CHAPTER 12 — The Woman in My Mother's Car
CHAPTER 12 — The Woman in My Mother's Car
The world seemed to stop after James said those words.
"The person sitting beside your mother that night was Eleanor Hayes."
For twenty-five years, the truth had been buried beneath assumptions.
But now...
there was a person.
A witness.
Someone who had been there.
Someone who knew what happened.
And that someone was the woman who had spent the last three years making my life miserable.
My mother-in-law.
I found Eleanor in the library.
She was standing by the window, staring outside.
She already knew.
She didn't ask why I was there.
She didn't pretend.
She simply said:
"You found the footage."
My anger rose instantly.
"You knew."
She closed her eyes.
"Yes."
"You knew you were in that car."
"Yes."
"You let me believe you hated me because of my money."
Her shoulders lowered.
"But the truth was..."
"You were connected to my mother's death."
Her silence answered everything.
I stepped closer.
"What happened that night?"
Eleanor remained facing the window.
"I wish I could tell you I was innocent."
My hands tightened.
"But?"
She turned around.
Her face was full of exhaustion.
"But I wasn't."
The honesty surprised me.
Not enough to forgive.
But enough to listen.
"I was with your mother."
"Yes."
"We were arguing."
"About Victor?"
She nodded.
"About everything."
Eleanor sat down slowly.
"Your mother found out I had accepted money from Victor."
"I thought it was harmless."
"I told myself it was just an investment."
"I told myself I was helping Dominic."
Her voice cracked.
"But your mother knew better."
"She knew Victor never gave anything without expecting something back."
I looked at her.
"So what happened in the car?"
Eleanor swallowed.
"Your mother wanted me to confess."
"She wanted me to tell Richard everything."
"And I refused."
"Why?"
"Because I was afraid."
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone was afraid."
She looked down.
"Yes."
"And fear made us do terrible things."
The room became silent.
Then Eleanor continued.
"Your mother told me she was going to expose Victor."
"She said she would go directly to Richard."
"But before she could..."
A tear rolled down her face.
"We saw another car following us."
My heart tightened.
"Victor?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
Eleanor shook her head.
"Everything happened so fast."
"Your mother told me to leave."
"I thought she was angry."
"I thought she wanted me gone."
"Then..."
She stopped.
"Then the car hit us."
My breath caught.
"What?"
Eleanor looked at me.
"It wasn't a normal accident."
"The other vehicle forced us off the road."
"Your mother lost control."
"The car crashed."
I whispered:
"And you survived."
She nodded.
"Yes."
"How?"
Her eyes filled with shame.
"Because I ran."
I froze.
"You ran?"
"I was scared."
"The car was damaged."
"Your mother was unconscious."
"And I..."
Her voice broke.
"I left her there."
The anger I felt was overwhelming.
"You left my mother?"
She cried silently.
"Yes."
"You knew she was alive."
"Yes."
"And you walked away?"
She looked at me.
"I thought I would come back."
"But Victor found me first."
My anger stopped.
"What?"
"He threatened me."
"He said if I told anyone..."
"He would destroy Dominic."
I stared at her.
"So you stayed silent."
"Yes."
"For twenty-five years."
"Yes."
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to hate her.
Maybe I did.
But there was something worse than hatred.
Understanding.
Because I knew what fear could make people do.
I had spent years staying silent too.
The difference was...
my silence protected peace.
Her silence protected a lie.
"You let everyone believe my mother died alone."
Eleanor lowered her head.
"I know."
"You let my father suffer."
"I know."
"You let me grow up without answers."
"I know."
Every answer was a knife.
Then something unexpected happened.
Eleanor reached into her purse.
She removed a small envelope.
"I kept this."
I looked at it.
"What is it?"
"Something your mother gave me before the crash."
My heart stopped.
"Why didn't you show anyone?"
"Because I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"That it would prove everything."
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a small flash drive.
My hands trembled.
"What is this?"
"Your mother's final evidence."
We immediately brought it to my father's office.
The entire family gathered.
Even Thomas.
Even Dominic.
The flash drive was old.
But it still worked.
A video appeared.
My mother's face filled the screen.
For a moment...
I couldn't breathe.
I hadn't seen her voice.
Her expressions.
Her smile.
In years.
"Richard..."
My mother's voice echoed through the room.
"If you are watching this..."
"Something happened."
My father's eyes filled with tears.
She continued.
"I need you to know something."
"The person you should fear is not Eleanor."
Everyone looked at her.
"What?"
My mother's recorded voice continued.
"Eleanor made mistakes."
"She was weak."
"But she is not the person controlling everything."
A silence fell.
Then my mother said the words that changed everything.
"The person behind this..."
"Is someone you trust completely."
My father froze.
The video continued.
"I discovered that Victor did not act alone."
"He had help from someone inside Carter International."
Someone inside.
Someone trusted.
Someone close.
Then my mother's face became serious.
"Richard."
"If anything happens to me..."
"Do not trust..."
The video suddenly glitched.
The screen went black.
The file ended.
Nobody moved.
The message was incomplete.
But one thing was clear.
Eleanor wasn't the mastermind.
Victor wasn't working alone.
And the person who helped destroy my family...
was still among us.
Then James entered the room.
His face was pale.
"Mr. Carter."
My father turned.
"What happened?"
James looked at everyone.
"We checked the original security archive."
"There's something else."
"What?"
He swallowed.
"The person who deleted the remaining footage..."
"Had administrator access."
My father frowned.
"Only five people had that level of access."
"Who?"
James looked at the list.
Then his eyes moved toward me.
"Mr. Carter..."
"The person who erased the footage..."
"Was someone in your family."
My blood ran cold.
My family.
Not a stranger.
Not an enemy outside.
Someone close.
Someone who had been beside us all along.
James handed my father the list.
Five names.
My father's.
Mine.
Thomas's.
Eleanor's.
And one more.
The name at the bottom made Dominic step backward.
Because it belonged to someone he knew better than anyone.
Someone he trusted his entire life.
May you like
Dominic Hayes.
END OF CHAPTER 12
