“Five years ago,” Caleb said, “you showed me messages you said came from Nora.
You showed me financial records.
You told me she had betrayed me.”
His father exhaled slowly.
“And now she has convinced you otherwise?”
“She hasn’t spoken to me.”
That answer unsettled them more than Caleb expected.
He tapped the first page.
“These messages were altered.”
His mother’s mouth tightened.
“According to whom?”
“Independent forensic analysis.”
“Anyone can buy an expert opinion.”
Caleb looked at her.
“That’s interesting.”
“What is?”
“I didn’t tell you she paid for it.”
His mother went still.
His father turned toward her.
“Don’t play games,” he said to Caleb.
“I’m finished playing your games.”
His father pushed the pages away.
“We were protecting you.”
There it was.
Not a denial.
Caleb felt something inside him become very quiet.
“Protecting me from what?”
“From making a permanent decision based on an infatuation.”
His mother’s face hardened now that concealment was becoming useless.
“She did not belong in your life, Caleb.
You were prepared to build everything around her.
You stopped listening to anyone else.”
“So you fabricated evidence.”
“We showed you what you needed to see.”
The sentence landed harder than shouting would have.
Caleb stared at his mother.
“You forged messages.”
She looked away.
His father stepped in.
“Whatever was done, it was done because you were throwing away your future.”
Caleb almost laughed.
His future.
Five years of dinners where his mother complained that he never brought anyone home.
Five years of his father asking when he planned to settle down.
Five years of both of them pretending not to understand why no relationship lasted longer than a few months.
“You didn’t protect my future,” Caleb said.
“You chose it for me.”
“We are your family.”
“And she trusted me.”
His father glanced toward the door.
“She’s pregnant with another man’s children, Caleb.
Whatever fantasy you’re rebuilding, perhaps remember that.”
Caleb’s expression changed instantly.
“Don’t use her children to excuse what you did.”
His father stopped.
“You know nothing about her life,” Caleb continued.
