Chapter 4: The Woman Who Buried the Truth
For several seconds after the call ended, I couldn't move.
The phone was still pressed against my ear.
The line was dead.
But my father's voice was still there.
*Don't trust anyone in that room.*
I slowly lowered the phone.
Everyone was watching me.
Lauren.
Marcus.
My mother.
Three people who had been part of my life in completely different ways.
My mother gave me life.
Marcus had been my brother in everything except blood.
Lauren was supposed to become my future.
And now I had no idea which one of them was standing closest to my destruction.
"Who was it?"" Marcus asked.
I looked at him.
"What?""
"The call.""
I didn't answer.
Because saying it out loud would make it real.
Lauren stepped closer.
"Was it him?""
I stared at her.
"You tell me.""
Her face fell.
"I don't know.""
I almost laughed.
That phrase again.
Everyone knew something.
Everyone knew enough to hurt me.
And somehow I was always the last person in the room to find out.
I walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?""
Lauren grabbed my arm.
I immediately pulled away.
The look on her face changed.
Not anger.
Pain.
But I couldn't let that distract me anymore.
"I need to talk to my mother.""
Lauren looked terrified.
"Michael, don't do that.""
"Don't do what?""
"Don't confront her.""
I stared at her.
"Why?""
Her silence was the answer.
My stomach twisted.
"Because she might tell me the truth?""
Lauren looked down.
"I don't know what she might do.""
I opened the door.
The church hallway was empty.
Everyone had been moved away from the room, but I could still hear whispers from the main area.
The wedding guests were waiting.
Waiting to see whether there would be a wedding.
They had no idea they were watching the collapse of a family.
I found my mother sitting in the last pew.
Sophie was beside her, holding her small white dress in her hands.
The moment she saw me, she stood.
"Dad?""
I forced a smile.
"I'm okay.""
She looked at my face.
Kids always know.
They don't need explanations.
They see the things adults try to hide.
"You're mad.""
I shook my head.
"No.""
She looked at the floor.
"I'm sorry.""
I knelt in front of her.
"For what?""
"For telling everyone.""
My heart broke.
"Sophie.""
She looked at me.
"You saved me today.""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't want you to marry someone who didn't want me.""
That sentence hurt more than anything.
Because suddenly I realized what Lauren's words had done.
She hadn't just threatened my relationship with my daughter.
She had made my daughter believe she was unwanted.
I hugged Sophie.
"You will always be wanted.""
She held onto me tightly.
"I heard her, Dad.""
I closed my eyes.
"I know.""
"No.""
She pulled back.
"I heard more.""
I froze.
"What more?""
She looked around.
Then lowered her voice.
"Before the wedding.""
"What happened?""
"She was talking to someone.""
"Who?""
"I don't know.""
"What did she say?""
Sophie looked nervous.
"She said she was running out of time.""
My chest tightened.
"Anything else?""
She nodded.
"She said, 'If Michael finds out before I get the papers, we're finished.''"
The word hit me.
Papers.
The same thing from the video.
The same thing Lauren had admitted.
I looked at my mother.
She had heard every word.
Her face had gone pale.
"What papers?"" I asked.
My mother looked away.
"Mom.""
She didn't respond.
"Mom, what papers?""
She slowly stood.
"Not here.""
I felt anger rising.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?""
"Because this isn't just about us anymore.""
"What does that mean?""
She looked toward the church entrance.
Then back at me.
"It means someone knows you have the phone.""
My blood ran cold.
"How?""
My mother looked at Lauren.
"I don't know.""
I followed her eyes.
Lauren was standing at the end of the hallway.
Watching us.
My mother whispered:
"That's the problem.""
We left the church through the side entrance.
I didn't know where we were going.
I just knew I couldn't stay surrounded by people pretending everything was normal.
Marcus drove.
My mother sat in the passenger seat.
Sophie sat beside me in the back.
Lauren stayed behind.
I didn't ask her to come.
She didn't ask if she could.
The silence in the car was unbearable.
Finally, Marcus spoke.
"Okay.""
Nobody answered.
"So we're just going to pretend this isn't the craziest day of our lives?""
I looked out the window.
"I don't know what else to do.""
Marcus sighed.
"I've known you for fifteen years.""
I looked at him.
"You trust me?""
The question surprised him.
"Of course.""
"Do you know anything about my father?""
His hands tightened on the steering wheel.
That was all I needed to see.
"You too?""
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
"What?""
"You know something.""
"No.""
"Marcus.""
He stayed quiet.
My anger exploded.
"Everyone knew!""
Sophie jumped.
I immediately lowered my voice.
"I'm sorry.""
Marcus looked in the mirror.
"I didn't know everything.""
"What did you know?""
He swallowed.
"Your father came to see me.""
I stared.
"When?""
"Three days before he died.""
The car went silent.
My mother closed her eyes.
"You never told me.""
Marcus shook his head.
"He made me promise.""
I felt betrayed.
"You promised my father?""
"Yes.""
"Not me?""
"I thought I was protecting you.""
"Everyone thinks they're protecting me.""
My voice cracked.
"But nobody ever thinks I deserve the truth.""
Nobody spoke.
Marcus continued driving.
Finally, I asked:
"What did he say?""
Marcus looked ahead.
"He said if anything happened to him, I needed to watch over you.""
I laughed bitterly.
"That sounds like him.""
"He also said something else.""
"What?""
Marcus hesitated.
"He said there was someone close to you who would try to take everything.""
My mother looked down.
"Did he say who?""
"No.""
"Why not?""
"Because he didn't know.""
That stopped me.
"What?""
Marcus nodded.
"He said he suspected someone, but he needed proof.""
I thought about the video.
My father saying he didn't know whether Lauren knew the whole truth.
I thought about my mother's confession.
Everyone had pieces.
Nobody had the entire picture.
"Where did he go?""
Marcus shook his head.
"I don't know.""
"Did he say he was leaving?""
"Yes.""
"Did he say why?""
Marcus looked at me.
"He said the only person he trusted was you.""
I looked down at Sophie.
The only person who had risked everything to tell me the truth was a seven-year-old girl.
The irony wasn't lost on me.
We arrived at my mother's house twenty minutes later.
The same house where I grew up.
The same house where my father used to make pancakes every Sunday.
The same house where I believed nothing bad could ever happen.
Now it felt like a place full of ghosts.
My mother unlocked the door.
The moment we stepped inside, I noticed something.
A drawer near the entrance was open.
My mother stopped.
"What?""
She walked toward it.
Her face changed.
"What is it?""
She opened the drawer fully.
Empty.
She had been keeping something there.
"What was inside?""
She didn't answer.
"Mom.""
She looked at me.
"The letter.""
My stomach dropped.
"The letter from Dad?""
She nodded.
"It was here.""
I looked around.
"Someone took it.""
Nobody moved.
Marcus walked toward the door.
"Wait.""
"What?""
He pointed.
The lock was damaged.
Not broken.
Opened carefully.
Someone hadn't forced their way in.
They had a key.
My mother whispered:
"No.""
I looked at her.
"Who has a key?""
She didn't answer.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
My hands went cold.
I opened it.
One photo.
My father's letter.
The exact letter that had disappeared.
Then a message underneath.
*You should have left the past buried.*
Another message arrived.
*Your father made the same mistake.*
I stared at the screen.
Then came the final message.
*Ask your mother what happened the night Emily died.*
I stopped breathing.
Emily.
My wife.
Sophie's mother.
The woman I lost before I met Lauren.
I looked up slowly.
My mother was watching my face.
She already knew.
"What does Emily have to do with this?""
Nobody answered.
Then Sophie whispered:
"Dad?""
I looked at her.
She was staring toward the window.
"What?""
Her face had gone pale.
"That man.""
"What man?""
She pointed outside.
My heart started pounding.
A figure stood across the street.
Watching the house.
Even from a distance, I knew something was wrong.
The person turned.
Walked away.
I ran to the door.
"Michael!"" Marcus shouted.
But I was already outside.
I crossed the street.
"Hey!""
The person kept walking.
"Stop!""
They turned the corner.
I followed.
But when I reached the end of the street...
Nobody was there.
Only an empty sidewalk.
And a piece of paper taped to a streetlight.
My hands shook as I pulled it down.
Three words were written on it.
*ASK YOUR FATHER.*
I looked around.
My father was supposed to be dead.
But someone was making sure I knew one thing.
The truth about his death was only the beginning.
May you like
And the person who knew the most...
Was the person I had trusted my entire life.
