Chapter 9 - The $80,000 Secret
Mom hadn't helped plan the crime.
But she had accepted money.
Eighty thousand dollars.
Trevor told her it was an advance against his future divorce settlement.
She used part of it to pay debts.
She never told me.
When confronted, she admitted she knew Trevor planned to leave me for Hailey.
She knew before Vegas.
"How long?"
My voice barely worked.
"Three weeks."
Hailey stood beside me.
"You knew?"
Mom cried.
"He said Claire already knew."
"And you didn't call her?"
Hailey asked the question I had asked her.
Mom had no answer.
That was the day Hailey understood me completely.
Not because Trevor had deceived her.
Because our mother had made the same choice.
Believe whatever story allowed her to avoid protecting Claire.
I asked my parents to leave.
Dad tried to argue.
I opened the door.
"No."
One word.
May you like
Strange how powerful small words become when you've spent your life saying yes.
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