CHAPTER 5: THE WOMAN MY MOTHER FEARED
I didn't go home that night.
I drove.
That was all I could do.
I drove through streets I had known my entire life, but everything looked different.
The buildings.
The roads.
The places where I had created memories.
They all felt like scenes from a story someone else had written.
Because that was the cruelest part about discovering a hidden truth.
The past doesn't change.
But the way you see it does.
Every moment becomes suspicious.
Every conversation gains a second meaning.
Every smile hides a question.
And mine had one name.
Evelyn Cross.
At 2:17 in the morning, I parked outside my parents' house.
I sat in the car for nearly twenty minutes.
I didn't know what I was afraid of.
Maybe I was afraid my mother would confirm everything.
Maybe I was afraid she wouldn't.
Because if she knew...
Then I had spent ten years being the only person who didn't.
Finally, I walked to the door.
My mother opened it before I knocked.
She looked exhausted.
Like she had been waiting.
"Nathan."
I froze.
"How did you know I was here?"
She looked away.
"I know my son."
The answer sounded familiar.
Too familiar.
Like something Evelyn would say.
I entered the house.
My mother made tea.
A habit from my childhood.
Whenever something serious happened, she made tea.
As if warm cups could hold broken pieces of a family together.
Maybe sometimes they could.
This time, I wasn't sure.
"Mom."
She looked up.
"Yes?"
"Who is Evelyn Cross?"
The question made her hand stop.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
That tiny hesitation.
The same hesitation I had seen from Evelyn.
The same hesitation from my father.
Everyone knew something.
Everyone except me.
"Why are you asking?"
"Because I found out she knew Dad before she knew me."
My mother's expression changed.
Not surprise.
Sadness.
"Nathan..."
"Please."
I sat across from her.
"I need the truth."
She looked toward the window.
Then she whispered:
"Your father wanted to tell you."
I frowned.
"Tell me what?"
"Everything."
"Then why didn't he?"
My mother looked at me.
"Because he was afraid."
"Of what?"
A long silence.
"Of losing you."
I felt my chest tighten.
"My father was afraid of losing me because of Evelyn?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"Because of what Evelyn represented."
I didn't understand.
"Explain."
My mother held her cup with both hands.
"When you were young, your father made mistakes."
"My father?"
"Yes."
That surprised me.
My father had always been my hero.
A quiet man.
A hardworking man.
A man who worked twelve-hour days and came home exhausted just to help me with homework.
"He wasn't a bad person," my mother said quickly.
"But he wasn't perfect."
"What happened?"
She looked down.
"Your father trusted the wrong people."
"Victor Cross."
She nodded.
"After Victor betrayed him, your father became obsessed with fixing everything."
"Why?"
"Because he believed he had failed our family."
I remembered my father's silence during those years.
The late nights.
The stress.
The way he stared at paperwork at the kitchen table.
"I thought it was because of the company."
"It was."
My mother paused.
"But it was also because of Evelyn."
I looked up.
"What about her?"
My mother's eyes became distant.
"She came to our house one night."
"When?"
"Before your college started."
My heart stopped.
Before college.
Before the library.
Before everything.
"What did she want?"
"She wanted to know if your father was safe."
"Safe?"
"She said someone was looking for him."
"Who?"
My mother didn't answer.
"Mom."
She closed her eyes.
"I don't know."
That was the first time I heard fear in her voice.
Real fear.
"Why did you love her then?"
The question came out before I could stop it.
My mother looked confused.
"What?"
"You always said Evelyn was like a daughter."
A sad smile appeared.
"Because she was."
That hurt.
"How can you say that after knowing she hid all this?"
My mother looked at me.
"Nathan, you don't understand."
"Then help me understand."
She sighed.
"When Evelyn came into our lives, she was broken."
"Broken?"
"Her father abandoned her."
I froze.
"Abandoned?"
"After the investigation, Victor disappeared. Evelyn was left alone."
I thought about Evelyn.
Her confidence.
Her control.
Her perfect image.
It was strange imagining her as someone broken.
"Your father blamed himself."
"Why?"
"Because he believed his actions caused her suffering."
I frowned.
"My father exposed Victor because he had to."
"Yes."
"But he still felt guilty?"
My mother nodded.
"That's your father."
Then she said something I never expected.
"Evelyn saved your father."
I looked at her.
"What?"
"Years ago."
"How?"
"Someone tried to destroy evidence."
My mind raced.
"Against Victor?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
My mother looked at me.
"I don't know."
Another secret.
Another missing piece.
"But Evelyn stopped it."
"How?"
"She warned your father."
"When?"
"The night of his heart attack."
I felt cold.
"What?"
My mother nodded.
"Your father had just learned someone was trying to kill the investigation."
"Kill?"
"Not literally."
She corrected herself quickly.
"Destroy."
But the hesitation bothered me.
I stood.
"Mom, there is something else."
She looked at me.
"Claire found a document."
Her face changed.
"What document?"
I showed her the picture.
The agreement.
Protection of Nathan Reed.
My mother's hands started shaking.
"Where did you get this?"
"Claire."
My mother stared at the paper.
Then she whispered:
"Your father told me never to let you see this."
"Why?"
She didn't answer.
"Mom."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Because it means Evelyn was right."
I froze.
"What?"
My mother looked at me.
"Your father wasn't protecting you from Evelyn."
The room became silent.
"He was protecting you because of Evelyn."
I didn't understand.
"What does that mean?"
My mother reached into a drawer.
She pulled out an old envelope.
Yellowed.
Worn.
Like it had been hidden for years.
"I was hoping I would never have to give you this."
She placed it on the table.
My name was written on the front.
Not printed.
Handwritten.
By my father.
For Nathan. Open only if Evelyn Cross tells you the truth.
My breathing stopped.
I looked at my mother.
"Why does this exist?"
She whispered:
"Because your father knew one day you would discover everything."
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter.
Only one page.
The first line destroyed me.
Nathan, if you are reading this, then Evelyn has finally decided whether she loves you enough to tell you the truth.
My hands trembled.
I continued reading.
But before you judge her, you need to know something.
The girl who became your best friend was never your enemy.
She was the only person who stood between you and the people who wanted to destroy our family.
I stopped.
The next sentence made my blood run cold.
And the reason she stayed close to you for ten years was because I asked her to.
I dropped the letter.
The room spun.
My father.
The man who always told me to trust my instincts.
Had arranged my friendship with Evelyn?
No.
Impossible.
Unless...
The entire story I believed was wrong.
Maybe Evelyn didn't enter my life because of her father.
Maybe she entered my life because of mine.
My phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
I answered.
A familiar voice spoke.
Sarah.
"Nathan."
"How did you know I found the letter?"
Silence.
Then she said:
"Because I was the one who helped your father write it."
My blood froze.
"What?"
"Nathan, listen carefully."
Her voice became urgent.
"You have to stop trusting Evelyn."
My grip tightened.
"Why?"
A pause.
Then:
"Because she is not the biggest secret your father kept from you."
"What is?"
Sarah whispered:
"The truth about your mother."
The call ended.
And I realized something.
This wasn't a story about Evelyn anymore.
It was about my family.
And somehow...
Everyone had been protecting me from the same thing.
A truth that could destroy everything I believed.
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End of Chapter 5
Chapter 6: The Secret My Father Buried sẽ tiếp tục với nội dung Nathan mở toàn bộ lá thư của cha, phát hiện mối liên hệ bí mật giữa mẹ mình, Victor Cross và lý do thật sự Evelyn ở bên cạnh anh suốt mười năm.**
