CHAPTER 298: CHAPTER 298: AUDIO

But Tan frowned. "Still... it doesn’t make sense. Why would Aunt May, who liked Mary so much, give her leftovers?"

Jean laughed again. "Because I ate half the food first! Then I gave a little to the dog. Then, whatever was left, I wrapped it up and gave it to Mary. She should’ve been thankful she got anything at all."

Ruby and Tan both stared at their mom. Their mouths were slightly open. For the first time, they realized something important: Jean didn’t help Mary. She only made her life worse.

If the Waters family found out the truth... if they knew Jean had lied, taken credit for someone else’s kindness, and even fed scraps to Mary like she was a beggar... they would never forgive them.

Tan and Ruby looked at each other and made a silent decision: they had to shut their mom up before she told this story to anyone else.

But what they didn’t know was... it was already too late.

While Jean had been bragging, her phone had a small blinking red light.

Aurora, who had come home from dinner a few minutes ago, walked into her room. She sat in front of her computer, turned on her headphones, and opened the secret software she had been using.

She had placed a listening bug in Jean’s phone.

She did it because something about Jean, Ruby, and Tan didn’t sit right with her. Aurora didn’t trust them, and she was sure they were going to cause trouble.

So now, she listened to every word they said.

As the recording played, Aurora’s face turned red with anger. She clenched her fists.

Jean wasn’t just greedy, she was a liar. She hadn’t helped Mary at all. She stole the credit from a dead woman. She gave garbage food to a girl who had nothing.

And now, she was blackmailing Mary for $50,000?

Aurora’s hands flew over the keyboard.

She took the audio file and sent it to every single Waters family member. She used anonymous numbers so no one could trace it back to her.

In her message, she simply wrote:

"Here’s what Jean really thinks about helping Mary. Listen carefully."

Then she hit SEND.

....................

Mary was sitting on her bed, chatting with a friend and laughing softly when her phone buzzed. It was a message from an unknown number. At first, she wanted to ignore it.

She didn’t feel like dealing with anything strange that night. But then she noticed the message that came with it.

"Here’s what Jean really thinks about helping Mary. Listen carefully."

Mary blinked.

Her heart skipped a beat. Something about those words made her feel nervous. Her fingers hesitated for a second, but her curiosity won. She clicked on the audio and brought the phone close to her ear.

The moment Jean’s voice started playing, Mary’s face changed.

Her eyes grew wide.

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

Mary couldn’t believe her ears.

She sat frozen for a few seconds, staring at the wall like it wasn’t real. Her chest felt tight. Her stomach twisted. Her mind was spinning.

Then, the door creaked open.

Adam walked in with a cheerful smile. "Hey, Mary..."

But before he could finish his sentence, Mary burst into tears.

Adam rushed to her side, his smile dropping. "Mary! What’s wrong? Are you hurt?!"

He wrapped his arms around her, gently patting her back. "It’s okay, it’s okay," he whispered. "You’re okay. I’m here."

Mary couldn’t stop crying. The pain in her heart was too big. She remembered everything now; her whole childhood came rushing back.

She remembered May.

Sweet, gentle May, her eldest sister, who always tried to protect her. May would hold her hand when their parents were angry. May would sneak her extra food.

May warned her not to talk back to the adults and tried to teach her how to stay safe in the house.

But once May got married and moved out, everything changed.

Mary never called her. She never even sent a letter.

Why?

Because Jean had told her that May was fake, that she acted nice to Mary’s face but said bad things behind her back, Jean had said May thought Mary was dumb and stubborn. Jean had even convinced her that May didn’t care at all.

And Mary... believed it.

She believed Jean and pushed May away.

All these years, she thought May had left her on purpose.

She thought May didn’t want to help her. She didn’t know the truth, that it was May who fed her, who cared for her, and who loved her most of all.

Now, she knew the truth. But it was too late.

May was gone.

"I-it’s all my fault..." Mary sobbed into Adam’s shoulder. "She died... and I never even said sorry..."

Adam’s eyes widened in panic. "W-what? What do you mean? Did... did you hurt her? Where’s the body?!"

Mary sniffled, then looked up and slapped his arm weakly. "No, dummy!" she cried. "I mean, she died, and I didn’t talk to her for years! I thought she hated me... because Jean lied!"

Adam blinked. "Oh. OHHH..."

Mary shoved the phone into his hands. "Just listen."

He played the audio. His expression changed from confused to shocked to furious in just seconds.

When it ended, he stood up and paced around the room.

"That witch!" he shouted. "How could she do this?! Jean is evil! You were just a kid! She ruined everything!"

Mary wiped her face with her sleeve and looked at him with serious eyes.

Adam looked at her. "Say the word. I’ll get the best lawyer. I’ll make sure she..."

Mary raised a hand and shook her head.

"No. I’ll take care of her myself. You... I need you to find out everything about May, where she lived. What happened to her? If she... if she really died..."

Adam frowned. "Are you sure?"

"I’m sure," Mary whispered.

"I may look soft, but I’m not. I won’t be kind to the people who hurt me. Jean was never my savior. She doesn’t deserve mercy."

Adam slowly nodded. He walked back to her and pulled her into a hug again. "Okay. We’ll find out the truth. About everything."