Chapter 7: The Sister Who Knew Too Much
My sister stood in the doorway like she had been expecting this moment for years.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Not fear.
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
Acceptance.
She wasn’t shocked to see Daniel in my apartment.
She wasn’t shocked to see the photograph in my hand.
She wasn’t even shocked that I knew.
She looked like someone who had spent three years waiting for the door to finally open.
“Lena,” I whispered.
Her face softened.
“Nia…”
“No.””
The word came out before I could stop it.
I held up the photograph.
“You were with him.””
Lena’s eyes moved to the picture.
Then away.
That tiny movement confirmed everything.
“You knew Marcus was alive.””
Silence.
A terrible, painful silence.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Lena, you need to tell her.””
She looked at him sharply.
“You don’t get to decide that.””
My heart pounded.
“You two have been talking?””
Neither answered.
And somehow, that hurt more than a confession.
Because it meant this wasn’t something that happened tonight.
This was something that existed behind my back.
For years.
I looked between them.
“My whole life, I trusted both of you.””
Lena’s eyes filled with tears.
“Nia…”
“No.””
I backed away.
“Don’t say my name like you’re the victim.””
The pain on her face was real.
That almost made it worse.
Because if she had looked guilty, if she had looked cold, maybe it would have been easier.
But she looked broken.
Like she had been carrying something too heavy for too long.
“I wanted to tell you,” she whispered.
“When?””
She didn’t answer.
“After one year? Two years? Five years?””
“Nia, it wasn’t that simple.””
“Then make it simple.””
My voice shook.
“Tell me why you knew the man I loved was alive and you let me mourn him.””
Lena closed her eyes.
And when she opened them again, I saw something I had never seen before.
Fear.
“Because Marcus asked me not to.””
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
“Marcus?””
She nodded.
“He came to me the night he disappeared.””
My entire body froze.
“The night?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Lena looked at the photograph.
“Because he knew someone was watching him.””
I swallowed.
“Who?””
She hesitated.
And that hesitation told me the answer mattered.
“He didn’t know at first.””
Daniel looked away.
I noticed.
“Daniel,” I said.
He looked at me.
“What?””
“You knew.””
His jaw tightened.
“I suspected.””
“Suspected what?””
“That Marcus wasn’t gone.””
The words landed like a punch.
I looked at him.
“You thought he was alive?””
“Yes.””
“And you still let me believe he was dead?””
Daniel looked ashamed.
“I thought if I told you, you would go looking for him.””
“Of course I would.””
“That’s why I didn’t.””
I laughed.
A painful, empty laugh.
“So you decided for me.””
“Nia—”
“You all decided for me.””
The room felt like it was closing in.
My sister moved closer.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
She looked at me.
“From becoming the next person who disappeared.””
The fear in her voice silenced me.
Because it sounded genuine.
Not like a lie.
Not like an excuse.
Like a warning.
“What happened that night?”” I asked.
Lena sat down slowly.
“I was leaving work late. Marcus called me.””
“Why you?””
“He said he couldn’t call you.””
That hurt.
Even after everything.
Even after three years.
The thought of Marcus choosing not to call me still cut deeply.
“He said someone had access to the company accounts,” Lena continued.
“The missing money?””
She nodded.
“And he said the person behind it knew him.””
Daniel looked down.
Lena continued.
“Marcus was scared because whoever was doing it wasn’t just stealing money.””
“What else?””
“They were building a case.””
“A case against who?””
Her eyes met mine.
“You.””
The room went cold.
Again.
“I don’t understand.””
“Marcus found fake documents with your signature. Fake transfers. Fake emails.””
“I know.””
Lena looked surprised.
“You found them?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
I looked at Daniel.
Then Ethan.
Then back at her.
“Everyone has been finding things except me.””
Lena looked heartbroken.
“That’s exactly why Marcus wanted you away from it.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“What?””
“No.””
I stood.
“He didn’t protect me. He abandoned me.””
My voice cracked.
“I spent three years thinking he was dead.””
Lena looked down.
“He hated himself for that.””
“Then why didn’t he come back?””
She didn’t answer.
Daniel did.
“Because he was trying to prove who did it.””
I looked at him.
“And?””
Daniel’s face darkened.
“And he found out.””
My heartbeat increased.
“Who?””
Before he could answer, every light in the apartment went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
A second later, glass shattered.
Lena screamed.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
“Get down!””
Something hit the wall behind us.
Not random.
A warning.
Someone was outside.
Someone wanted us afraid.
The sound of footsteps moved away.
Daniel ran toward the window.
I stayed frozen.
Because on the floor beside me was a small object that had fallen through the broken glass.
A phone.
An old one.
A phone I recognized.
My heart stopped.
Because I had seen it before.
Three years ago.
It was the same model.
The same cracked corner.
May you like
The same damaged screen.
Marcus’s phone.
