Chapter 10: The Person Behind the Betrayal
Nobody spoke.
The silence after the video ended was worse than any scream.
Nick stood in the middle of the room, staring at the person his father had named.
The person everyone trusted.
The person nobody suspected.
Caroline.
She looked like the world had collapsed beneath her feet.
“No,” she whispered.
Nick’s face was unreadable.
“Why did he say your name?””
Caroline shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
Martha immediately stepped between them.
“Because your father was confused.””
Everyone looked at her.
Richard laughed bitterly.
“Still lying.””
Martha turned.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.””
But her voice had changed.
She wasn’t confident anymore.
She was desperate.
Nick noticed.
“Mom.””
She looked at him.
“Tell me the truth.””
Martha looked away.
That was all the answer he needed.
“You knew.””
Her lips tightened.
“I knew something was wrong.””
“What does that mean?””
“It means your father was suspicious.””
Nick stared.
“Of Caroline?””
Martha hesitated.
And that hesitation destroyed whatever trust remained.
Caroline stepped forward.
“I didn’t do anything.””
Nick looked at her.
“Then explain.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I can’t.””
Everyone froze.
Nick’s voice lowered.
“You can’t?””
Caroline looked down.
“Because I don’t remember everything.””
That sentence confused everyone.
“What does that mean?”” I asked.
Caroline took a shaky breath.
“After my father’s company started struggling, my parents became obsessed with joining your family.””
She looked at Nick.
“They thought marrying me to you would solve everything.””
Nick said nothing.
Caroline continued.
“At first, I hated the idea.””
That surprised me.
“I didn’t want to marry someone who didn’t love me.””
She looked at me.
“I knew about you.””
I frowned.
“What?””
Caroline nodded.
“Martha showed me pictures of you.””
My stomach tightened.
“She showed me your social media. Your job. Your family.””
Her expression became ashamed.
“She wanted me to see you as someone beneath me.””
I felt a familiar anger.
Because that was exactly how Martha saw people.
Caroline wiped her eyes.
“But something happened.””
“What?””
“She started changing.””
Nick frowned.
“Changing how?””
“She became obsessed.””
The room grew quiet.
“She stopped talking about me marrying you.””
Caroline looked at Martha.
“She started talking about destroying you.””
Martha’s face hardened.
“That’s a lie.””
Caroline ignored her.
“She said you had become weak because of love.””
Nick looked away.
Caroline continued.
“She said your father had made the same mistake.””
Everyone froze.
Richard stepped closer.
“What mistake?””
Caroline looked at him.
“Trusting the wrong person.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
Because every answer seemed to create another question.
Nick picked up the letter again.
“What did my father mean when he said someone close to me helped her?””
Nobody answered.
Then Susan quietly spoke.
“There’s something else.””
Everyone turned.
She looked terrified.
“I didn’t tell you everything.””
Martha glared.
“Susan.””
Susan ignored her.
“The person helping Martha wasn’t Caroline.””
Caroline looked shocked.
“Then who?””
Susan swallowed.
“The person who helped create the fake evidence against your wife…”
She looked at Nick.
“Was your father’s assistant.””
Richard frowned.
“That’s impossible.””
Susan nodded.
“That’s what Martha wanted everyone to believe.””
Nick stared.
“Who was my father’s assistant?””
Susan looked toward the doorway.
Nobody was there.
But her voice became a whisper.
“David.””
Nick froze.
I noticed immediately.
“Who is David?””
Nick didn’t answer.
His face had gone pale.
Richard looked at him.
“You know him?””
Nick slowly nodded.
“David was my uncle’s son.””
Everyone went silent.
“Your cousin?””
“Yes.””
He sat down.
“I grew up with him.””
The betrayal hit differently.
Because this wasn’t some stranger.
This was family.
Susan opened another file.
“I found these in Martha’s office.””
Nick looked through them.
Emails.
Payments.
Messages.
Then he stopped.
“What?””
I stepped closer.
He showed me the screen.
A message from David.
“I’ll handle the girl. Once Nick sees the evidence, he’ll walk away.””
My chest tightened.
The girl.
Not my name.
Not my identity.
Just the girl.
A problem to remove.
Nick closed his eyes.
“How long?””
Susan answered.
“Almost a year.””
A year.
A year of planning.
A year of pretending.
A year of smiles while they waited for everything to collapse.
Martha suddenly laughed.
Everyone looked at her.
It wasn’t a normal laugh.
It was broken.
“You all think you understand.””
Nick looked at her.
“Then explain.””
She shook her head.
“You don’t know what your father was like.””
Richard stepped forward.
“Careful.””
“No.””
Martha’s eyes filled with anger.
“You all want to make me the monster.””
She pointed at the evidence.
“You don’t know what I had to do to keep this family together.””
Nick stood.
“You destroyed it.””
Her face fell.
For the first time, she looked hurt.
Not angry.
Hurt.
“I did everything for you.””
Nick answered quietly:
“Then why did loving me always feel like punishment?””
Nobody moved.
The question stayed in the room.
Martha had no answer.
Then Nick’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Hello?””
A few seconds passed.
His expression changed.
“What?””
He stood immediately.
“What do you mean he escaped?””
Everyone stared.
Nick listened.
Then slowly lowered the phone.
Richard asked:
“What happened?””
Nick looked toward the door.
“David.””
My heart dropped.
“What about him?””
Nick’s voice was quiet.
“He was arrested tonight.””
A pause.
“Then he disappeared.””
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone understood.
The person who had helped Martha destroy my life…
May you like
was still out there.
And he wasn’t finished.
