Chapter 8 - The Mother-in-Law Who Loved Me Like a Daughter
Patricia asked to speak with me.
Her attorney arranged it.
I agreed once.
She looked smaller than usual.
Not harmless.
Just older.
“I never wanted to hurt you.”
I stared at her.
“You put medication in my tea.”
“I was helping you sleep.”
“Without telling me.”
“You were exhausted.”
“Then why hide it?”
She looked away.
“Daniel said you wouldn’t take anything.”
“So you drugged me?”
“I didn’t think of it like that.”
Of course she didn’t.
People rarely give their worst behavior accurate names while they are doing it.
Then she said:
“You were becoming impossible about the building.”
There it was.
Not sleep.
Property.
“You mean I said no.”
“You would rather let Daniel’s family lose everything than use something you inherited for free.”
The sentence stunned me.
“Inherited for free?”
“You didn’t earn that building.”
“My grandmother did.”
“And Daniel works every day.”
“So?”
“You are married.”
“Yes.”
She genuinely could not understand why that was not the end of the discussion.
Then I asked:
“Why were you trying to make me look confused?”
Her expression changed.
“I wasn’t.”
“Daniel photographed me.”
“That was Daniel.”
“You supplied the reason he could.”
Silence.
She began crying.
Finally:
“I thought if the loan closed, everybody would calm down.”
The same philosophy as Daniel.
If the result was good enough, the method would disappear.
I stood.
Patricia reached toward me.
“Claire, I love Sophie.”
I stopped.
“Then explain why you taught her that telling me the truth might send me to a hospital.”
May you like
Her hand dropped.
There was nothing left to discuss.
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