It was him!

By Irina

My stepmother, Paty, never left the room without smiling.

She didn't seem to realize that we were gathered there to hear my late father's will read.

She didn't lose a thing when she became a widow.

She was always a terrible woman, just like her daughter. Together, they conspired against me, making my life impossible.

My father left the mansion where we lived to her and Rosie, my half-sister. I don't understand that, but I didn't care.

In the will, she specified that I could take everything that once belonged to my mother, as well as all my belongings.

I had 48 hours from that moment to remove my belongings from the place where I was born and raised.

It hurt, of course, but I wasn't interested in continuing to live with them.

My memories of my mother in that house faded, and only the days when I stayed in my room to avoid Rosie and her evil schemes remained in my mind, though I didn't always succeed.

I heard the lawyer say that my father was transferring a property from my maternal grandmother to me. It was located on San Basilio Avenue. He said the number and mentioned that he had been my executor until that moment.

Paty didn't like that at all. She interrupted the reading and asked the lawyer why the property belonged only to me.

"That property belonged to Mrs. Fabiola Márquez, Miss Irina Kroes's maternal grandmother."

"But I was Maxim Kroes's wife."

Madam, that property didn't even belong to your late husband. Please allow me to continue reading the will."

I didn't say a word, even though I wasn't aware the property existed. The address seemed familiar, but I didn't know why. I was sure my grandmother had never lived at the address the lawyer mentioned.

They talked about the three cars in the garage of what was, until today, my home.

It was still a strange situation; he left one in each of our names. Of course, the car I got was the lesser valuable one.

Either way, I couldn't wait to pack my bags and leave.

I realized that my father had always been manipulated by Paty.

My mother died because of her.

She found out about my father's infidelity when Paty showed up at our door with a girl who was my age.

She had been his secretary and ended up becoming his lover. Both my mother and Paty became pregnant around the same time.

He denied being involved with Paty, swearing it was only once.

Of course, my mother didn't believe him.

Paty said she wasn't leaving her front door and that she was also responsible for being Mrs. Kroes.

I remember they argued like never before. Suddenly, my mother took my hand, and we got into her car. She was crying and seemed desperate. I was sitting in the backseat, curled up in a ball, when I felt us spin around a lot inside the car. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt, but I was.

She was thrown from the vehicle and died instantly. My father, who was following her in his car, pulled me out of the car and his tears wet my face. I can still feel his tears on my face to this day.

Patty took advantage of the situation and moved into our house. He couldn't or wouldn't kick her out.

I know my father mourned my mother until the day she died. However, years after her passing, he married Paty.

Those memories are distant, yet I remember everything as if it were yesterday.

My tears are falling.

I understand that my father was disappointed in me.

I swear it's not my fault!

The lawyer's cough pulls me out of my thoughts.

The shoe factory, Kroes Shoes, is divided as follows: 50% belongs to Mrs. Paty Benitez de Kroes; the remaining 50% is divided equally between her two daughters, Miss Irina Kroes and Miss Rosie Kroes.

Paty didn't like that my father left me 25% of the factory. I also feel it's unfair because my mother was by his side when he founded it, although my stepmother was his secretary. I don't know if she was at that time, though.

The general manager of Kroes Shoes is Mr. Roque Cassani. The young ladies have an honorary position, and they can attend board meetings if they wish. The vote is valid according to the shares that each person owns.

The dividends will be deposited monthly.

He continued talking.

I thought I wouldn't have a say in those meetings because they owned 75% of the factory.

Paty and her daughter love spending money together. I think the factory is going to go under unless Roque Cassani can take charge.

Unless Roque Cassani can take charge and handle the two harpies.

But he was always controlled by Rosie.

What did my father think?

I was surprised that they didn't mention the other factories. I was going to ask about them when Paty spoke first.

Maximo owned many companies, but they didn't mention them.

He argued with the lawyer rudely, interrupting him while he was speaking.

"Ma'am, those factories were sold five years ago. Only Kroes Shoes remains."

I didn't know we were in such bad financial and economic shape.

My father must have suffered a lot when he sold his factories. He never said anything about it. From what I'm hearing, not even Paty knew.

Rosie was silent.

I had already talked too much the day he died, and the next day at the wake when I shouted and accused him of dying because I was a bad daughter.

She said that I caused his cardiac arrest when I told him I was pregnant.

I'm twenty, and it's true; I'm pregnant. I swear I don't know what happened the night I got pregnant, nor do I know who the father of my baby is.

I was raped in my house, in my own room.

Thanks to Paty and Rosie, my father didn't believe me.

Rosie even revealed details about my private life that never existed!

From the day my mother died, Paty took over our house. When my father left after her, Paty immediately moved in.

I don't know if my father was weak or if there was anything legal that could be done to make her leave.

I suppose many factors influenced things to happen that way.

My father was depressed. Despite everything, I know he loved my mother and was devastated when she died in an accident.

He felt guilty.

His character changed from that fateful day forward.

Paty didn't leave home.

Initially, they slept in separate rooms. I remember finding it strange that this woman was always in a nightgown.

It took me a while to realize that she was trying to seduce my father.

At some point, he must have succeeded because years later, they were not only sleeping together but also married.

There was never much harmony between them.

Their marriage didn't last, because for quite some time, my father had been sleeping in another room.

I think it had been about five years.

Paty was a thorn in my side.

"I want to know what happened to the money from those companies!

You must have spent it yourself!"

I said, unable to contain myself.

"I am no longer the helpless child or the teenager Rosie used to take care of. Her mother would cover for me, turning around any injustice I was a victim of, and there were many."

I can't say for sure because I have no proof, but I'm certain Rosie was involved in my rape and subsequent pregnancy.

I swear I was unconscious, and the man or men who abused me were so careful not to hurt me that they didn't leave any marks or bruises on my skin.

The morning after, I woke up with a burning sensation in my intimate area, and the sheet was stained with blood—but only a few drops.

I didn't think much of it.

I thought it might be a chill or cystitis—I wasn't sure—but by the time I decided to go to the doctor, the burning had subsided.

Then, I forgot about it.

At first, I thought it was a setback, maybe due to nerves. I was preparing for many subjects at university and studying for two degrees. On the other hand, I had to take the final German exam.

Three weeks passed, and since I hadn't gotten my period, I decided to go to the doctor. It never occurred to me that I could be pregnant.

I was a virgin!

When the doctor told me, I denied it until I remembered the blood on my sheets and the burning sensation I had experienced.

I explained to the doctor what had happened. It was too late to file a complaint. Without any indication of who the father of my baby was, I couldn't demand a paternity test.

The only thing I could think to do was tell my father with the two women present.

It was the worst mistake of my life.

I gave them the opportunity to defame me and treat me like a doormat.

I was innocent.

My father was crying.

I swore to him that I didn't know what had happened. I was naive for not talking about that issue in private.

Everything was chaotic.

At that moment, I realized that Rosie was involved in what happened to me.

I only had one friend, but unfortunately, as I grew up, she supported each and every one of the atrocities that Rosie made me suffer.

Upon discovering that I had no one to trust, I secluded myself in my room. During the time I wasn't at school or university, I studied several languages online.

My father gladly paid for the classes.

The lawyer asked us to be quiet and continued reading the will.

Patty persisted with the other companies and a significant property in the coastal area.

The lawyer stated that everything had been sold to pay off debts, leaving only Kroes Shoes.

My heart was filled with sadness.

My father went through so much!

I don't know when or how those possessions were lost, but I'm going to find out. Really, though, I don't care about the financial aspect. Of course, we lived with many luxuries, but I didn't enjoy them.

Managing to get through a day without being tormented by my tormentor was an achievement, and that's how every day of my life was.

I thought Rosie had calmed down, at least a little, but that wasn't the case.

I was raped!

She was either guilty or an accomplice. Her mind is macabre.