Chapter 18: The Person We Never Suspected

The next morning, I made a decision.

No more reacting.

No more discovering secrets after someone else decided I was ready.

I was done being pulled through other people’s stories.

I wanted control.

So Adrian and I created a timeline.

Every event.

Every person.

Every connection.

We placed everything on paper.

Patricia entered our lives.

My father’s business struggled.

My mother became suspicious.

Felicity became ambitious.

The Montgomery marriage happened.

The attacks began.

But one thing kept appearing.

A person in the background.

Someone who benefited from every conflict.

Someone who had access to information.

Someone who knew what my mother was investigating.

And then we found it.

The pattern.

“This person was there every time,” Adrian said.

I looked at the notes.

“Yes.””

“Not always directly.””

“No.””

“But always close enough.””

I nodded.

Then my phone rang.

My father.

I answered.

“Dad?””

His voice was shaking.

“Jenna.””

“What happened?””

“I remembered something.””

“What?””

A pause.

“The night before your mother died.””

I sat down.

“What about it?””

“I saw someone leaving the house.””

My heart raced.

“Who?””

“I thought it was Patricia.””

“But?””

“But it wasn't.””

Silence.

“Who was it?””

My father whispered the name.

And everything inside me stopped.

Because it was someone I knew.

Someone who had comforted me.

Someone who had told me they loved my family.

Someone who had acted like they were protecting us.

The person who had helped destroy us.

I hung up.

Adrian looked at me.

“What did he say?””

I looked at the name written on the paper.

The name that changed everything.

“It was my mother’s closest friend.””

Adrian went silent.

I stared at the evidence.

The truth was no longer hidden.

It was standing right in front of me.

And the person behind it all had been watching me search for answers this entire time.

Then another message appeared on my phone.

One sentence.

From the same unknown number.

*Your mother knew the truth. She just didn't know who to trust.*

I stared at the words.

Because suddenly, I understood something terrifying.

My mother hadn't been fighting against one enemy.

She had been surrounded by people pretending to love her.

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