Chapter 13 - The Last LieMargaret held a remote control.
The television in the corner flickered on.
Mom appeared on screen.
Alive.
Sitting in the same chair where I had watched her drink tea for years.
Paige covered her mouth.
“Mom.”
The recording began.
“My girls.”
My chest broke.
“I don't know how much time you'll have when you see this.”
Mom smiled sadly.
“But I know this much.”
“You are both angry.”
Paige started crying.
“And you have both been lied to.”
Mom continued.
“Clara, you believe Paige chose cruelty.”
“Paige, you believe Clara chose you over everyone.”
“Both of you are wrong.”
I looked at my sister.
Mom kept speaking.
“You were children inside a war you never started.”
Margaret shook her head.
“She manipulated you even after death.”
I ignored her.
Mom continued.
“Margaret believes I left her with nothing.”
The video changed.
Bank records.
Property deeds.
Photographs.
“She's wrong.”
Margaret stepped forward.
“Turn it off.”
The screen showed a signed legal document.
Margaret had inherited nothing.
Not because Mom hated her.
Because Mom had discovered that Margaret had been siphoning money from the family foundation for twenty years.
Margaret screamed.
“You don't understand!”
Mom's recording continued.
“I knew you would blame Paige.”
Margaret stared at the screen.
“I knew you would use Marcus.”
“I knew you would try to destroy Clara.”
Margaret dropped the remote.
“And I knew you would eventually come to this house.”
I looked at my sister.
Paige's eyes widened.
“The wedding,” she whispered.
Mom had planned it.
Not because she wanted revenge.
Because she knew Margaret couldn't resist the final piece.
Her own daughter.
Her favorite weapon.
Paige.
Mom's voice continued.
“Paige, if you are wearing white when you hear this, it means you still need the room to notice you.”
Paige covered her face.
“I am not ashamed of you.”
Mom's voice softened.
“But I need you to understand something.”
“Attention is not love.”
“Being chosen is not winning.”
“And your sister's success is not your failure.”
Paige sobbed.
Then Mom turned toward the camera.
“And Clara.”
I looked at the screen.
“You don't get to save everyone.”
I froze.
“You especially don't get to spend your life paying for your sister's mistakes.”
Tears slipped down my face.
“She needs to choose her own way back.”
The video stopped.
Margaret stared at the screen.
Then she looked at Paige.
“You ruined everything.”
Paige looked at her.
“No.”
Her voice was strangely calm.
“You did.”
Margaret's expression hardened.
She rushed toward Paige.
I stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Margaret stopped.
Ethan called the police.
Sirens appeared in the distance.
Margaret stared at me.
“You think this fixes everything?”
“No.”
I looked at Paige.
“It doesn't.”
Paige nodded.
“But the truth is a beginning.”
Margaret laughed.
“You think your mother won?”
I looked at her.
“No.”
“She lost.”
“No.”
“She died knowing her family would tear itself apart.”
I held up the envelope.
“She died believing we'd have a chance.”
Margaret's face changed.
For one moment, I saw something almost like regret.
Then she whispered:
“She was always sentimental.”
“No.”
I closed the letter.
“She was always strategic.”
Police lights flashed across the windows.
Margaret was arrested.
Marcus surrendered.
Aunt Denise was taken in for questioning.
My father disappeared before the police arrived.
Again.
But this time, I knew where he was.
He left me one message.
I am sorry I chose fear instead of courage.
I didn't forgive him.
Not yet.
But for the first time, I wanted to.
Then Paige took my hand.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked at her.
“I know.”
“No.”
She squeezed my fingers.
“You don't know everything.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked toward the door.
“There's one thing Mom never told us.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
Paige whispered:
“She wasn't protecting us from Dad.”
“She was protecting Dad from someone else.”
I stared at her.
“Who?”
May you like
Paige looked toward the dark window.
“Me.”
