PART 2 β MY MOTHER FINALLY TOLD ME WHY MY WIFE ATTACKED HER. AND THE TRUTH WAS WORSE THAN I IMAGINED. π

PART 2 β MY MOTHER FINALLY TOLD ME WHY MY WIFE ATTACKED HER. AND THE TRUTH WAS WORSE THAN I IMAGINED. π
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Chloe stared at my mother.
βEleanor, you don’t know what you’re talking about.β
My mother shook her head.
βI know exactly what I’m talking about.β
I looked at Maya.
Blood was still running from the cut above her eyebrow.
βSit down.β
She hesitated.
Then obeyed.
I turned back to my wife.
βWhy were you holding a metal mop over my mother’s head?β
βShe wouldn’t listen to me.β
βTo what?β
Chloe said nothing.
My mother answered for her.
βShe wanted me to leave.β
I felt my stomach ΡΞΉΤΠ½Ρen.
βLeave my house?β
My mother nodded.
βShe said I was old, useless, and a burden on you.β
Chloe immediately interrupted.
βThat isn’t what I said.β
My mother’s voice trembled.
βYou told me if I didn’t sign those papers, you’d make sure he stopped believing me.β
I looked at Chloe.
βWhat papers?β
Her face changed.
For the first time since I walked through the door, she looked afraid.
I noticed a black folder lying on the coffee table.
I picked it up.
Inside were property documents.
Bank statements.
Insurance records.
And a transfer agreement for my mother’s shares in the family warehouse business.
My name was on every page.
So was Chloe’s.
I looked at her.
βYou were trying to transfer Mom’s shares?β
βShe doesn’t understand these things anymore.β
My mother whispered:
βI refused.β
Then Maya spoke from the sofa.
βI saw them.β
Everyone turned toward her.
βThe papers,β she said. βThat’s why Mrs. Eleanor called me into the room.β
Chloe stepped forward.
βYou’re lying.β
Maya shook her head.
βShe told me she was scared.β
My mother reached for my hand.
βShe knew I wouldn’t sign them willingly.β
I looked at Chloe.
βSo you attacked her because she refused?β
βI didn’t attack anyone!β
I glanced at the broken mop lying on the floor.
βYou expect me to believe that?β
Chloe’s eyes filled with tears.
Then she said something that made the room go completely silent.
βYou don’t understand, Connor. If your mother keeps those shares, we lose everything.β
I stared at her.
βWe?β
She looked away.
And suddenly, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before.
A man’s name was written on the last page of the agreement.
A name I recognized.
A man Chloe had always insisted she barely knew.
I looked at her.
βWhy is his name on this?β
She didn’t answer.
My mother did.
βBecause he’s the one who told her what to do.β
I felt the room tilt.
βWho?β
My mother looked directly into my eyes.
Then whispered the name.
And suddenly, the attack I’d witnessed wasn’t the beginning of the nightmare.
It was the moment someone realized their entire plan had just fallen apart.