A sickening knot formed in my stomach.
Her voice wavered, but she pushed forward. “I didn’t confront him. I didn’t scream or demand answers. Instead, I decided to mindfuck him for once.” Her lips curled slightly, but there was no humor in it. Just bitterness. “I told him I had proof. Proof of the girls. And proof of what he did to you.”
My breath hitched. “Wait—what?” My chest tightened. “Did he believe you?”
“Not at first.” She scoffed. “But I saw it in his face. It was eating him alive. He told me if I destroyed the evidence, he’d remove the prenup from our marriage and make sure I inherited everything—the business, the house, the trusts. All of it.”
I stiffened. “So… are you here to loan me money? Because I don’t ne?—”
“I told him to go fuck himself.”
Her voice was sharp, resolute.
Tears brimmed in her eyes, but she clenched her jaw, forcing herself to stay steady. “I don’t need proof to know.” Her voice cracked, and she blinked hard. “To know that my daughter was violated in a way no man should ever do to a little girl.”
A single tear slipped down her cheek, and my heart clenched.
Relief flooded me, but with it came fear—because now, she knew.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued. “I called Olga the next day. Asked if she’d ever seen anything. If she knew.”My mom let out a shaky breath. “She did. But she also knew Richard would kill her if she ever went to the cops.”
I gritted my teeth. “So why didn’t she?—”
“She had proof.”
I froze. “What?”
“She wasn’t lying.” My mom’s face paled. “She installed a hidden camera in your room once. The footage is grainy, low-quality—she could only afford a cheap one—but there’s no mistaking it. It’s your room. And a man. And a little girl.”
My vision blurred. My stomach turned violently.
My mom shut her eyes like she was about to be sick. “You can hear grunting. And then…” Her voice wavered. “It’s him.”
A sob wracked through her, and she angrily wiped the tears away. She took a deep breath, steadying herself.
“So when your—” She stopped herself, biting back his name. “When Richard was gone one day, I went to the cops. I filed a report. Told them everything. I told them about the drugs in the house, about who he really is. I told them they needed to investigate, that he needs to be locked up for what he did to you—and for what he did to those women.”
I shook my head. “Mom… you know the cops won’t do anything unless multiple women come forward. Even then, without solid proof?—”
“I gave them proof.” She turned to face me, her eyes burning with fury and something else—determination. “I showed them the bank statements. The unusual withdrawals. I told them I knew he cheated, that I took the abuse because I thought as long as you were taken care of, it was worth it.” Her voice broke. “But now that I know what he did to you? I want him to burn.”
I was speechless.
For the first time in years, my mother—the woman I once trusted, the woman I hated, the woman I thought I’d lost—was finally here. Really here.
She reached for me, but hesitated. Her fingers curled into fists, and tears streamed down her face. “And, baby… I’m so damn sorry.” Her voice broke completely. “I thought I was giving you a better life. I thought I was giving you everything I never had. And instead… I gave you hell instead of heaven.”
Her body trembled as sobs overtook her.
I couldn’t stop myself. I got up, rushed to her, and sank to my knees, wrapping my arms around her as tightly as I could.
“I’m so damn sorry,” she sobbed, clutching me. “I was a horrible mother. And I?—”
“Shhh.” I rocked her gently, my own tears spilling freely. “Mom… I know.”
She buried her face in my hair. “I love you so damn much.”
“I love you, too.” My voice cracked, the words barely making it out. It felt like my mom was back, finally. My arms tightened around her, afraid that if I let go, she’d disappear again.
