Chapter 16 - An Unlikely Ally
I was drowning in despair when the phone rang.
It was a number I hadn't seen in five years.
Mark.
I almost didn't answer, but a desperate hope compelled me.
"Claire," his voice was rough, older.
"I heard what's happening.
About Jessica and Mom." I was too exhausted to be angry.
"What do you want, Mark?" He hesitated.
"I want to help.
I know I have no right to ask for forgiveness, but I can't let them do this to Emma.
Not again." I was skeptical.
Why would he turn on his mother now?
He explained that Linda had tried to recruit him into her scheme, offering to pay his debts if he supported Jessica's custody bid.
But Mark had finally hit rock bottom.
The years of isolation, the guilt of what he had done to us, had changed him.
He wanted to make amends, even if it meant destroying the last shred of a relationship he had with his mother.
"I have proof, Claire," he said.
"Emails, recordings.
Proof that Mom is orchestrating the whole thing.
Proof that she's paying Jessica specifically to hurt you." It was a lifeline.
I arranged a meeting with Mark and David Chen.
Mark looked defeated, a shadow of the arrogant man he used to be.
He handed over a flash drive containing the evidence.
It was everything we needed to expose Linda's conspiracy.
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For the first time in weeks, I felt a glimmer of hope.
We had the weapon to fight back.
