Chapter 7 - My Mother Asked Me to Forgive HerThe house was finally quiet.
No loud music.
No forced laughter.
No cruel whispers disguised as polite conversation.
Just silence.
I sat beside my mother in the living room while she slowly broke off a small piece of the cinnamon bread.
She closed her eyes after the first bite.
"It's still my favorite," she said with a gentle smile.
A lump formed in my throat.
I had bought it to surprise her.
Instead, it had become the first proper meal she'd enjoyed in days.
"I'm sorry, Mom," I whispered.
"I should have seen what was happening."
She immediately reached for my hand.
"No, Ethan."
"You were working."
"You were building the life you promised me."
Her kindness only made the guilt worse.
"I promised I'd protect you."
"And I failed."
She squeezed my hand gently.
"You never failed me."
"I watched you become the man your father dreamed you'd be."
"That has always been enough."
I lowered my head, unable to meet her eyes.
Then she said something I never expected.
"Don't hate Victoria forever."
I looked up in disbelief.
"Mom..."
"She hurt you."
"She humiliated you."
"She treated you like..."
"I know," my mother interrupted softly.
"But carrying hatred is another kind of prison."
"I've spent my whole life with very little money."
"I don't want you to spend yours with a heart full of anger."
Tears filled my eyes.
Even after everything, she was asking me to protect the woman who had abused her.
That was who my mother had always been.
She believed kindness was never wasted.
Even when others didn't deserve it.
Just then, Richard arrived with a thick folder in his hands.
"The divorce petition is ready," he said quietly.
I thanked him and signed every page without hesitation.
Richard paused before leaving.
"There's one more thing."
"We've completed a preliminary review of the household finances."
"What did you find?"
He opened another file.
"Over the past three years, Mrs. Cole transferred more than twenty-seven million dollars from her personal allowance into accounts controlled by her brother, her cousin, and several shell companies."
I frowned.
"My personal allowance?"
"Yes."
"It appears she was quietly moving assets while encouraging her relatives to rely on your money."
I slowly closed the folder.
"So it wasn't just cruelty."
"It was calculated."
Richard nodded.
"I'm afraid that's only the beginning."
He placed a flash drive on the coffee table.
"Our forensic accountants believe there are many more transactions."
After he left, I stared at the small silver drive.
I had thought I was uncovering a heartless wife.
Now it seemed I had uncovered something far bigger.
And if the numbers were correct...
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Victoria hadn't only betrayed my mother.
She had been stealing from me for years.
