Chapter 13: The Voice That Wasn’t There
Nobody spoke.
The phone remained pressed against my ear even though the call had already ended.
The silence afterward felt heavier than any scream.
Laura stood in front of me.
Alive.
Confused.
Terrified.
And yet someone had just used her voice.
Claire looked at her with suspicion.
Richard looked at her with anger.
Thomas looked at her with something worse.
Fear.
“Who called?”” the officer asked.
I lowered the phone slowly.
“It was Laura.””
Everyone looked at the woman standing beside the table.
Laura shook her head.
“No.””
The officer frowned.
“She’s right here.””
“I know.””
My voice was barely a whisper.
“That’s why I’m scared.””
Maya grabbed my sleeve.
Her hands moved quickly.
I watched her face.
Then I understood.
“She says the voice wasn’t Laura.””
Everyone looked at Maya.
Thomas stepped closer.
“What does that mean?””
Maya pointed at her throat.
Then at the phone.
Then made a motion like someone copying another person.
My stomach tightened.
“She says someone was pretending to be Laura.””
Richard laughed.
“That’s impossible.””
Thomas looked at him.
“No.””
The laughter disappeared.
“It’s not.””
Everyone turned toward him.
Thomas looked at the notebook.
“There was someone else involved.””
My father’s face changed.
“Thomas.””
“I’m sorry, Daniel.””
He looked at me.
“But she deserves to know.””
I hated those words.
Every time someone said them, another piece of my life collapsed.
“Know what?””
Thomas took a breath.
“Your father wasn’t the only one who disappeared that night.””
The room went still.
“My mother?””
Nobody answered.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
“No.””
My father looked at me with tears in his eyes.
“Emma…”
“No.””
I stepped back.
“My mother died before the fire.””
“That’s what you were told.””
The words came from Richard.
I turned toward him.
“You knew?””
Richard smiled faintly.
“I knew everything.””
The officer moved toward him.
“Mr. Carter, stop talking.””
But Richard ignored him.
“Your mother was the first person who discovered what we were doing.””
My father closed his eyes.
“Richard.””
“She found the records. She found the accounts. She found the names.””
I looked at my father.
“Mom was alive?””
“For a while,” he whispered.
The pain in his voice was unbearable.
“What happened?””
My father looked at the floor.
“I tried to protect her.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“No.””
He looked up.
“I failed.””
A noise came from outside.
Another car.
Then another.
The officer immediately moved toward the window.
“Everyone stay where you are.””
But Richard was watching the door.
Like he was expecting someone.
Then the door opened.
A woman stepped inside.
Older.
Silver hair.
A familiar face.
My breath stopped.
Because I knew her.
Not from photographs.
Not from stories.
From memories.
A hand brushing my hair.
A voice singing in the kitchen.
A perfume I hadn’t smelled in twenty years.
“Mom?””
The entire world stopped.
My mother looked at me.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Emma.””
I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t think.
My father covered his face.
Because the person he had lost was standing alive in front of him.
Maya started crying.
Even Richard looked shaken.
My mother stepped forward.
“I’m sorry.””
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because my heart didn’t know what else to do.
“Sorry?””
My voice broke.
“You were dead.””
She nodded.
“I know.””
“You let me believe that.””
“I had to.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You chose to.””
The pain on her face was real.
But I couldn’t forget.
“I buried you.””
She whispered:
“I know.””
The officer stepped between us.
“Ma’am, you need to explain who you are.””
My mother looked at him.
Then at Richard.
Then at the notebook.
“I can explain everything.””
She looked at me.
“But first…”
Her eyes moved to the notebook in my hands.
“You need to know what your father was protecting.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
She swallowed.
“The fire wasn’t meant to destroy evidence.””
My father looked up.
My mother continued:
“It was meant to destroy me.””
The room went silent.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“Because I was the one who found out who really started the fire.””
Everyone looked at Richard.
But my mother looked somewhere else.
At Claire.
And Claire whispered:
“No.””
May you like
My mother’s eyes hardened.
“It was you.””
