Chapter 7 - THE PERSON BEHIND THE LIE
The woman standing in the doorway didn’t look like a threat.
That was what made it worse.
For thirty years, she had been part of their family.
She attended birthdays.
She sat at their dinner table.
She held their mother’s hand when their father died.
Aunt Rebecca.
The woman everyone trusted.
The woman who was now pointing a gun at them.
Laura stared at her.
“No…”
Rebecca’s expression didn’t change.
“I’m sorry, Laura.”
The words hurt more than the weapon in her hand.
“You’re sorry?”
Laura’s voice shook.
“You break into our home, threaten us, and you’re sorry?”
Rebecca sighed.
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
Mark stepped in front of his sisters.
“You knew.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Yes.”
“You knew everything about Dad.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Claire.”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Mark’s face hardened.
“And you helped hide it.”
Rebecca lowered the gun slightly.
“I helped protect this family.”
Laura laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
She looked around the room.
“Protect us from what? The truth?”
Rebecca’s eyes moved toward Claire.
“No.”
She looked at them all.
“Protect you from what the truth would do.”
Claire stepped forward.
“You mean protect yourself.”
Rebecca’s expression turned cold.
“You don’t understand anything.”
“I understand enough.”
Claire’s voice trembled with anger.
“My father lost everything because of people like you.”
Rebecca’s jaw tightened.
“Your father was dangerous.”
“And mine wasn’t?”
Nobody answered.
Because that was the question nobody wanted to face.
Mark looked at Rebecca.
“What happened the night Dad died?”
Rebecca became silent.
Too silent.
Laura noticed.
“Rebecca…”
The older woman looked away.
And that was the answer.
“You were there,” Laura whispered.
Rebecca closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
The room felt smaller.
“You were there when Dad died?”
“Yes.”
Mark’s fists clenched.
“Why?”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Because your father was going to expose everything.”
“What everything?”
Rebecca didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked at the letter in Mark’s hand.
“Give me that.”
“No.”
Her face hardened.
“Mark, you don’t know what you’re holding.”
“I know enough.”
“No, you don’t.”
Rebecca stepped forward.
“That letter will destroy your family.”
Laura stepped beside Mark.
“Maybe it should.”
For the first time, Rebecca looked afraid.
Because she realized something.
The children she once protected were no longer children.
They were finally asking questions.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from outside.
Everyone turned.
The window shattered.
Rebecca dropped to the floor.
Someone had fired a shot.
Panic exploded.
Mark grabbed Laura and Evelyn.
“Down!”
Another shot hit the wall.
Claire looked toward the window.
Her face went pale.
“No…”
Mark looked at her.
“What?”
Claire whispered:
“That wasn’t Rebecca’s enemy.”
May you like
A pause.
“That was mine.”
