Chapter 2: The Woman He Almost Married
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The only sound was Martha coughing in the pool.
Julian looked at Bianca like he was seeing a stranger.
“Julian…” Bianca whispered.
Her face instantly changed.
The cold expression disappeared.
The sweet, innocent woman returned.
“I can explain.”
Julian walked toward the pool.
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
“First, you’re going to explain why my mother is drowning.”
Bianca’s lips trembled.
“She slipped.”
Julian looked at her.
A long silence followed.
Then he looked at the heel marks near the pool.
The wet footprints.
The security camera above the garden.
“You expect me to believe she slipped?”
Bianca swallowed.
“Your mother has always hated me.”
Martha finally reached the pool stairs with Julian’s help.
She collapsed into his arms.
“I never hated you…”
Her voice shook.
“I was afraid of you.”
Bianca’s face turned pale.
Julian looked at his mother.
“Afraid?”
Martha lowered her eyes.
“I didn’t want to ruin your happiness.”
That sentence hurt him more than anything.
Because his mother had been suffering silently.
For him.
Julian turned back to Bianca.
“How long?”
Bianca said nothing.
“How long have you been hurting her?”
“I never hurt her!”
Martha quietly whispered:
“She pushed me down the stairs last month.”
Julian froze.
“What?”
Bianca immediately shouted:
“She’s lying!”
But Julian saw the fear in Bianca’s eyes.
The fear of being exposed.
That night, Julian canceled the wedding.
But Bianca did not leave quietly.
Before walking out, she stopped at the door.
“You think you know everything?”
Julian stared at her.
“I know enough.”
Bianca smiled.
“No, Julian.”
She leaned closer.
“You know nothing about your mother.”
Then she walked away.
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Leaving Julian with one terrifying question:
What secret was Martha hiding?
