Chapter 4: The Truth Evelyn Kept
For the first time since I met Nia, she looked afraid.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Afraid.
"What hospital?""
She didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
"Nia.""
She sat down.
"Marcus, I can explain.""
"Then explain.""
Diane stood.
"Maybe this conversation should wait.""
I turned toward her.
"No.""
My voice was calm.
And that scared even me.
"Nobody leaves until I understand why my mother wrote that.""
Nia covered her face.
"I didn't want you to know.""
"Know what?""
She looked at me.
Then she said:
"I had a medical issue last year.""
I waited.
"And?""
"I couldn't afford the treatment.""
I frowned.
"We had insurance.""
"It wasn't covered.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
She cried.
"I was embarrassed.""
I stared at her.
"You hid a serious problem from me?""
"I didn't want to be a burden.""
The words sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
Because they were the same words my mother used.
I lowered my voice.
"How does my mother know?""
Nia looked down.
"She found out.""
"When?""
"Months ago.""
"And she never told me?""
"No.""
"Why?""
Nia swallowed.
"Because she asked me not to.""
I froze.
"What?""
Nia looked toward the stairs.
"Your mother helped me.""
The anger inside me suddenly became confusion.
"What do you mean?""
"She paid for part of my treatment.""
I couldn't speak.
"My mother?""
Nia nodded.
"She sold her jewelry.""
My chest tightened.
The woman Nia wanted gone had sacrificed for her.
"When?""
"Before she moved in.""
I sat down slowly.
Everything shifted.
My mother hadn't been trying to control my marriage.
She had been protecting my wife.
Then why had Nia treated her like a stranger?
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Nia cried.
"Because your mother made me promise.""
"Why would she do that?""
"She said you would blame me for struggling.""
I closed my eyes.
Because I knew my mother.
She would rather suffer silently than make someone else feel guilty.
But there was still one question.
"Then why did you try to make her leave?""
Nia looked broken.
"I was scared.""
"Of what?""
She whispered:
"That she would tell you.""
The room went silent.
"Tell me what?""
Nia didn't answer.
I already knew.
There was another secret.
A bigger one.
"What did she know?""
Nia looked at the floor.
And finally said:
"The money for my treatment didn't come from my account.""
I stared.
"What?""
"My mother transferred money into my account after she found out.""
"Diane?""
Nia nodded.
"She wanted me to pay your mother back.""
I didn't understand.
"Why would that be a secret?""
Nia's eyes filled with tears.
"Because she didn't just transfer money.""
My heart started beating faster.
"What did she do?""
Nia whispered:
"She made me sign something.""
I waited.
"Something that said if anything happened to you, she would control the house.""
I felt the air leave my lungs.
"What?""
Nia looked up.
"Marcus, your mother found the paperwork.""
Suddenly everything made sense.
The bedroom.
The pressure.
The urgency.
Diane didn't want my mother gone because of space.
She wanted her gone because my mother knew.
I turned toward the living room.
"Diane.""
She wasn't there.
The front door was open.
She had left.
But on the table was a folder.
A folder I had never seen before.
I opened it.
Inside was a copy of a legal document.
May you like
And at the bottom was a signature.
My wife's signature.
