Chapter 18 - THE LAST BETRAYAL
I drove straight to my mother's house.
She wasn't there.
The front door was unlocked.
I entered.
Everything looked normal.
Too normal.
Then I saw the Christmas tree.
Leah's handmade gift to Grandma was still underneath it.
I picked it up.
It was wrapped in red paper.
My daughter had written:
FOR GRANDMA.
I remembered the night Leah had given it to her.
My mother hadn't opened it.
She had put it aside.
I tore off the wrapping.
Inside was a wooden picture frame.
A photograph of Leah and me.
Underneath it, Leah had written:
My favorite family.
My eyes filled with tears.
Then I noticed something behind the photograph.
A tiny memory card.
I inserted it into my phone.
A video opened.
My mother was sitting at the kitchen table.
She looked directly into the camera.
"Graham."
I stopped breathing.
"If you're watching this, then I've run out of time."
She took a breath.
"I lied."
I closed my eyes.
"About everything?"
She shook her head.
"Not everything."
She looked exhausted.
"I knew Arthur was alive."
"I knew he was Leah's biological father."
"And I knew he wanted her."
"But there is one thing you don't know."
She leaned closer.
"I was the person who originally contacted Arthur."
I froze.
"What?"
She continued.
"Years ago, I was desperate."
"I had debts."
"Your father was losing the business."
"And Arthur offered us money."
I stared at the screen.
"In exchange, he wanted access to adoption records."
She began crying.
"I said yes."
I whispered:
"Mom."
She continued.
"I thought I was only giving him paperwork."
"I didn't know children would disappear."
"By the time I understood, it was too late."
She looked down.
"Your grandfather found out."
"He threatened to expose me."
"I begged him not to."
"He told me one thing."
Protect Graham.
The recording paused.
Then my mother said:
"So I did the only thing I knew."
"I made you hate me."
I stared.
"The Christmas dinner..."
"Yes."
"The chair."
"Yes."
"You deliberately humiliated Leah."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I knew Arthur was watching."
She wiped her tears.
"If you publicly rejected the family, Arthur would believe you had activated the trust."
"He would think you were vulnerable."
"And he would come after you."
My hands shook.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because Arthur had people everywhere."
She whispered:
"I didn't know who I could trust."
The video continued.
"Then Leah gave me that gift."
My mother's expression broke.
"She called me Grandma."
She started crying.
"I couldn't do it anymore."
She looked directly into the camera.
"I wanted to save her."
I stared.
"Then who took the photograph?"
My mother answered.
"I did."
"But I wasn't threatening her."
"I was trying to prove she was being watched."
She paused.
"And I found something."
A document appeared.
A bank transfer.
The recipient was:
ARTHUR VOSS PRIVATE FOUNDATION.
The amount was enormous.
The date was three weeks ago.
But the sender wasn't my mother.
It was...
MY FATHER.
I stared at the screen.
"No."
The video continued.
"Your father has been paying Arthur for twenty years."
I couldn't breathe.
"Not to protect Michael."
"Not to protect me."
"Not to protect you."
She whispered:
"To protect himself."
The screen went black.
I stood in silence.
My father had lied again.
I called him.
No answer.
Then a message appeared on my phone.
You finally know.
Another message followed.
Come alone.
Then the location.
The old family cemetery.
I looked at Michael.
"Stay here."
He shook his head.
"No."
I stared at him.
"I know where he's going."
"Where?"
He pointed at the screen.
"The cemetery."
"How do you know?"
May you like
Michael's face went pale.
"Because Arthur took me there."
