[Dear Jack,
By the time you read this, I’ll be gone.
Don’t be sad, and please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye.
I’ve watched you get married, start a family, and build a career you’re proud of.
Now, I can finally rest easy. It’s time for me to fulfill my promise to your mother.]
Each word was a dagger, slicing through the last fragile thread holding my heart together.
I couldn’t believe it.
I was the only fool left in the dark.
Jack knew.
He knew who his real mother was. He knew Sebastian’s plans. And he helped Sebastian hide the truth from me — the woman who raised him, who poured her whole life into making sure he had everything he needed.
What did my decades of devotion mean to them?
Nothing.
Hands shaking, I forced myself to keep going.
And the next part? It broke me.
[As for your stepmother, I’ve made arrangements. She’s old and frail now—a burden more than a help.
I’ve been slipping poison into her painkillers. It won’t take long. When she dies, say it was natural causes and bury her quietly. Even if the police investigate, they’ll trace it back to me.
Once she’s gone, everything will be yours.
Jack, I will always be watching, making sure your life runs smoothly. Don’t forget—bury my ashes, along with the letters in the drawer, next to your mother.]
The room tilted.
I couldn’t breathe—each gasp clawing at my chest like I was suffocating in the silence.
Thirty years of memories slammed into me. Jagged. Brutal. Like shards of glass.
I saw Sebastian and Jack, sneaking off every March for their little “father-son day.” Never once inviting me.
I heard Jack’s tantrums as a kid—screaming, “You’re not my real mom!” every time he didn’t get his way.
I thought it was just neighborhood gossip. I even confronted people, told them to stop spreading lies.
But last year, after Jack’s wedding, Gigi casually mentioned visiting a cemetery. Sebastian had shut her down fast, like it was some dirty secret.
Now? It all lined up.
Everyone knew.
Everyone but me.
Even Gigi.
I’d been a fool for thirty years.
But now?
Now, I was wide awake.
That final blow? It knocked me clean out of my fog.
