Chapter 6: My Mother’s Secret
My mother stared at Ethan's phone as if the name on it belonged to someone else.
Margaret Bennett.
Her name.
The woman who had hugged me that morning.
The woman who had helped Lily pin flowers into her hair.
The woman who had stood beside me while my daughter cried.
My mother.
I looked at her.
“Mom?””
She didn't answer.
“Mom, did you file the emergency motion?””
Her lips parted.
Nothing came out.
Dad stepped forward.
“Margaret, tell her.””
My mother looked at him with tears in her eyes.
“You told me it was the only way.””
My blood ran cold.
I turned toward Dad.
“The only way to do what?””
He shook his head.
“Sarah, there are things you don't understand.””
I almost screamed.
“Then stop making decisions for me and explain them!””
Lily flinched.
I immediately lowered my voice.
“I'm sorry, baby.””
She clung to my hand.
My mother finally spoke.
“I filed it.””
The words were barely audible.
I stared at her.
“Why?””
She looked at Lily.
“Because I'm trying to keep her safe.””
I let out a slow breath.
“By taking her away from me?””
“No.””
“That's exactly what the motion does.””
“It isn't permanent.””
“Neither was the agreement you hid from me.””
Her face crumpled.
“I didn't know what else to do.””
“You could have told me.””
She shook her head.
“You wouldn't have listened.””
“You didn't give me the chance.””
Dad moved toward us.
“Your mother was under enormous pressure.””
I turned on him.
“Stop defending everyone.””
He went quiet.
I pointed toward my mother.
“Mom, did you know about the accident?””
“Yes.””
“Did you know David was driving?””
She hesitated.
“Yes.””
“Did you know Clara was lying about it?””
Her eyes filled.
“Yes.””
I felt something inside me break.
“Did you know about the woman?””
My mother covered her mouth.
“Yes.””
The word came out like a confession.
I stepped backward.
“How long?””
“Since the night it happened.””
“And you never told me.””
“We thought you were better off not knowing.””
“Better off?””
I looked at Lily.
“This is what you call better?””
My mother cried.
“We were trying to protect your marriage.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
She looked toward David.
“Because we believed the case would destroy you.””
David lowered his head.
I studied him.
“You knew they were going to use Lily against us.””
He nodded.
“Yes.””
“And you still stayed.””
“I didn't know how to leave.””
I looked at my mother.
“Did you file the motion because of the woman who died?””
“No.””
“Then why?””
She reached into her purse with trembling hands.
She pulled out her phone.
“Because I received these.””
She showed me a series of messages.
The first one was dated two weeks earlier.
*You have until September 16.*
The next:
*Give us the child, or the entire file goes public.*
Another:
*Your husband is not the only person who will go down.*
Another:
*Tomorrow morning, Lily changes homes.*
My stomach twisted.
“Who sent these?””
“I don't know.””
“You never told Dad?””
“I did.””
Dad shook his head.
“She told me.””
“And what did you do?””
“I hired someone to trace the number.””
“Did you find them?””
He nodded.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
He didn't answer.
My mother looked at him.
“Tell her.””
Dad finally said, “The messages came from a phone registered to the Bennett Foundation.””
I frowned.
“Our foundation?””
“Yes.””
David stepped closer.
“Your family's charity?””
Dad nodded.
“But that doesn't make sense.””
“It does if someone inside the foundation has access to the private legal files.””
I looked at my mother.
“Who has access?””
She hesitated.
Then she whispered, “Your brother.””
I froze.
“My brother isn't even in the country.””
“He was,” Dad said.
“Was?””
“He came back last week.””
I looked between them.
“Why didn't anyone tell me?””
My father said, “Because he disappeared again.””
A strange chill ran through me.
“Where is he now?””
“We don't know.””
Ethan had been listening silently.
He finally spoke.
“This changes things.””
My mother looked at him.
“How?””
“The emergency motion may not have been filed to take Lily.””
“What do you mean?””
“It may have been filed to force everyone named in the accident to appear in court.””
My father stared at him.
“Why would anyone do that?””
“To put pressure on the people who know what actually happened.””
I looked at Ethan.
“Who?””
He turned toward my mother.
“Did your son know about the accident?””
She nodded.
“Yes.””
“Was he there that night?””
Her eyes filled.
“No.””
Dad suddenly said, “He arrived afterward.””
“When?””
“Around midnight.””
I looked at Clara.
She was sitting alone on the lobby sofa.
Her hands were locked together.
“Clara,” I said.
She looked up.
“Did you speak to him that night?””
She nodded.
“What did he say?””
“I don't remember.””
“Try.””
She closed her eyes.
“He asked where David was.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why?””
“I don't know.””
“What did he do after that?””
“He took my phone.””
Everyone went silent.
I stared at her.
“He took your phone?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“He said he needed to call Dad.””
My father looked sharply at her.
“You never told me that.””
“I was scared.””
“You keep saying that,” I whispered.
Clara looked at me.
“I know.””
Ethan turned toward my father.
“Mr. Bennett, where is your son's old phone?””
“I don't know.””
“His old phone may contain the original messages.””
Dad frowned.
“Why would it?””
“Because whoever sent the threats may have been using a cloned number.””
My mother suddenly whispered, “Wait.””
We all looked at her.
“There was one message I never showed anyone.””
She opened her phone.
Her fingers trembled as she scrolled.
Then she held the screen out.
The message was short.
*Don't let Sarah remember what happened three months ago.*
I stared at it.
“What does that mean?””
No one answered.
Then something inside my memory shifted.
Three months ago.
The night of the accident.
There was something I couldn't remember.
I had always thought it was because I had been exhausted.
But now—
I remembered waking up.
A knock at the door.
David standing in our bedroom.
His shirt was wet.
His hands were shaking.
He had asked me something.
A question.
A strange question.
*“Sarah, what did you see tonight?””*
I had told him I didn't know what he meant.
He had kissed my forehead.
Then he said I must have been dreaming.
I had forgotten about it.
Until now.
I looked at David.
“You asked me something that night.””
His face went pale.
“What?””
“You asked what I saw.””
He stopped breathing for a second.
Clara stared at him.
Dad looked away.
My mother began crying.
“You remember?””
I nodded slowly.
David's voice cracked.
“Sarah, please.””
“What happened that night?””
“I told you.””
“No.””
I stepped toward him.
“You told me there was an accident.””
“There was.””
“You told me Clara was driving.””
“I was trying to protect her.””
“You told me the woman stepped into the road.””
“Yes.””
“And you told me you weren't there.””
He said nothing.
My heartbeat thundered.
“You lied about everything.””
He looked down.
“I thought I was protecting you.””
“From what?””
He raised his eyes.
“From seeing what I saw.””
“What did you see?””
He couldn't answer.
Ethan's phone rang again.
He checked it.
His expression changed immediately.
“What's wrong?”” I asked.
He looked at my father.
Then at me.
“The emergency hearing isn't at the courthouse anymore.””
“Where is it?””
He swallowed.
“At a private family court facility.””
“When?””
“Six thirty tomorrow morning.””
I looked at the clock.
11:58 p.m.
Less than seven hours.
I felt Lily's hand in mine.
Then Ethan said something that made my heart stop.
“There's one more change.””
“What?””
“The petitioner has added a new witness.””
“Who?””
He turned his screen toward us.
A witness declaration had been uploaded minutes earlier.
The signature at the bottom was unmistakable.
David's.
I stared at my husband.
“You signed a statement against me?””
David's eyes widened.
“I didn't.””
Ethan looked at him.
“Then someone signed using your identity.””
David stepped forward.
“Let me see that.””
Ethan handed him the phone.
David read the declaration.
His hands started shaking.
“What does it say?””
David looked at me.
His face had gone completely white.
“It says…”
He swallowed.
“It says you're an unfit mother.””
I felt Lily move closer to me.
“No.””
David looked at the last page.
And suddenly his expression changed from fear to absolute horror.
“What?””
I asked.
He couldn't speak.
I grabbed the phone from him.
There was one final paragraph.
A statement claiming I had been present in the car the night of the accident.
Claiming I had witnessed everything.
Claiming I had knowingly helped conceal the truth.
And beneath it was a second signature.
Not David's.
Not mine.
Not Clara's.
My mother's.
I looked at her.
She was crying.
“Mom?””
She whispered four words.
May you like
“I had no choice.””
Then the lights in the hotel lobby went out.
