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On their honeymoon at his secluded lake house, Leah believed she knew everything about her husband\u2014until an elderly woman arrived, claiming to be his mother. But Luis had always told her his parents died years ago. As buried secrets surfaced, Leah realized she wasn\u2019t just uncovering a lie\u2014she was inviting danger into their home.\n Leah had been living in a dream\u2014married to the love of her life, basking in the glow of their honeymoon. The lake house had always been a special place for Luis, one he claimed his parents had bought when he was a child.\n Then came the knock at the door.\n Curious, Leah opened it to find a frail, elderly woman wrapped in a tattered coat.\n \u201cAre you my son\u2019s wife?\u201d she asked.\n Leah hesitated. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, ma\u2019am, I think you have the wrong house.\u201d\n \u201cLuis,\u201d the woman said. \u201cThat\u2019s your husband\u2019s name, isn\u2019t it?\u201d\n Leah felt her stomach drop. The woman knew his full name, birthdate, and even about a small mole behind his ear. But Luis had told her his parents had died long ago.\n With a sad smile, the woman introduced herself as Matilda\u2014Tilly, to everyone except her father\u2014and pulled out a photograph.\n It was Luis, as a child, standing on the very porch of the lake house beside a man who must have been his father. And next to them stood Matilda, unmistakably the same woman now standing before Leah.\n \u201cLet me in, darling,\u201d she said softly. \u201cI\u2019ll tell you what happened.\u201d\n Leah hesitated but stepped aside.\n Over a cup of tea, Matilda explained. Fifteen years ago, she and Luis\u2019s father had been in a car accident. His father didn\u2019t survive. Matilda had been hospitalized for months, and when she recovered, Luis had changed. He had shut her out completely.\n \u201cHe won\u2019t listen to me,\u201d she said, her eyes pleading. \u201cBut you\u2026 you\u2019re his wife. You can help me.\u201d\n A sense of unease settled in Leah. She needed to talk to Luis immediately.\n Stepping into the bathroom, she called him. The moment he answered, she blurted out, \u201cLuis, there\u2019s a woman here. She says she\u2019s your mother.\u201d\n Silence. Then, his voice, sharp and urgent.\n \u201cGet her out of the house. Now, Leah!\u201d\n \u201cWhat? Luis, what\u2019s going on?\u201d\n \u201cShe\u2019s lying. Whatever she told you, it\u2019s a lie. Get her out now.\u201d\n The call cut off.\n Shaken, Leah returned to the kitchen. Matilda smiled.\n \u201cEverything alright, darling?\u201d\n Trying to mask her nerves, Leah offered to make her something to eat. As they sat in silence, Matilda spoke again.\n \u201cLeah, I\u2019m in need, darling. Could you give me $500? I have no one else to turn to.\u201d\n Leah hesitated but almost reached for her wallet\u2014until the door swung open.\n Luis stood there, his face pale. The grocery bags in his hands fell to the floor.\n \u201cNo,\u201d he whispered. \u201cI told you\u2014I don\u2019t want to see you. Leave. Now!\u201d\n Leah was stunned. She had never seen him this angry.\n \u201cLuis, don\u2019t be cruel,\u201d she pleaded. \u201cShe\u2019s your mother.\u201d\n \u201cShe is not my mother, Leah!\u201d\n The room went silent.\n \u201cShe left me at a foster home,\u201d he said, his voice cold. \u201cI begged her to take me back, reminded her that we only had each other after my father died. But she wanted a fresh start\u2014without me.\u201d\n Leah turned to Matilda, ice filling her veins. \u201cIs that true?\u201d\n \u201cIt\u2019s\u2026 complicated,\u201d Matilda muttered.\n Luis\u2019s expression darkened. \u201cShe was the one driving that night. She\u2019d been drinking. My father wanted to drive, but she refused. She ran a red light. That\u2019s why my father is dead. And that\u2019s why she walked away without a scratch.\u201d\n Leah looked at Matilda. \u201cWas any of it true?\u201d\n Matilda opened her mouth, but no words came out.\n \u201cNow, leave,\u201d Luis said. \u201cYou\u2019re not welcome anywhere I am.\u201d\n Matilda hesitated as if hoping they would call her back. But when they didn\u2019t, she turned and walked out into the cold.\n \u201cShe\u2019s dead to me, Leah. She has been for years.\u201d\n Leah swallowed hard. \u201cI should have believed you. I just\u2026 she looked so frail and cold. I wanted to help.\u201d\n Luis sighed, pulling her into his arms. \u201cYou didn\u2019t know. But now you do.\u201d\n And just like that, the ghost of his past faded into the night.\n \u201cNow,\u201d Luis said, smiling, \u201clet\u2019s make those cinnamon buns. I\u2019ve been thinking about them nonstop.\u201d\n What would you have done?\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On their honeymoon at his secluded lake house, Leah believed she knew everything about her husband\u2014until an elderly woman arrived, claiming to be his mother. But Luis had always told her his parents died years ago. As buried secrets surfaced, Leah realized she wasn\u2019t just uncovering a lie\u2014she was inviting danger into their home. Leah …\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":101199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1439],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101204,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101198\/revisions\/101204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/480816048_1568197450555343_3344460890536343576_n.png%5C%22 "\\"\\"")
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