looked at Rachel.
"Is that him?"
She didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Her face already told me.
Linda stood beside her.
"Rachel..."
Rachel closed her eyes.
"I never wanted this to happen."
I stepped closer.
"What exactly have you been hiding?"
She looked at me.
And for the first time since I met her, she looked completely defeated.
"I thought I could handle it."
"Handle what?"
She looked toward the door.
"Him."
Another knock.
This time harder.
My husband moved toward the door.
Rachel immediately grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
He looked at her.
"Rachel, if someone is threatening you, we need to know who it is."
She released his arm.
But she still looked terrified.
"His name is Daniel."
I waited.
Nothing.
The name meant nothing to me.
But Rachel's reaction meant everything.
"Daniel is your ex-husband?"
She nodded.
"He wasn't always like this."
That sentence made me uncomfortable.
Because people usually said that when they were trying to explain something they didn't want to admit.
"What happened?" I asked.
Rachel looked down.
"When we separated, he didn't accept it."
Linda crossed her arms.
"He kept saying Rachel was taking the kids away from him."
Rachel continued.
"He started showing up."
"At your house?"
She nodded.
"At my work. At the children's school."
My mother looked shocked.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Rachel looked at her.
"Because I knew you would worry."
My mother sighed.
"Rachel, I was already worrying."
The sadness in her voice was impossible to ignore.
Rachel looked away.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been bothering me.
"If he knew the children were here, why didn't you stop bringing them?"
Rachel looked at me.
And her answer surprised me.
"Because he never came near them when they were with your mother."
I frowned.
"What?"
She nodded.
"Your mother was the one place he didn't want to create a scene."
I looked at my mother.
She didn't understand.
"Why?"
Rachel hesitated.
Then she said:
"Because he respected her."
The room became silent.
That was the strangest part.
The man who was frightening Rachel...
The man who had been watching the house...
Was afraid of my mother?
I didn't understand.
But before I could ask, my phone suddenly rang.
Everyone looked at me.
Unknown number.
My stomach tightened.
I answered.
"Hello?"
Nobody spoke.
Only silence.
Then a man's voice came through.
"You have something that belongs to me."
I froze.
My husband immediately noticed.
"Who is it?"
I didn't answer.
The voice continued.
"I know Rachel is there."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"Who are you?"
A quiet laugh.
"She didn't tell you everything, did she?"
I looked at Rachel.
Her face changed.
She knew.
The man continued.
"Ask her about the envelope."
My heart skipped.
"What envelope?"
Silence.
Then:
"The one she took from my house."
The call ended.
I slowly lowered the phone.
Everyone stared at me.
Rachel looked terrified.
"What did he say?"
I looked at her.
"He asked about an envelope."
Her face went completely pale.
Not confused.
Not surprised.
Terrified.
"What envelope, Rachel?"
She didn't answer.
My husband stepped forward.
"Rachel."
She backed away.
"I didn't take anything."
Nobody said anything.
Because her reaction was louder than words.
Linda looked at her.
"Rachel..."
Rachel covered her face.
"I was going to fix it."
My voice became colder.
"Fix what?"
She looked at me.
Then at my mother.
"I'm sorry."
I hated those words.
Not because they were wrong.
Because they came too late.
"What did you take?"
Rachel walked toward her purse.
Slowly.
Like she was afraid of what she would find.
She opened it.
Her hands were shaking.
Then she pulled out a small brown envelope.
The room went silent.
My mother looked at it.
"I've seen that before."
Everyone turned.
"What?"
My mother looked confused.
"It was in my kitchen."
I stared at her.
"When?"
She thought for a moment.
"A few weeks ago."
My heart started racing.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
She looked embarrassed.
"Because I thought Rachel forgot it."
Rachel looked at the envelope.
"I didn't forget it."
She swallowed.
"I found it at Daniel's house."
The room became colder.
"What was inside?"
Rachel didn't answer.
She slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a stack of papers.
She looked at the first page.
Then her hands started shaking.
"What?"
Linda stood beside her.
"What does it say?"
Rachel looked up.
Her eyes were full of fear.
"It isn't about me."
I frowned.
"Then who is it about?"
Rachel stared at my mother.
Nobody moved.
My mother's expression changed.
Because somehow...
She already knew.
"Mom?"
My mother slowly sat down.
Her face became pale.
"I was hoping you would never find out."
My heart stopped.
"What are you talking about?"
She looked at the envelope.
Then whispered:
"Daniel wasn't watching Rachel."
A silence filled the room.
"He was watching me."
Nobody spoke.
The children were sent upstairs with my husband.
Linda covered her mouth.
Rachel stared at my mother.
"Why would he watch you?"
My mother looked toward the window.
Like she was remembering something from years ago.
Then she whispered:
"Because he knows something about my past."
I felt a chill.
"What past?"
My mother looked at me.
And the sadness in her eyes scared me more than anything.
"I never told you about the day your father disappeared."
I froze.
My father.
A man I had barely remembered.
A man everyone said had simply left.
"What does my father have to do with Daniel?"
My mother looked at the envelope again.
Then at the front door.
Because suddenly...
The person outside wasn't the biggest secret anymore.
The secret was inside the house.
My mother reached for the papers.
But before she could touch them, her phone buzzed.
She looked at the screen.
Then she dropped it.
I picked it up.
There was one message.
One photo.
And a sentence underneath.
"Your mother has been lying to you for 30 years."
I looked at the picture.
It was an old family photo.
My father was standing beside my mother.
But someone had been cut out of the image.
Someone standing between them.
May you like
And written on the back of the photo was a name I had never heard before...
"
