Chapter 25 - The Boy Who Remembered
Before we could execute any plan, I had to do the hardest thing I had ever done.
I had to tell the boys.
I gathered all four of them in the living room, sitting on the large sectional sofa.
Luke climbed into my lap immediately, sensing the heavy tension in the room.
Noah and Caleb sat close to me, while Evan stood by the fireplace, his arms crossed defensively.
"I need to tell you all something very important," I started, keeping my voice soft but steady.
"It's about your biological mother."
Evan's posture went completely rigid.
"She's dead," Evan snapped quickly.
"We know she's dead."
I took a deep breath, looking directly into the eleven-year-old's terrified eyes.
"She isn't, Evan," I confessed.
"She survived the crash, and she went into hiding for a long time."
"Now she is back, and she wants to see you."
Caleb gasped, his eyes going wide, while Noah shrank back into the cushions.
"Does she want us to live with her?" Caleb asked, his voice trembling violently.
"No," Evan said, his voice suddenly dropping into a dangerous, icy tone that sounded exactly like his father.
I looked at Evan, surprised by the absolute fury radiating from his small body.
"She doesn't want us," Evan explained to his brothers, stepping forward.
"She never liked us."
"I remember the night she left, Nia."
My heart broke as the tough eleven-year-old finally revealed the secret he had been carrying for five years.
"I was awake," Evan choked out, tears finally spilling down his angry cheeks.
"She packed a bag, and she looked right at me standing in the hallway."
"She told me to keep my mouth shut, and then she walked out the door."
I stood up, letting Luke slide onto the couch, and wrapped my arms tightly around Evan.
He sobbed into my shoulder, all the trauma of his childhood pouring out in one massive wave.
"She can't take us away from you, Mom," Evan cried, gripping my shirt.
"She can't."
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"She won't," I promised, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.
"She has to get through me first."
