The Mother Who Sabotaged My Future for 20 Years,Now She's Begging Me to Forgive Her

The day Silvia Henson passes the federal civil service exam, her mother welcomes the background-check team through the front door and calmly tells them her daughter's father was a murderer, that Silvia stole, brawled and slept around. Every accusation is a lie, and Silvia knows it. She has spent years watching her mother tear up her admission ticket, storm her speeches and drive away university recruiters, always wearing the same smug smile.

This time Silvia does not scream or weep. She pours tea, sits down and tells the team her mother is right, asking them to investigate thoroughly. The team declares her morally corrupt and moves to hand her over to the authorities, while her mother kneels, sobbing that it was all a lie, begging them to start the review again.

Once they are gone, her mother rises and tells Silvia she was only doing what was best for her: forget the job and marry Frank Finch, Carmen Lambert's son. Silvia wonders what color her mother's heart really is.