“The truth,” she said, “is that Amecha Mensah was a mistake. A terrible mistake that would have ruined your life and everything I built for you.”
Amara’s breath caught.
“So you admit it.”
Gloria walked to the window and looked out at her perfect garden.
“I did what any good mother would do,” she said. “I protected my daughter.”
“Protected me?” Amara whispered. “You made me believe my husband was dead. You kept me from my child.”
“That child was never supposed to exist,” Gloria said. “And that man was never supposed to be your husband.”
“But he was my husband,” Amara shouted. “I loved him.”
“He made you weak,” Gloria said. “Before him, you were focused. Ambitious. Ready to take over Okafor Holdings. After him, you wanted to play house in Ajegunle and pretend money didn’t matter.”
“He made me happy.”
“Happiness is not enough,” Gloria snapped. “I built this family from nothing. I turned it into an empire. And you were ready to throw it away for a man with grease under his fingernails.”
“So you destroyed him,” Amara said. “You destroyed us.”
“I did what was necessary,” Gloria replied.
No remorse.
No shame.
Nothing.
“And it worked, didn’t it? After he was gone, you became everything I knew you could be. CEO. Billionaire. Powerful.”
“I became empty,” Amara said. “A shell.”
Gloria’s face hardened.
“You are ungrateful.”
“You staged a death. You committed fraud. You stole a child from her mother. That is not protection. That is evil.”
“Watch your tongue,” Gloria warned. “I am still your mother.”
“No,” Amara said slowly. “You are not. A mother doesn’t do what you did. A mother doesn’t destroy her daughter’s happiness and call it love. You are not my mother. You are a monster.”
For the first time, Gloria’s face showed real emotion.
Anger.
“How dare you?” she hissed. “After everything I’ve done for you?”
“You got exactly what you wanted,” Amara said. “You got rid of Amecha. You controlled my life. You made me your perfect heir.”
“Yes,” Gloria shouted. “Because you were too blind to see what was good for you. Someone had to save you from yourself.”
“I didn’t need saving,” Amara said quietly. “I needed my husband. I needed my family. And you took that from me.”
She turned to leave.
“Where are you going?” Gloria demanded.
“Away from you.”
“You’ll calm down,” Gloria said. “You’ll see I was right. You always do.”
“No,” Amara said. “For the first time, I’m seeing clearly.”
“I’m going to take care of Amecha and Zara,” she continued. “I’m going to give them everything you tried to take from them.”
“You will do no such thing,” Gloria said. “That man is a liar. That child may not even be yours.”
“She is mine,” Amara said. “And I’m going to be her mother, whether you like it or not.”
Gloria’s eyes flashed.
