Chapter 4 - The Woman Behind the Mask
Two weeks later, Teresa called me.
I almost didn’t answer.
But I needed information.
“Connor,” she said softly.
Her voice was completely different.
No anger.
No screaming.
Just sadness.
“I can’t believe you would do this to me.”
I closed my eyes.
“Do what?”
“Treat your own mother like a criminal.”
“You tried to take my house.”
A pause.
Then she laughed quietly.
“You’re exaggerating.”
“I saw the documents.”
“That was only protection.”
“Protection?”
“Yes.”
Her tone changed.
“You have a wife now. A child. You’re not thinking clearly.”
I gripped the phone.
“You mean I’m not doing what you want.”
Silence.
Then she whispered:
“You have no idea how much I sacrificed for you.”
There it was.
The same sentence.
The same weapon.
Guilt.
But this time, it didn’t work.
“You didn’t sacrifice for me, Mom.”
I paused.
“You sacrificed because you wanted control.”
The silence afterward told me everything.
Before she hung up, she said one thing.
“You will regret choosing her over me.”
I stared at the phone.
May you like
And for the first time in my life, I wasn’t afraid of losing my mother.
I was afraid of what she would do next.
