Years of friendship disappeared because Victoria had convinced my son that the person warning him was the enemy.
The memory frightened me.
If I confronted Ethan without evidence, would he turn against me too?
Would Victoria cry again, reshape the story, and accuse me of trying to destroy their marriage?
I was his mother, but that did not mean he would automatically believe me. In fact, Victoria might persuade him that I was possessive, suspicious, or unwilling to accept that another woman had become important in his life.
I could not risk approaching him with only a feeling and a secondhand account.
So I remained silent.
For weeks, I carried the truth alone.
Whenever Ethan visited, I studied his face and wondered how long he could continue living inside a lie.
He still spoke about Victoria with affection. He still defended her long hours and praised how hard she worked. Sometimes he mentioned that she seemed tired or distant, but he blamed stress.
Each time he smiled while talking about her, something tightened painfully in my chest.
I wanted to protect him from what was coming.
But some truths cannot be softened.
They can only be faced.
Part Four: The Call I Had Been Waiting For
The second call came late one afternoon.
The moment I saw Daniella’s name, my pulse quickened.
I answered immediately.
“She’s here again,” Daniella said.
I stood so quickly that the chair behind me scraped across the floor.
“Victoria?”
“Yes. She arrived about ten minutes ago.”
