Chapter 10: The Secret Hidden Inside Our House
The room went silent after Ryan’s accusation.
Not the ordinary kind of silence.
This was the kind that made everyone afraid to breathe.
Someone inside our house.
Those words stayed in my mind.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Someone who knew enough about Jordan’s phone.
Enough about Maya.
Enough about our family.
I looked at Ryan.
“Are you saying someone in my family framed my son?””
Ryan didn’t answer immediately.
That bothered me.
People who tell the truth usually don’t need time to create the perfect response.
“I’m saying someone had access,” he finally replied.
“That’s not what you said.””
Ryan leaned back.
“I said the phone wasn’t hacked.””
Officer Hill watched him carefully.
“Ryan, if you’re making an accusation, you need evidence.””
“I know.””
“Do you have any?””
Ryan nodded.
“Yes.””
Everyone looked at him.
“What evidence?”” I asked.
Ryan glanced at Jordan.
“Your son’s phone was unlocked.””
Jordan frowned.
“What?””
“Three weeks ago, you gave someone your passcode.””
Jordan’s expression changed.
I looked at him.
“Did you?””
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Maya.””
My heart sank.
Maya looked horrified.
“Jordan…”
“You needed my phone to call Mom when yours died.””
Maya shook her head.
“I only used it once.””
“But you knew the password.””
The room became colder.
I looked at my daughter.
Not because I thought she was guilty.
Because I saw fear on her face.
The same fear she had carried for weeks.
“No,” Maya whispered.
Ryan looked at her.
“I didn’t say you did it.””
“But you’re making everyone think it.””
“That’s not my intention.””
Jordan stood.
“Then what is your intention?””
Ryan looked at him.
“Finding out who is.””
For the first time, Ryan’s confidence disappeared.
Because Jordan wasn’t looking at him like an enemy.
He was looking at him like someone trying to solve a puzzle.
That bothered me.
Because it meant Jordan was already thinking ahead.
“Let’s say someone had my passcode,” Jordan said.
“Who else knew?””
Nobody answered.
Then Claire slowly raised her hand.
“I did.””
Everyone looked at her.
“What?””
She looked ashamed.
“When Jordan got his first phone, I wrote everyone’s emergency passwords down.””
Jordan frowned.
“Mom.””
“I know.””
She looked down.
“It was years ago.””
“Who had access to that?””
Claire swallowed.
“Me.””
The room went silent again.
A terrible thought entered my mind.
Not that Claire had done anything.
Never.
But that someone could have accessed that information.
“Where did you keep it?””
She hesitated.
“In the kitchen drawer.””
I stared at her.
“The one where we keep documents?””
She nodded.
The one everyone in the house could reach.
Officer Hill wrote something down.
“Who lives here?””
“Just us,” I said.
“Any visitors recently?””
I thought.
Friends.
Neighbors.
Relatives.
Then I stopped.
Because one person came to mind.
Someone who had been in our house.
Someone who knew about our situation.
Someone who had every reason to appear helpful.
“Ryan.””
Everyone looked at me.
“What?”” Jordan asked.
I looked at the young man sitting across from us.
“You’ve been here before.””
Ryan didn’t deny it.
“Yes.””
“When?””
“The day after the party.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Why?””
“To check on Maya.””
My stomach tightened.
“How did you know where we lived?””
Ryan was quiet.
Too quiet.
“Ethan told me.””
There it was.
Another connection.
Another thread.
Officer Hill looked up.
“Ryan, did you ever enter this house?””
“No.””
“Did you ever have access to Mr. Bennett’s documents?””
“No.””
“Did you know Jordan’s password?””
“No.””
Then Ryan looked at Maya.
“But someone else did.””
Maya looked terrified.
“Stop.””
Everyone turned toward her.
“What?”” I asked.
She shook her head.
“I know who.””
My entire body went still.
“Who?””
She looked at Jordan.
Then at Claire.
Then finally at me.
“Lily.””
The youngest member of our family.
My twelve-year-old daughter.
“No.””
The word escaped before I could stop it.
Maya started crying.
“I don’t know if she did it.””
“Then why say her name?””
“Because she knew.””
The world seemed to tilt.
“Knew what?””
Maya wiped her face.
“She knew about the videos.””
I stared.
“What?””
“She heard me talking to Jordan.””
“When?””
“The night she saw us arguing.””
The night everything exploded.
The night Maya accused Jordan.
“She was upstairs,” Maya whispered.
“Listening.””
I couldn’t move.
Because suddenly, another memory came back.
Lily standing in the hallway.
Lily saying Jordan wasn’t trying to hurt Maya.
Lily defending him.
I had seen it as proof of innocence.
But what if there was something else?
What if she knew more than she told us?
No.
I immediately rejected the thought.
Not Lily.
Not my little girl.
“She’s a child,” Claire whispered.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
A child could make mistakes.
But could a child create something like this?
Could a child manipulate an entire family?
Officer Hill stood.
“We need to talk to Lily.””
My heart sank.
May you like
Because I knew one thing.
Whatever happened next would change how we saw our youngest daughter forever.
