Chapter 9 - THE SECRET CHILD
I walked into my mother's room holding my phone.
She saw my face.
She knew immediately.
"What happened?"
I placed the phone on the table.
The message was still there.
My mother read it.
And for the first time...
she looked afraid.
Not worried.
Not sad.
Afraid.
"Who sent this?"
I stared at her.
"You tell me."
She looked away.
That was enough.
"Mother."
She whispered:
"I hoped you would never find out."
My chest tightened.
"Find out what?"
Clara stood beside me.
"Mrs. Hale?"
My mother looked at her.
Then at me.
"Your father had another secret."
I laughed quietly.
"Of course he did."
But my mother didn't react.
Because she knew this was different.
"What secret?"
She took a deep breath.
"After Rose disappeared..."
She paused.
"She wasn't alone."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
My mother looked at Clara.
"Rose had another child."
The room went silent.
Clara stepped back.
"No."
My mother nodded sadly.
"Yes."
I looked between them.
"Another child?"
"Your father had another daughter."
My head spun.
Three daughters.
One family.
One man.
A lifetime of lies.
"Where is she?"
My mother didn't answer.
That scared me.
"Where is she?"
Finally:
"She disappeared."
Clara whispered:
"Like my mother."
My mother nodded.
"Yes."
The anger inside me returned.
"How many people disappeared because of this family?"
Nobody answered.
Because the answer was too painful.
I walked away.
I needed air.
I needed distance.
But before I reached the door, my mother spoke.
"Bennett."
I stopped.
"There is something else."
I turned.
"What now?"
Her voice broke.
"The person who took Rose's daughter..."
I waited.
My mother looked at me.
"It was someone in this house."
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Too many names.
Too many secrets.
Too many unanswered questions.
At midnight, I went to the security room.
I wanted footage.
Anything.
Someone had entered.
Someone had watched us.
The security manager pulled up the cameras.
"Nothing unusual, sir."
"Check again."
He hesitated.
"Sir..."
"Again."
Minutes passed.
Then he stopped.
His face changed.
"What?"
He pointed at the screen.
A person appeared walking through the east hallway.
A person I recognized.
I stepped closer.
"No..."
The image was clear.
The person entered my mother's room.
Stayed for eleven minutes.
Then left.
I looked at the timestamp.
The same night the letter disappeared.
I looked at the security manager.
"Zoom in."
The image became clearer.
And my blood ran cold.
Because the person stealing my family's secrets...
was not Victor.
Was not a stranger.
It was someone who had been living inside this house for years.
Someone my mother trusted.
Someone I trusted.
The screen showed the face.
And I whispered:
"No way."
May you like
Because standing in my mother's hallway...
was Clara Reed.
