Chapter 4: The Secret Behind My Mother’s Silence
“Samantha… you finally found it.””
The voice came from the darkness.
My entire body froze.
The old wooden box was still open on the kitchen table.
The hospital records.
The adoption papers.
The impossible truth.
Everything was sitting in front of me like evidence from a crime scene.
Slowly, the person stepped into the dim kitchen light.
It was our longtime housekeeper, Maria.
She had worked for the Collins family since I was a child.
She was the only person in the mansion who ever gave me extra food when my mother forgot my dinner.
The only person who secretly bought me birthday cakes when nobody else remembered.
“Maria?””
Her eyes filled with sadness.
“I was hoping you would never have to find out this way.””
I stared at her.
“What way?””
She looked at the documents.
“The truth.””
My hands tightened.
“Then tell me.””
Maria looked toward the hallway.
As if she was afraid someone might hear.
“Samantha, put those papers away.””
“No.””
My voice surprised even me.
“I spent twenty years wondering why my own mother hated me.””
Maria’s expression broke.
“She doesn’t hate you.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Then what would you call it?””
Maria stepped closer.
“I would call it fear.””
I shook my head.
“Fear of what? Her own daughter?””
Maria didn’t answer immediately.
And that silence hurt more than any insult.
“Tell me everything,” I whispered.
She sat down across from me.
For a moment, she looked older than I had ever seen her.
“Samantha, when you were born, Victoria was different.””
I looked at the papers.
“Different how?””
“She wasn’t always obsessed with money and status.””
That was hard to believe.
The woman I knew measured everything by wealth.
By appearances.
By power.
“She loved you,” Maria continued.
My heart stopped.
“No.””
“Yes.””
Maria’s voice became softer.
“She held you for hours. She sang to you. She told everyone you were the most precious thing in the world.””
I stared at her.
“Then why did she change?””
Maria looked down.
“Because of your father.””
The room suddenly felt colder.
“My father?””
I had never heard anyone talk about him.
Not once.
Growing up, whenever I asked, Victoria always changed the subject.
“He left,” she would say.
“He wasn’t important.””
That was all I knew.
Maria took a deep breath.
“Your father was Daniel Collins.””
I frowned.
“Collins?””
“Yes.””
The confusion must have shown on my face.
Maria explained.
“Before Victoria became the woman everyone knows today, Daniel’s family owned a small but successful company. They weren’t billionaires, but they had respect.””
“What happened?””
“Daniel died when you were still a baby.””
My throat tightened.
“And after that?””
Maria looked toward the mansion walls.
“Everything changed.””
The silence stretched.
“What changed?””
“Victoria was left with debts. Enemies. People who wanted control over the company.””
I listened carefully.
“She fought to keep everything. But she became convinced that kindness was weakness.””
Maria paused.
“She started believing that only powerful people survive.””
I looked at the documents again.
“But why treat me like I wasn’t her daughter?””
Maria’s eyes filled with tears.
“Because someone convinced her that you were the reason she lost everything.””
I felt a sharp pain in my chest.
“Who?””
Before Maria could answer, footsteps echoed upstairs.
We both froze.
Someone was awake.
Maria immediately grabbed the papers.
“Not here.””
I stood up.
“No. I need to know.””
She looked at me desperately.
“Not tonight.””
But I wasn’t the same girl who silently washed dishes anymore.
“I deserve the truth.””
Maria looked at me for several seconds.
Then she whispered:
“Your father had enemies, Samantha.””
I waited.
“And one of them was inside this house.””
A chill ran through me.
“Who?””
Maria looked toward the staircase.
But before she could answer, a voice interrupted.
“What exactly are you two discussing?””
My blood turned cold.
Victoria stood at the kitchen entrance.
Her face was expressionless.
But her eyes were furious.
Maria immediately stepped back.
“Mrs. Collins…”
Victoria ignored her.
Her gaze locked onto me.
“You went through my things.””
I held the documents tighter.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Her jaw tightened.
“Tell you what?””
“That you’re my mother.””
For the first time in years…
Victoria looked afraid.
Not angry.
Afraid.
The mansion suddenly felt silent.
Even the ocean outside seemed distant.
“You should have left those papers alone,” she whispered.
I stared at her.
“Why?””
She looked at the documents.
Then at me.
“Because the truth destroys everything.””
I stepped closer.
“No. The truth destroys lies.””
Something flashed in her eyes.
Pain.
Then it disappeared.
“You think you know what happened.””
“I know you abandoned me.””
Her expression changed.
“I protected you.””
I almost laughed.
“By making me feel unwanted?””
Victoria looked away.
“You don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
She said nothing.
That hurt the most.
After all these years, she still couldn’t say it.
She still couldn’t admit what she had done.
Then suddenly, my phone vibrated.
A message.
From the same unknown number.
I looked down.
A new picture appeared.
My hands went numb.
It was a photograph of Victoria.
But not alone.
She was standing beside a man.
A man I had never seen before.
Underneath the photo was a sentence:
*Ask your mother who really destroyed your family.*
I looked up.
Victoria had seen the picture.
May you like
And the color had completely disappeared from her face.
Because she knew exactly who the man was.
