My Stepmother Said Our Mother Left Us 15 Years Ago… Until I Heard Her Laugh and Whisper, “They Never Suspected Anything
“Quiet,” Lucy hushed me. “Do not make her angry. She could leave too.”
That became the fear that shaped us: the idea that mothers leave, and love had to be earned by always staying small, quiet, and grateful.
We believed we were the kind of children a mother would easily abandon. It had happened once before, and we were terrified it might happen again.
We had no idea that everything we believed about our mother’s disappearance was completely false.
The drive over to Amber’s house felt strange this Mother’s Day.
Lucy had texted me earlier: “I am unable to go. I tried to get off, but I am working back-to-back shifts. Please tell Amber I care for her deeply, and I will make it up to her very soon.”
“I will handle this for you,” I replied. “Do not stress! I will buy a large bouquet of flowers for both of us.”
I bought pink stargazer lilies on the way, since they were Amber’s favorite. The purchase cost $30 I could barely spare, but Amber had stayed with us — and that mattered. Plus, the gift needed to look nice enough so Lucy would not get any backlash.
The front door was unlocked when I arrived.
I almost called out a greeting, but I heard her talking in the kitchen in that cheerful voice she only used when she thought no one was around to listen.
I stopped in the hallway because I did not want to interrupt her.
A moment later, I heard my own name. I glanced into the kitchen and saw her on the phone with her back to me.
“… just Stella. The second one sent me a weak text about how she could not show up.” She laughed. “I taught them perfectly, I promise you. They are so desperate for approval, they would burn alive just to give me heat.”
A moment of silence passed. Barely enough time for me to stop myself from yelling. Then came more laughter.
“Oh goodness,” she sighed. “I truly cannot process how in fifteen years, those twin idiots never guessed a single detail. I constantly wonder — why are they so gullible? Plus I tricked their sad mother too. She has no idea that—”
She paused abruptly and looked around the room. I quickly pressed myself back against the hallway wall.
“… that she has been yelling into an empty space for a decade and a half,” Amber finished. “I made sure neither of those kids ever saw those notes.”
Notes? Our mom had sent us messages?
“She simply needed to act stubborn,” Amber said with a breath. “It was quite simple to trick her into believing James intended to make her poor and take away her custody during their split. James mentioned at the office one time that she had dealt with deep sadness in the past, so I warned her he meant to lock her up in a mental hospital.”
