"Damn right. I want to see for myself what kind of homewrecker could have that whole family wrapped around her finger."
I handed the baby to the maternity nurse, then climbed into the car with my parents.
In the backseat, my mom wouldn't stop:
"Brad Delgado, that ungrateful snake. Back when he wanted to marry you, he knelt outside our front door for three days and three nights. Knelt until his forehead was split open and bleeding before I finally agreed to let my daughter marry him. And now? His own wife is still recovering from giving birth, and he runs off to take care of his mistress and her illegitimate child?"
"And your mother-in-law! Always going on about how she treats her daughter-in-law like her own flesh and blood. And what does she do? Her own daughter-in-law is suffering, and she doesn't lift a finger. Instead she goes off to wait on some other woman's maternity recovery?"
"If I catch them red-handed doing my daughter wrong, I will make them pay. Every last one of them."
Mom was furious.
Back when Brad first came courting, she hadn't approved.
She thought his family's circumstances were too ordinary. That he wasn't good enough for me.
It was Brad kneeling outside our door for three days and nights, splitting his forehead open against the ground, that finally wore her down.
Dad drove in silence, not saying a word.
I caught his reflection in the rearview mirror. His brows were knotted tight, his expression unreadable.
We'd been driving for about twenty minutes when I suddenly spotted Brad's car parked outside a roadside villa.
"Stop the car! Dad, stop!"
Hearing the urgency in my voice, Dad quickly pulled over, then turned to look at me.
"What is it, Jill? Aren't we heading to the airport to find Brad?"
Mom was just as confused. "That's right. We need to get to the airport and catch them in the act!"
I pointed at Brad's car. "He hasn't left for the airport yet. He's probably here to pick up his little girlfriend."
I got out of the car before either of them could respond.
The Other Jilln headed straight for the villa.
What I didn't notice was that behind me, in the car, both my parents had gone pale the moment they looked at the building.
When Dad saw me walking toward the villa, he was out of the car in an instant, stepping in front of me to block my path.
"Jill, are you sure Brad came here to pick up that woman?"
Something strange flickered across his face. It stopped me cold.
"What's wrong, Dad? Do you know this place?"
His mouth opened. Nothing came out.
By then, Mom had caught up to us.
She glanced at the villa, swallowed hard, and when she spoke, her voice was heavy with something close to dread.
"Jill, let's go back."
"Don't look into this anymore."
I stared at her in disbelief.
"Why?"
"Mom, you're the one who said we should come find out the truth. You were the most fired up about it. You said we had to catch them red-handed."
"They're right here, right in front of us. Why are you suddenly telling me to stop?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed my arm, her voice cracking, almost begging.
"Jill, please. I'm begging you. Let's just go home."
"Let this go. Please?"
Dad walked over too, his face grave.
"Jill, listen to your mother. Let's go home first."
"We're doing this for your own good."
I was completely lost.
I couldn't make sense of it. Just minutes ago, my parents had been ready to storm in and fight for me. Now, after one look at this villa, they'd become entirely different people.
Was it the villa itself?
Or was it the person inside?
While the questions were still churning through my mind, the front door of the villa swung open.
My head snapped toward it.
And there they were. Brad on one side, Jean on the other, carefully supporting a woman with a swollen belly as she stepped out of the villa.
The moment I saw her face, my eyes went wide.
Everything clicked into place.
