Chapter 15: The Truth Mia Was Forced to Carry
Nobody moved after Mia said the name.
Daniel.
The same name from my mother's recording.
The same name hidden inside old documents.
The same name connected to Karen's secrets.
Except now...
Mia knew something.
Something she had carried alone.
My father looked at her.
"You knew about this?""
Mia started crying.
"I was young.""
"How young?""
"Thirteen.""
That answer softened something inside me.
Because suddenly, I remembered.
Mia was only a child.
A child caught between adults.
A child who had been manipulated.
That didn't erase what she did.
It didn't excuse the pain she caused.
But it explained something.
"I didn't understand everything.""
My father sat down.
"Then tell us what you do understand.""
Mia wiped her face.
"Mom used to meet Daniel.""
My stomach tightened.
"Where?""
"Sometimes at restaurants. Sometimes at hotels.""
My father looked shocked.
"You knew?""
"I saw them once.""
She looked down.
"I thought he was a friend.""
"What changed?""
Mia swallowed.
"One night, I heard them arguing.""
"What did they say?""
She closed her eyes.
"I heard Daniel say that everything was taking too long.""
My father's expression changed.
"Everything?""
Mia nodded.
"He said once Dad trusted Mom completely, everything would be easier.""
My blood ran cold.
"What did Karen say?""
Mia looked at me.
"She said she knew how to make sure nobody questioned her.""
The silence that followed felt unbearable.
Because suddenly, every piece connected.
Karen didn't just enter our family.
She studied it.
She found weaknesses.
She used people's emotions.
And she waited.
My father stood.
"I need to find her.""
But before he could move, his phone rang.
He answered.
The moment he heard the voice, his face changed.
"What?""
A pause.
"No.""
Another pause.
Then:
"Are you sure?""
He looked at me.
And I knew something was wrong.
"What happened?""
He slowly lowered the phone.
"Daniel is gone.""
I frowned.
"What do you mean?""
"He disappeared.""
My father looked at Mia.
"After Karen left.""
My heart sank.
Because that wasn't a coincidence.
Then another message appeared on my phone.
From the same unknown number.
One sentence.
*"You are looking in the wrong direction.""*
I showed my father.
He stared.
Then another message arrived.
*"Your mother wasn't trying to expose Karen.""*
My breathing stopped.
A third message.
*"She was trying to expose someone else.""*
The phone slipped slightly in my hand.
Someone else?
Another person?
I looked at my father.
He looked terrified.
Because maybe...
just maybe...
we had spent all this time chasing the wrong person.
May you like
And the real person behind everything...
was still inside our lives.
