“At my wedding, my 7-year-old daughter suddenly burst into tears and said, ‘Mom, look at Daddy’s arm! I don’t want a new dad!’ — and when I looked, what I saw shocked me to the core.”
Because at that moment, a woman entered the ballroom:
Margaret.
Jason’s mother.
Cold. Rigid. Terrifying.
She saw his arm. Rage flickered across her face.
She stormed toward us.
Jason flinched.
Chloe whimpered.
My blood froze.
And everything made sense.
THE TRUTH UNRAVELS
“Jason,” Margaret snapped, “a word. Now.”
“No,” I said firmly. “Not until we talk about these bruises.”
Her icy eyes stabbed into mine.
“This is not the place.”
“This,” I said, “is exactly the place.”
Jason looked like a terrified boy.
I reached for his hand. “Who hurt you?”
Silence stretched.
Then he whispered:
“My mother.”
Chloe whimpered.
I almost collapsed.
Margaret didn’t deny it.
She simply said:
“You never should’ve told her.”
My voice trembled with fury. “What did you do to him?”
“I corrected him,” she said coldly.
Jason flinched.
“He belongs to this family,” she continued, “not to yours. And I will not allow him to throw away everything his father built for—what?” Her eyes landed on Chloe. “A widow and her child?”
Jason’s hands shook.
“I am her father,” he said quietly.
Margaret’s eyes burned.
I realized then:
She hated Chloe.
She wanted control.
And the bruises were her weapon.
THE BREAKING POINT
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