One week before the apartment sale, my father-in-law told me: «While your husband is away, take a hammer and smash the tile behind the toilet in the bathroom!»…

Anna’s notebook. Maybe, seeing all this, she would see the light? Maybe a mother’s heart couldn’t withstand the sight of such irrefutable evidence? It was a desperate, almost foolish hope. But Emily clung to it like a straw.

She didn’t want to believe her own mother was capable of consciously committing such meanness. She wanted to believe she was simply deceived, misled. «I need to go to Mom,» she said to Michael.

He looked at her in surprise. «Emily, why?» After what happened, she’s my mother. She must know the truth.

The whole truth. I must give her one last chance. Before, before everything collapses.

Michael didn’t argue. He probably understood she needed this. So as not to blame herself later.

To close this door once and for all. They arrived at her mother’s building early morning. It was about seven.

Michael stayed in the car. «I’ll be here,» he said. «If anything, call.»

Emily took only the essentials—the phone with the power of attorney photo and audio recording. And Anna’s black notebook. She went up to the floor.

Her heart pounded. She didn’t know what awaited behind this door. She rang.

A minute later, Mom opened. Irene was in a home robe, with a sleepy, tired face. Seeing Emily, she frowned.

«What do you want now?» she asked coldly. «Wasn’t yesterday enough?» Drove your sister to hysterics. «Mom, I need to talk to you,» Emily said calmly.

«Please.» «Five minutes. It’s very important.»

She entered the apartment without waiting for invitation. Went to the kitchen and sat at the table. Her mother reluctantly followed.

«I’m not going to yell, Mom. I’m not going to accuse. I just want you to see something.

And hear. And then you’ll draw your own conclusions.» Emily placed the phone on the table.

First, she opened the power of attorney photo. «Look. This is the power of attorney David is selling our apartment with.

See the signature?» «That’s not my signature, Mom. It’s a forgery. I never signed this.»

Her mother took the phone. Held it close to her eyes. Her face was tense.

But, there’s the notary’s stamp here, she muttered. «Yes. Now listen how that stamp got there.»

Emily played the audio recording of her conversation with Sophia. From the speaker flowed her younger daughter’s cheerful, smug voice, reveling in how she blackmailed the notary, threatened him with the photo. As the recording played, Irene’s face changed.

It became pale, then gray. She sank onto the chair opposite Emily, her hands limp on her lap. She listened, and horror stood in her eyes.

She heard the truth. And this truth was monstrous. When the recording ended, ringing silence hung in the kitchen.

«This, this isn’t true,» Irene whispered, but there was no conviction in her voice. «It’s some montage, you.» It’s not a montage, Mom,» Emily said quietly.

«And this—isn’t made up.» She placed Anna’s black notebook on the table. Opened it to the last pages.

These are recordings by David’s mom. She made them before death. Read.

About his debts. About his connection to a thug named Raven. About how Sophia was collateral in this debt.

About how the apartment sale isn’t escape to a beautiful life, but David’s desperate attempt to save himself and her from terrible retribution. Irene looked at Anna’s neat handwriting. She read line by line.

Her lips trembled. It seemed another instant, and she’d burst into tears. She’d raise her eyes to Emily and say, «Forgive me, my girl.

Forgive me for being so blind.» At this moment, Emily almost believed she had succeeded. That she had gotten through.

And at that very second, the kitchen door flew open. Sophia stood on the threshold. She was already dressed, ready to go out.

Apparently, she had slept at her mother’s and heard their voices. She saw everything—the pale mother, Emily, the phone and notebook on the table. She understood everything in an instant.

And she began to act. Her face twisted in despair. She rushed to her mother, fell to her knees before her, and sobbed.

But these weren’t yesterday’s fake tears. These were real, frightened tears of a person cornered. «Mommy!» she wants to ruin my life.

She envies me, envies that David loves me, not her. She forged this recording. She made up all these stories.

She wants to put me in prison, and make David a debtor to thugs. «Mommy, save me!» she sobbed. Thrashed in hysteria, clung to her mother like last salvation.

Irene looked from the sobbing Sophia at her feet to the calm, cold Emily opposite. She looked at the irrefutable evidence on the table. And she made her choice.

Emily saw this choice happen in her eyes. Struggle. Doubts.

Then, decision. Irene slowly extended her hand and stroked Sophia’s head. «Hush, my good girl, hush.

I’m with you. I won’t let anyone hurt you.» She raised her eyes to Emily.

There were no more doubts in her gaze. Only cold, heavy resolve. And something else.

Fear. «I won’t let this happen,» she said quietly but firmly. Her voice trembled.

«I won’t see another daughter become an outcast. Your aunt. You don’t remember what gossip did to her? How they hounded her in this city? I buried one sister because of people’s talk.

I won’t let this family be destroyed the same way.» She looked at Emily, and in her eyes was a plea. But she pleaded not for forgiveness.

She pleaded for understanding of her betrayal. «Sophia needs me,» she finished, her voice strengthening. «She’s weak, she won’t survive if all this comes out.

And you’re strong, Emily. You’ve always been strong. You’ll endure.

You’ll survive. And she—won’t.» She had made her choice.

She chose untruth. She chose lies. She chose the daughter she considered weaker, more vulnerable.

The one who needed saving. Even at the cost of truth. Even at the cost of the other daughter.

At that moment, the betrayal became absolute, complete, final. Emily looked at her mother hugging her blackmailer sister, and understood she was completely alone. Her family had consciously chosen the enemy’s side.

«You’re strong, Emily. You’ll endure.» These words of her mother rang in Emily’s ears as she walked down the stairs.

They weren’t words of support. This was a sentence. A sentence that justified betrayal.

Emily silently stood from the kitchen table, gathered the phone, notebook. She didn’t argue, didn’t prove anything. She looked at this scene, her mother cradling her sobbing sister on her knees, like a painting in a museum.

A painting titled «End of Family.» She turned and left. Michael waited in the car.

He saw her face when she approached and understood everything without words. «Nothing?» he asked quietly. «Worse than nothing,» Emily answered, sitting in the passenger seat.

She knows. She saw all the evidence. And she chose them.

Consciously. She told him about her mother’s words. About the aunt, about gossip, about Sophia being weak, and she, Emily, strong.

Michael listened, and his face hardened. He slammed his fist on the steering wheel. «Fool,» he growled.

«Blind, selfish fool. Saves one daughter by drowning the other.» They drove away from her mother’s house.

Where? They didn’t know. Time passed. It was almost nine in the morning.

Until the deal, three hours left. Everything was over. All their trump cards beaten.

The audio recording was useless against blind maternal love. Anna’s notebook was scary, but just entries, words. The nuclear button «About illegal construction» was locked in the city archive, and they had no time to reach it.

They arrived at the cottage. Simply because there was nowhere else to go. This was the only place not yet poisoned by lies and betrayal.

They entered the cold house. Michael sat at the table where Anna’s open diary still lay, and clutched his head. Emily stood by the window looking at the neglected garden.

Defeat was complete. She felt drained. No anger, no desire to fight.

Only gray, viscous fatigue. They had lost. In a few hours, David and Sophia would get the money, board the plane, and disappear.

And she would stay here. Without a home, without money, without family. Strong.

The one who endures everything. «I don’t understand,» Michael suddenly said, breaking the silence. He lifted his head from the table…