On their honeymoon at his secluded lake house, Leah believed she knew everything about her husband—until 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’t just uncovering a lie—she was inviting danger into their home.
Leah had been living in a dream—married 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.
Then came the knock at the door.
Curious, Leah opened it to find a frail, elderly woman wrapped in a tattered coat.
“Are you my son’s wife?” she asked.
Leah hesitated. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I think you have the wrong house.”
“Luis,” the woman said. “That’s your husband’s name, isn’t it?”
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.
With a sad smile, the woman introduced herself as Matilda—Tilly, to everyone except her father—and pulled out a photograph.
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.
“Let me in, darling,” she said softly. “I’ll tell you what happened.”
Leah hesitated but stepped aside.
Over a cup of tea, Matilda explained. Fifteen years ago, she and Luis’s father had been in a car accident. His father didn’t survive. Matilda had been hospitalized for months, and when she recovered, Luis had changed. He had shut her out completely.
“He won’t listen to me,” she said, her eyes pleading. “But you… you’re his wife. You can help me.”
A sense of unease settled in Leah. She needed to talk to Luis immediately.
Stepping into the bathroom, she called him. The moment he answered, she blurted out, “Luis, there’s a woman here. She says she’s your mother.”
Silence. Then, his voice, sharp and urgent.
“Get her out of the house. Now, Leah!”
“What? Luis, what’s going on?”
“She’s lying. Whatever she told you, it’s a lie. Get her out now.”
The call cut off.
Shaken, Leah returned to the kitchen. Matilda smiled.
“Everything alright, darling?”
Trying to mask her nerves, Leah offered to make her something to eat. As they sat in silence, Matilda spoke again.
“Leah, I’m in need, darling. Could you give me $500? I have no one else to turn to.”
Leah hesitated but almost reached for her wallet—until the door swung open.
Luis stood there, his face pale. The grocery bags in his hands fell to the floor.
“No,” he whispered. “I told you—I don’t want to see you. Leave. Now!”
Leah was stunned. She had never seen him this angry.
“Luis, don’t be cruel,” she pleaded. “She’s your mother.”
“She is not my mother, Leah!”
The room went silent.
“She left me at a foster home,” he said, his voice cold. “I begged her to take me back, reminded her that we only had each other after my father died. But she wanted a fresh start—without me.”
Leah turned to Matilda, ice filling her veins. “Is that true?”
“It’s… complicated,” Matilda muttered.
Luis’s expression darkened. “She was the one driving that night. She’d been drinking. My father wanted to drive, but she refused. She ran a red light. That’s why my father is dead. And that’s why she walked away without a scratch.”
Leah looked at Matilda. “Was any of it true?”
Matilda opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“Now, leave,” Luis said. “You’re not welcome anywhere I am.”
Matilda hesitated as if hoping they would call her back. But when they didn’t, she turned and walked out into the cold.
“She’s dead to me, Leah. She has been for years.”
Leah swallowed hard. “I should have believed you. I just… she looked so frail and cold. I wanted to help.”
Luis sighed, pulling her into his arms. “You didn’t know. But now you do.”
And just like that, the ghost of his past faded into the night.
“Now,” Luis said, smiling, “let’s make those cinnamon buns. I’ve been thinking about them nonstop.”
What would you have done?
