Chapter 6: The Night Everything Changed
I read the message again.
Then again.
The words refused to make sense.
Ask Mark why he was with your mother the night she died.
My mother had died fifteen years ago.
Mark was older than me by only six years.
He would have been twenty-one.
A stranger.
Someone who had no connection to my family.
That was what I believed.
“Emma?””
Daniel’s voice pulled me back.
I looked at Mark.
“Were you there?””
His face went pale.
“Don’t listen to whoever sent that.””
“Were you?””
Mark didn’t answer.
And somehow, that was worse than any confession.
Daniel stepped toward him.
“You knew her mother?””
Mark rubbed his jaw.
“It’s complicated.””
I laughed quietly.
“Everything with you is complicated.””
“Emma—”
“No.””
My voice broke.
“No more explanations. No more excuses.””
The parking lot was still full of people.
Still full of strangers.
But for once, I didn’t care who heard.
“You looked me in the eyes for three years and told me I had no one.””
Mark stared.
“You told me my brother abandoned me.””
I pointed toward Daniel.
“You lied.””
“You told me my family didn’t want me.””
My voice shook.
“You lied.””
“You made me feel lucky that you chose me.””
Silence.
“And all this time, you knew things about my family that I didn’t?””
Mark looked at the ground.
That was his answer.
Victoria quietly said, “Emma, there is something you need to see.””
She pulled a small photograph from her bag.
She handed it to me.
I looked down.
The picture was old.
A younger version of my mother stood beside a man.
My father.
And another person.
A young man.
My breath caught.
Because I recognized him.
Even younger.
Even different.
But it was him.
Mark.
My hands started shaking.
“No.””
Daniel took the photo.
His face changed.
“Mark?””
Mark closed his eyes.
“I was twenty-one.””
I looked at him.
“You knew my parents.””
“Yes.””
“How?””
He didn’t answer.
Victoria did.
“Mark’s father worked with your father.””
Daniel looked at her.
“What kind of work?””
Victoria’s silence was enough.
Dangerous work.
Hidden work.
The kind nobody talked about.
Mark suddenly looked desperate.
“Emma, there are things you don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
“I was trying to fix what my father did.””
My heart pounded.
“What did your father do?””
Mark looked at me.
“He ruined your family.””
The words hit harder than expected.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Are you saying your family was responsible for what happened to Emma’s parents?””
Mark shook his head.
“Not everything.””
“Then what?””
Mark looked toward the road.
“I came here to stop this from happening.””
I stared.
“You mean you married me to protect me?””
He didn’t answer quickly enough.
The pain was immediate.
“You didn’t love me.””
His expression changed.
“No.””
The word cut through me.
Then he corrected himself.
“No. Emma, I did love you.””
But I didn’t know if I believed him anymore.
A police car pulled into the parking lot.
Two officers stepped out.
Daniel had called them.
Mark looked at me one last time.
“There is one thing you need to know.””
I said nothing.
“Your father left the trust because he knew someone would come after it.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
Mark looked at Victoria.
Then Daniel.
Then me.
“The person who has been sending you those messages.””
My phone buzzed again.
Everyone looked.
This time, the message wasn’t from an unknown number.
It came from a saved contact.
A name I hadn’t seen in years.
A name that shouldn’t have been able to contact me.
*Mom.*
May you like
The message contained only five words.
*Emma, trust nobody. I’m alive.*
