PART 5 — My Mother Finally Revealed Why She Wanted My Wife Dead
I wanted to call the police.
I wanted to expose everything.
But then I looked at Phedra.
She was too weak to be caught in the middle of a family war.
So I made a decision.
“We're going home.”
Phedra looked at me.
“Why?”
“To end this.”
Godfrey immediately shook his head.
“Don't go.”
I looked at him.
“You said Mom knows everything.”
“Yes.”
“Then I need to know what she knows.”
Godfrey grabbed my arm.
“Damian, you're not understanding.”
“What?”
“She isn't afraid of the police.”
“Why?”
“Because she has people.”
“What people?”
He hesitated.
“People who have protected this family for years.”
I stared at him.
“What kind of people?”
“Lawyers. Businessmen. Police officers.”
I felt sick.
“Corrupt people?”
He nodded.
“She knows how to make problems disappear.”
I looked at Phedra.
“Then we'll make sure she can't.”
I called Marcus.
“Record everything.”
“What?”
“Everything.”
He understood immediately.
I placed my phone inside my jacket and activated the recording.
Then I drove home with Phedra.
My mother was waiting in the living room.
She was wearing the same golden hummingbird necklace.
The necklace she had stolen from my wife.
She smiled when we entered.
“I knew you'd come.”
I said nothing.
Godfrey followed us.
My mother looked at him.
“You disappoint me.”
He lowered his head.
“You should have stayed quiet.”
I stepped forward.
“You threatened Phedra.”
“I warned you.”
“You threatened my wife.”
“She is the reason everything went wrong.”
Phedra flinched.
I moved closer to my mother.
“No.”
My voice was quiet.
“You are.”
She smiled.
“You think you understand what happened?”
“I know you stole my money.”
“That money saved this family.”
“You bought a car.”
“Godfrey needed transportation.”
“You bought a building.”
“For the family.”
“You renovated the house.”
“Your father left it to me.”
“No.”
I held up the letter.
“He didn't.”
For the first time, my mother's expression changed.
“You opened it.”
“Yes.”
She looked at Godfrey.
“You idiot.”
Godfrey said nothing.
I continued.
“Dad left money.”
My mother was silent.
“How much?”
She smiled.
“You wouldn't believe me.”
“Try me.”
“More than enough.”
“For what?”
“To change all our lives.”
“Where is it?”
She laughed.
“You've already spent some of it.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
She walked toward the window.
“Your father invested in several companies before he died.”
“How many?”
“Seven.”
I stared at her.
“And the inheritance?”
“Was transferred into accounts I controlled.”
“How much?”
She turned around.
“Almost four million dollars.”
Phedra covered her mouth.
Four million.
My entire life had been built around the belief that we were poor.
I had spent four years freezing in Canada.
My father had left millions.
My mother had hidden them.
But there was something worse.
“Why did you need my money?”
She looked at me.
“Because your father had safeguards.”
“What safeguards?”
“The money couldn't all be accessed at once.”
She smiled.
“Your father created conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“One of them required your legal involvement.”
My heart sank.
“What does that mean?”
“You were the heir.”
I stared at her.
“But you couldn't access everything until you reached a certain age.”
“I was nineteen.”
“Exactly.”
She paused.
“Your father knew I would try to take it.”
“So you hid it.”
“Yes.”
“And stole my money.”
“I borrowed it.”
“For eleven months?”
She shrugged.
“Money moves.”
I felt rage rising.
Then Phedra asked the question I couldn't.
“Why did you shave my head?”
My mother looked at her.
“Because you were becoming suspicious.”
Phedra froze.
“About what?”
“You discovered the accounts.”
My wife looked at me.
“I did?”
My mother smiled.
“You found the old documents in the storage room.”
Phedra's eyes widened.
“That wasn't why I was cleaning.”
“What?”
“I wasn't supposed to find them.”
My mother walked toward her.
“You found your father's old medical records.”
Phedra looked confused.
“His medical records?”
My mother nodded.
“You saw the discrepancy.”
“What discrepancy?”
“The cause of death.”
Silence.
I stepped forward.
“What discrepancy?”
My mother stared at me.
“Your father wasn't killed by faulty machinery.”
I already knew that.
But hearing it from her made my blood run cold.
“He was poisoned.”
Phedra gasped.
“By whom?”
My mother smiled.
“I never said I poisoned him.”
“Then who did?”
She looked directly at Godfrey.
Godfrey shook his head.
“Don't.”
My mother continued.
“Your father was going to report someone.”
“Who?”
“A business partner.”
“What did he know?”
“That millions were being stolen from one of his companies.”
I felt dizzy.
“Who stole it?”
She didn't answer.
“Mom.”
She looked at me.
“You did.”
I froze.
“What?”
“You inherited the company.”
“I don't own any company.”
“You do.”
She smiled.
“Your father transferred his controlling shares into your name.”
I couldn't breathe.
“The settlement I received…”
“Wasn't your first fortune.”
She walked toward me.
“It was simply the beginning.”
I looked at Phedra.
Then Godfrey.
Then my mother.
Everything I thought I knew about my life was collapsing.
But my mother wasn't finished.
She leaned close to me.
“You think I destroyed Phedra because I hated her.”
Her voice became a whisper.
“I destroyed her because she discovered where your father's money was hidden.”
“Where?”
My mother smiled.
“Under this house.”
I stared at the floor.
Then I heard a loud crash from outside.
We all turned.
The front window shattered.
Phedra screamed.
A bullet struck the wall beside my head.
Godfrey pulled me down.
“Get away from the windows!”
Another shot.
Then another.
My mother stood frozen.
For the first time, she looked genuinely terrified.
I looked at her.
“Who is doing this?”
She whispered:
“The people your father was trying to expose.”
Then she looked toward the basement door.
And said something that made my heart stop.
“They're here for the money.”
The basement door slowly began to open.
