On the day of my mother’s funeral, I ended up in the river – I don’t know if I slipped by accident or if someone pushed me on purpose: but when I miraculously got out of the water, I accidentally overheard my husband and best friend talking 😢😨
My mother’s funeral went by like a fog. People spoke words of comfort, hugged me, someone put dishes on the table, someone cried quietly. I barely heard anything. In the evening, the guests began to leave. The house became stuffy and heavy. I wanted to get some fresh air, so I quietly went to the river.
The riverbank was wet and slippery after the rain. I was standing at the water’s edge when suddenly the ground gave way under my feet. I didn’t even have time to scream, and in a second I was in the icy water. The current was very strong. The dress immediately pulled me down, my shoes hindered my movement. For a few seconds, I just struggled and thought I was going to drown. But in my youth, I had spent many years swimming. That saved me. Instinct worked faster than fear. I quickly turned onto my back, pushed off with my legs, and swam toward the reeds on the bank. My fingers felt the hard stalks. I clung to them and struggled to get out onto the shore.
I lay in the wet mud, trying to regain my composure. At that moment, I heard voices. Someone came to the cliff right above my head. I cautiously raised my eyes through the reeds and froze. It was my husband and my best friend. They were standing very close to the edge, looking at the water.
— She won’t make it, — my husband said calmly. — Even experienced swimmers would hardly manage.
— And if she does? — the friend asked nervously.
— She won’t. And besides, everyone saw she drank a little after the funeral.
The friend chuckled quietly. — She’s not a problem. I’ll say I saw her slip and fall. I’ll say I tried to help but didn’t make it in time.
— Exactly, — the husband replied.
Suddenly it hit me that I might not have fallen into the river by accident. The friend was silent and then suddenly asked:
— Okay, and what did you do about her mother’s death? Did you bribe anyone?
The husband replied calmly, as if speaking about something ordinary.
— Yes. Everything is under control. Everyone believed the heart attack version.
Inside me, everything shattered.
The friend quietly laughed. — You promised to tell everything when they’re both on the other side. Now explain why you wanted to get rid of both at once.
The husband was silent for a few seconds. — Because they knew a very important secret.
— And what is it?
I stopped breathing. And then he told me something that sent an icy chill down my spine. That’s why he got rid of my mother… and that’s why he wanted to get rid of me 😨😱
Shortly before her death, my mother called me and asked me to come urgently. When I arrived, she was sitting in the kitchen in a robe, holding an old photograph.
— Do you remember my brother? — she asked quietly.
I remembered him vaguely. A tall man who carried me on his shoulders. He died when I was six years old.
My mother paused and said:
— They helped him leave this life. And I kept silent for almost forty years.
She explained that her brother worked in the district administration and dealt with land registration. In the late 1970s, several influential people illegally registered large plots of land in their own names. The documents were backdated with forged stamps and signatures.
He was the only person who knew the truth. He managed to take the real documents and hide them at my mother’s house.
A month later, he was found dead on the railway tracks. Everyone was told that he had drunk and fallen under the train.
My mother stayed silent about this for nearly forty years because she was afraid. But recently, expensive cottages started being built on those same lands. The owner of the construction site was the son of the man who had once forged the documents.
My mother said that she had started being watched. Strange cars appeared near the house.
— They found out, — she said.
Before I left, my mother said:
— I re-hidden the documents. I won’t tell the address. Look where we often went when you were little. When you find them — hand them to the court.
At the time, I didn’t understand how dangerous it was. But my husband somehow learned about the documents. And now, listening to his conversation with my best friend, I finally understood the truth.
They killed my mother. And they just tried to kill me.
