Chapter 5 - THE FAMILY THAT STOLE EVERYTHING
The next morning, Jake called his attorney.
Then his bank.
Then the police.
Diane tried to stop him.
“You cannot destroy this family over one woman's lies.”
Jake looked at her.
“One woman's lies?”
He placed the evidence on the table.
The fake messages.
The stolen phone.
The hidden laptop.
The locked basement.
The footage.
The forged property documents.
Diane stared at the papers.
Tyler began to panic.
“Mom…”
“Be quiet.”
Jake turned toward him.
“You wore my watch.”
Tyler slowly removed it.
“You stole my jewelry.”
Tyler said nothing.
“You tried to take my home.”
Diane stepped forward.
“We raised you.”
Jake laughed bitterly.
“You raised me?”
His voice shook with rage.
“While I was overseas, you locked my wife in a basement.”
Diane's face hardened.
“She was going to take everything.”
“She was my wife.”
“She was going to leave you!”
Jake looked at Emily.
Then back at Diane.
“You made me believe she already had.”
Diane didn't deny it.
That was when Jake understood.
The betrayal had never been about protecting him.
It had always been about money.
Diane had forged the documents because Jake's estate was worth millions.
Tyler had helped her because he wanted the mansion.
And Emily had become the only obstacle.
So they isolated her.
Destroyed her access to Jake.
Made him believe she had betrayed him.
Then waited for him to stay away.
Diane's voice suddenly became desperate.
“Jake, we're family.”
Jake stared at her.
“No.”
She froze.
“You're not family.”
He looked at Tyler.
“You're not my brother.”
Then he looked at Diane.
“And you stopped being my mother the day you decided my wife was something you could imprison.”
Emily began to cry.
Jake immediately turned toward her.
His anger disappeared for one second.
He walked over and wrapped his arms around her.
Emily collapsed against his chest.
“I thought you hated me,” she whispered.
Jake closed his eyes.
“I thought you hated me.”
They held each other.
Six months of pain.
Six months of lies.
Six months of believing they had lost one another.
Then Jake whispered:
“I came home too late.”
Emily shook her head.
“You came home.”
Behind them, police sirens approached.
Diane stared toward the windows.
Tyler began shouting.
But Jake didn't turn around.
For the first time in six months, Emily was no longer alone.
May you like
And for the first time in six months…
Jake knew exactly who had destroyed his marriage.
