I left my wife outside in the freezing cold because my sister yelled, “That woman is using you”; when I opened the balcony door I found a fingerprint, a cigarette butt and an unfinished letter, but what destroyed me the most was knowing who those $8,000 were really for.

Liam felt a blow to his chest. That same night, when Nora fell asleep, he checked her bank app. He found three transfers, two for 2,500 dollars and one for 3,000 dollars, all to an account he didn’t recognize.

The next morning he tried to ask calmly. “Nora, does your mom need money?”

She turned pale. “Why do you ask?”

That reaction was enough to ignite him. “To whom did you send 8,000 dollars?”

Nora opened her mouth, but did not answer as her eyes filled with tears. Gwen appeared at the door as if she had been waiting for that moment.

“See? I told you so,” Gwen said. “These women pretend to be saints, but their family comes first.”

Nora cried and pleaded, “Liam, please, let me explain.”

But he was no longer listening. Shame, doubt, and Gwen’s poison burned inside him.

“Go out onto the balcony,” he ordered. “When you’re ready to tell the truth, come back in.”