Chapter 12 - Evelyn Finally Lost Her Voice
Evelyn called Maya.
“You've gone too far.”
Maya sat silently.
“Do you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“You've humiliated my son.”
“He humiliated himself.”
“You're destroying our family.”
Maya looked at the letter beside her.
“No, Evelyn.”
Her voice was calm.
“I stopped allowing your family to destroy me.”
Evelyn's voice cracked.
“You think money makes you better?”
“No.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Because you tried to take what belonged to me.”
Silence.
Then Evelyn whispered:
“Ethan was trying to protect us.”
Maya closed her eyes.
“From what?”
Evelyn didn't answer.
“From what, Evelyn?”
Another pause.
Then:
“Debt.”
Maya's eyes opened.
“How much?”
Evelyn gave her a number.
Maya stared at the wall.
It was enormous.
Ethan's family had been drowning financially for years.
The property scheme hadn't started because they were greedy enough.
They were desperate.
That didn't excuse what they had done.
But it explained the urgency.
Evelyn began crying.
“We thought we could fix it.”
Maya's voice softened.
“You could have asked me.”
“You would've said no.”
Maya looked at the phone.
“Maybe.”
“And that's why Ethan did what he did.”
Maya swallowed.
“So you taught him that my kindness was something he could gamble with.”
Evelyn said nothing.
Maya ended the call.
The truth was finally clear.
May you like
But one question remained.
Where had all the missing money gone?
