Laura's Secret
Chapter 05 - Laura's Secret
Laura came to see Frank that night.
She looked exhausted.
“Don't contact her again.”
Frank laughed once.
“You don't get to decide that anymore.”
“I protected her.”
“By telling her I abandoned her?”
“You were drinking.”
“I know.”
“You punched holes in walls.”
“I know.”
“You scared me.”
Frank's anger faded.
Because every accusation was true.
Then he asked, “Why tell me she died?”
Laura looked away.
“It wasn't my idea.”
Frank froze.
“Whose?”
“My mother.”
Frank remembered Ruth Carter.
Cold.
Controlling.
She had always hated him.
Laura explained.
After leaving Frank, she went into premature labor.
Emily survived.
Ruth told Laura that Frank had come to the hospital drunk and threatening.
That was a lie.
Ruth told Frank the baby had died.
Another lie.
Then she moved Laura across the state.
For years, Ruth intercepted letters.
Changed phone numbers.
Controlled everything.
Frank stared at Laura.
“You believed her?”
“I wanted to.”
The honesty hurt.
Laura began crying.
“I was afraid that if I contacted you, you'd become the man I remembered.”
Frank looked around the room.
“Maybe I did anyway.”
Laura wiped her eyes.
Ruth had died two months earlier.
Among her belongings, Laura found a box.
Inside were letters Frank had written eighteen years ago.
Letters Laura had never seen.
That was why Laura finally told Emily the truth.
May you like
Not because she was ready.
Because the lie had become impossible to maintain.
