Chapter 6: The Sister Who Was Erased
The words on the back of the photograph burned into my mind.
*Trust no one in the Carter family.*
I read them again.
And again.
Because my brain refused to accept them.
My mother had written those words.
Not someone else.
Not a stranger.
My mother.
“Emily?””
Nick’s voice pulled me back.
I looked up.
Everyone was staring at me.
Lily stood a few feet away, watching my reaction.
“You didn’t know,” she said quietly.
I shook my head.
“No.””
She looked almost angry.
But not at me.
At everything.
“I thought maybe she told you.””
“Told me what?””
Lily laughed sadly.
“That I existed.””
The pain in her voice was impossible to ignore.
I wanted to ask a hundred questions.
Why did my mother give her away?
Why did she hide her?
Why was Martha involved?
But the only thing I could say was:
“I’m sorry.””
Lily looked surprised.
“Why are you apologizing?””
“Because you lost your family.””
She looked at me.
“And you think you didn’t?””
That sentence hurt because it was true.
Nick stepped closer.
“Lily, we need answers.””
She looked at him.
“You’re Nick.””
He nodded.
“Yes.””
“The son of Daniel Carter.””
His expression changed.
“You knew my father?””
She looked away.
“I knew who he was.””
Rebecca moved closer.
“Lily, tell them what your mother told you.””
Lily held the photograph tighter.
“She contacted me six months before she died.””
I froze.
“She knew about me?””
Lily nodded.
“She found me.””
The room became silent.
“She spent years trying to locate me. When she finally did, she was terrified.””
“Terrified of what?”” Nick asked.
Lily looked at Martha.
Everyone followed her eyes.
Martha’s face was expressionless.
But her hands were shaking.
“She told me she made a mistake by trusting Martha.””
My stomach dropped.
Martha immediately snapped.
“That’s a lie.””
Lily didn’t even look at her.
“She told me Martha knew about me from the beginning.””
Nick stared at his mother.
“Mom?””
Martha looked away.
Rebecca whispered:
“Of course she knew.””
Nick’s voice became colder.
“How?””
Rebecca answered.
“Because your father told her.””
The pieces were falling together.
Martha knew about Lily.
She knew about the trust.
She knew about my mother.
And she knew exactly what she was doing when she destroyed my wedding.
Lily reached into her bag again.
“I have something else.””
She pulled out a small envelope.
“My mother gave me this before she died.””
She handed it to me.
I looked at the handwriting.
My mother’s handwriting.
My fingers trembled.
“Why didn’t you open it?””
Lily looked down.
“Because she told me not to.””
“Why?””
“She said I should only open it when I found you.””
I stared at her.
“You were looking for me?””
“For years.””
The answer broke my heart.
Because while I had grown up believing I was alone…
Someone had been searching for me.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter.
Only one page.
Emily,
If you are reading this, then Lily found you.
I’m sorry for every year you spent without knowing the truth.
I wanted to tell you everything.
But Martha Carter threatened to destroy both of you if I did.
My hands froze.
Nick saw my face.
“What does it say?””
I kept reading.
She knows what happened the night Daniel died.
She knows why he left the trust.
She knows why Lily was hidden.
And she knows the secret that could destroy the Carter family.
My heart raced.
I looked at Martha.
She was no longer pretending.
She looked terrified.
The letter continued.
Emily,
Do not trust Martha.
She will say she acted out of love.
She will say she protected the family.
But the truth is simple.
She was protecting herself.
I lowered the paper.
“Martha…”
She looked at me.
For the first time, I saw something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Nick stepped forward.
“What happened the night my father died?””
Martha didn’t answer.
Rebecca looked at Lily.
Lily whispered:
“She knows.””
Nick’s voice sharpened.
“Knows what?””
Lily looked at him.
“She knows your father wasn’t going to leave her.””
The room went silent.
Martha closed her eyes.
And I realized the wedding scandal was only the beginning.
The scissors.
The money.
The trust.
The lies.
They were all connected.
Then Nick’s phone rang.
Everyone looked at him.
He answered.
“Hello?””
His face changed after five seconds.
“Who is this?””
A pause.
Then his hand lowered slowly.
“What?””
I stood up.
“What happened?””
Nick looked at me.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“That was the hospital.””
My heart dropped.
“Why would the hospital call you?””
He looked at Martha.
Then at Rebecca.
Then at Lily.
“They found something in my father’s old medical records.””
He swallowed.
“Something that proves his death wasn’t an accident.””
And before anyone could ask another question, the hospital worker said one final sentence through the speaker.
May you like
A sentence that made Nick turn completely pale.
“Mr. Carter… your father was murdered.””
