PART 2 — I THOUGHT MY MOTHER HAD HUMILIATED MY WIFE. THEN I DISCOVERED SHE HAD BEEN PLANNING SOMETHING MUCH WORSE. 💔🔥

I opened the back door.

Every conversation stopped.

Teresa turned around.

The smile disappeared from her face.

“Connor?”

I didn’t answer.

I walked straight past her.

My eyes went to Amy.

She was standing beside the kitchen counter, holding Frederick against her chest.

Her eyes were red.

She looked at me as if she couldn’t believe I was really there.

I put the birthday cake down.

Then I took the baby from her arms.

“You shouldn’t be serving anyone.”

Amy whispered, “Connor…”

I looked around the room.

Twenty relatives.

Expensive food.

Liquor.

Decorations.

And my mother standing in the middle of it all.

“Mom,” I said quietly, “where did the money for this come from?”

Teresa immediately smiled.

“Don’t make a scene. This is your son’s birthday.”

“No.”

I looked directly at her.

“Answer me.”

She became defensive.

“You send me money every month because you trust me.”

“I sent you money to help my wife and son.”

“I’ve been helping them.”

Amy suddenly spoke.

“No, Connor.”

Everyone turned toward her.

She shook her head.

“She hasn’t given me anything.”

My mother’s face changed.

Amy continued.

“Not the money. Not the groceries. Not the bills.”

My stomach dropped.

I pulled out my phone and opened my bank account.

Three thousand dollars.

Every month.

For almost a year.

I looked at Teresa.

“Where did it go?”

She said nothing.

Then I noticed a folder sitting beside her purse.

I opened it.

Inside were copies of my bank statements, property documents, and paperwork connected to our house.

My name was everywhere.

So was hers.

I looked up.

“What were you planning to do?”

Teresa’s voice suddenly became cold.

“You’re making a mistake.”

“What mistake?”

“Choosing your wife over your mother.”

I shook my head.

“No, Mom.”

I looked at Amy and Frederick.

“I’m choosing my family.”

Teresa stepped closer.

“You wouldn’t dare cut me off.”

I placed the folder on the table.

“Starting today, you don’t control my money.”

Her face went pale.

“And you don’t control my house.”

Nobody spoke.

Then Amy reached for my arm.

“Connor…”

“What?”

She looked frightened.

“There’s something else.”

She pointed toward the folder.

“There was another document.”

I opened it.

My heart stopped.

It wasn’t a bill.

It wasn’t a bank statement.

It was a legal document concerning ownership of our home.

And at the bottom was my mother’s signature.

Alongside the name of someone I had never heard of.

I looked at Teresa.

“Who is this?”

For the first time that night…

my mother looked genuinely afraid.

And that’s when I realized the birthday party had never been about Frederick.

It had been the first step in taking everything from us. 🔥