Chapter 3 — The Lies Collapsed
"You don't understand," Gertrude said quickly. "The house was expensive. Taxes increased. Repairs—"
"Stop."
One word.
Quiet.
Enough to silence the room.
I connected my laptop to the television mounted above the fireplace.
The screen lit up.
Bank statements.
Transfer confirmations.
Every monthly deposit.
Every text message.
Sarah's shopping.
Jamie has everything he needs.
They're living like royalty.
The timestamps matched perfectly with every transfer.
Then I opened another folder.
The security camera recordings.
I had installed cloud backups before leaving Saudi Arabia.
Nobody knew.
The footage showed Sarah carrying groceries into the house.
Minutes later...
Gertrude took every shopping bag.
Prudence laughed while locking the kitchen pantry.
Another clip.
Jamie reached for an apple.
Prudence slapped his tiny hand away.
Another.
Sarah quietly washing spoiled rice in the back kitchen while guests celebrated inside.
No one spoke.
One woman at the table covered her mouth.
An elderly businessman slowly removed his glasses.
My mother's attorney quietly stood up.
May you like
"I'm leaving," he whispered.
No one tried to stop him.
