Chapter 5 Mom

The cling of the cell door that shut behind me felt louder than usual as if it were trying to remind me where I'd just come from. Where I'd wasted five long years of my life.

I stepped into the sunlight slowly, almost hesitant. The sky was too blue, the air too crisp, and the silence too loud. Everything felt unreal. I had imagined this moment too many times, but now that I was standing on the other side of the gates, it didn't feel like freedom. It felt like a question mark.

No one had come to visit me in all these years. Not my dad. Not even my mother-especially not her. The woman who had walked out when I needed her most. Who vanished without explanation and left me to rot behind concrete and cold steel.

And yet... today, I was suddenly free. Surprisingly, the woman I thought abandoned me was the one who would rather bail me out. What a world.

"My... my mother?" I asked out of blue cause I was so shocked.

He nodded once. "You're free to go, Natasha."

The other officer didn't meet my eyes. "You're free. That's all that matters."

I blinked. "That's not an answer." He sighed and tilted his head toward the road. "You'll find out soon enough." That was what he told me when I looked at him after the first officer left without answering my questions.

After years of silence... after leaving me alone with a father who disowned me, why did she come back?

Was it out of guilt? Pity? Regret?

My eyes scanned the road. I hadn't seen her. No driver waiting. No letter, no explanation. Just the guard's whisper and a gate swinging open.

My eyes scanned the road. I hadn't seen her. No driver waiting. No letter, no explanation. Just the guard's whisper and a gate swinging open.

I stood still trembling with uncertainty and began walking.

I walked along the road like a stranger in my own skin, each step more uncertain than the last. The same road I had once skipped along as a child now felt like it didn't belong to me. Nothing did.

The wind blew against my face, but even the fresh air tasted foreign.

I clutched the small envelope I was given-a few old belongings. Letters I'd written and never sent. A broken necklace. A photo of me and Zane.

Zane.

The thought of him twisted in my chest like a blade. I never got to say goodbye. Never got to mourn properly. My cousin Ella said it was an accident. That they argued, and it got out of hand. But Daniel-my crush, he chose her side. Together, they pinned the blame on me.

And my father? He didn't even ask for my version of events. He disowned me the moment the accusations started. That cold statement still echoed in my memory:

"If you really did this, Natasha, then you are no daughter of mine." I remember him clearly telling the officer " I don't know her, I have no disgrace of a daughter as such" and added that he cared less. I sighed.

I hadn't cried that night. I'd just stared through the glass wall of the police station and watched my life collapse like a sandcastle in a storm.

But now, five years later, someone had bailed me out. And that someone was my mom. But why did she not wait for me before leaving ?. I had a lot of questions to ask her.

Why?

Why now?

Why me?

I was still walking, lost in my thoughts, when I heard the sound. Tires screeching. Loud. Close.

My heart jolted as I turned just in time to see a sleek black car swing around the bend at a terrifying speed. It wasn't slowing down.

I took a step back-then another-but the car stopped abruptly beside me, the passenger door flying open.

Before I could run, a man in black, tall and masked, lunged from the vehicle and grabbed me by the arm.

"Let go of me!" I screamed, thrashing against his grip.

He didn't speak. Just tightened his hold and shoved me inside the car.

My head hit the seat. Pain exploded across my temple. My vision swam.

Then everything went black.

When I came to, my hands were bound at the wrist with soft cloth-restrained, not harshly but controlled. I was lying on leather seats, the interior of the car expensive and warm. A scent I hadn't smelled in years floated in the air-rosewater and old wood.

Memories rushed back too fast.

I sat up quickly, heart pounding. The man in black was gone.

The door opened slowly.

And then-her.

She stepped in like a ghost, poised and graceful in her heels and beige coat. Her hair was pinned neatly, her expression unreadable.

My throat went dry. "Mom?"

She said nothing. Just closed the door behind her and took the seat across from me.

My body tensed. "You... you bailed me out."

Silence.

"Why now? After all these years?"

Her eyes didn't flicker. But something passed between us-grief, guilt, maybe even love. Or maybe I was imagining it all.

Her lips parted slightly, but before she could speak,

The car stopped.

She turned to the tinted window, ignoring me. "We're here."

"Where's here?" I demanded, yanking my hands free.

She opened the door, stepped out, and turned back once. Just once.

Her voice was cold. "It's time you learned the truth."

And with that, she walked ahead into the night.