Chapter 6: The Memory My Mother Left Behind
For a moment, I couldn't move.
The words didn't make sense.
Hidden in me.
What was that supposed to mean?
Victoria watched my confusion with a satisfied expression.
She had spent years perfecting that look.
The look of someone who knew something you didn't.
The look of someone who enjoyed watching you search for answers.
"What does that mean?"" I asked.
She walked slowly toward the living room.
"It means your mother was smarter than you think.""
"Don't talk about her like you knew her.""
Victoria laughed softly.
"I knew her better than you did.""
The words hit me harder than I expected.
"That's impossible.""
"Is it?""
She stopped beside the dining table.
"Your mother trusted me.""
I stared at her.
"No, she didn't.""
Victoria's smile grew.
"She did at first.""
The confidence in her voice bothered me.
Because lies were usually messy.
But Victoria told them like she had practiced them.
"She invited me into her home," Victoria continued.
"She told me things about your family. She told me things about your father.""
"You're lying.""
"Am I?""
She leaned closer.
"Ask yourself why your mother never told you the truth.""
My phone buzzed again.
I looked down.
Daniel.
*Daniel Carter: "Do not engage with her. She is trying to manipulate you.""*
I locked the screen.
Victoria noticed.
"Still talking to Daniel?""
I didn't answer.
She smiled.
"Of course you are.""
"Where is my mother's journal?""
Her expression changed slightly.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
She knew exactly what I was talking about.
"You think that journal will save you?""
"No.""
I stepped closer.
"I think it will expose you.""
For the first time, Victoria's face hardened.
The mask slipped.
"You have no idea what you're dealing with.""
"Then explain it.""
She stared at me.
Then she said something I never expected.
"Your mother knew she was losing.""
My chest tightened.
"Losing what?""
"Control.""
I shook my head.
"My mother wasn't trying to control anything.""
Victoria smiled.
"That's what she wanted you to believe.""
I hated how calmly she said it.
Like she was telling me the weather.
Not rewriting the memory of the woman I loved.
"My mother loved this family.""
Victoria's eyes narrowed.
"Your mother loved you.""
A pause.
Then:
"Those are not the same thing.""
The words were cruel.
Designed to hurt.
But they didn't.
Because something inside me had finally changed.
"You don't get to talk about her.""
Victoria stepped closer.
"Why? Because she died?""
"No.""
I looked directly at her.
"Because she was better than you.""
The silence afterward was immediate.
Victoria's face went completely still.
Then she smiled.
A small, dangerous smile.
"Careful, Claire.""
"Why?""
"Because you're starting to sound like her.""
I felt a chill.
"What does that mean?""
But Victoria didn't answer.
Instead, she turned away.
"Ask your father.""
I followed her movement.
"Where is he?""
She poured herself a glass of water.
"Not here.""
"Why?""
"Because he knows what you're about to discover.""
My stomach tightened.
"Where did he go?""
Victoria looked at me.
"To fix his mistake.""
"What mistake?""
She took a sip.
"Choosing you.""
I froze.
Then I heard footsteps outside.
The front door opened.
Daniel walked in.
I immediately turned.
"How did you—"
"I saw Victoria's car outside.""
Victoria smiled.
"Still protecting her, Daniel?""
Daniel ignored her.
His eyes were on me.
"Are you okay?""
I nodded.
"She says the evidence is hidden in me.""
Daniel's expression changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
My heart sank.
"You know what she means.""
Daniel didn't answer.
"Daniel.""
He looked away.
That was enough.
"You know.""
He sighed.
"Claire...""
"No.""
My voice cracked.
"Not another secret.""
The room became silent.
Daniel slowly walked closer.
"Your mother didn't just leave you documents.""
"What did she leave?""
He looked at Victoria.
"She left her memories.""
I stared.
"What?""
Daniel reached into his coat pocket.
He pulled out a small object.
A tiny silver device.
My breath caught.
"What is that?""
"Something your mother recorded.""
Victoria immediately stepped forward.
"Daniel.""
His eyes remained on me.
"Your mother knew she might not be able to tell you everything herself.""
I stared at the device.
"How?""
"She made a series of recordings.""
"Recordings for me?""
Daniel nodded.
"She wanted you to hear the truth from her own voice.""
My hands began trembling.
My mother.
After twelve years.
I could hear her again.
"Where were these?""
Daniel looked toward the staircase.
"In the one place Victoria never thought to look.""
"My room?""
He nodded.
"Your old bedroom.""
I looked upstairs.
The answer had been there all along.
Victoria wasn't trying to take my room because Emily needed space.
She wanted access.
She wanted whatever my mother had hidden.
"Why didn't you give this to me before?""
Daniel's expression became painful.
"Because your mother made me promise.""
"Promise what?""
"That I would wait until Victoria tried to take the house.""
I frowned.
"Why?""
"Because that would prove she was still following the same plan.""
The room felt colder.
"What plan?""
Daniel looked at Victoria.
"The plan your mother spent her final year trying to stop.""
Victoria laughed.
"You really think playing an old recording changes anything?""
I turned toward her.
"You are scared.""
She smiled.
"I'm not.""
"You are.""
Her eyes narrowed.
"Why would I be afraid of a dead woman's voice?""
Daniel's expression changed.
"Because you know what she recorded.""
Victoria went silent.
And that silence was louder than any confession.
We went upstairs.
The three of us.
Me.
Daniel.
And Victoria following behind us like she couldn't allow us to be alone.
My old bedroom door was open.
The room looked different.
Someone had searched it.
My drawers were pulled out.
My books were scattered.
My mother's photographs were thrown across the floor.
I stopped.
Seeing those pictures lying there hurt more than I expected.
Daniel noticed.
"Claire.""
I picked up one photo.
My mother and me.
Both smiling.
Before everything changed.
"She touched these.""
My voice was quiet.
Daniel understood.
He didn't say anything.
Because sometimes anger was too small a word for what you felt.
I walked to the bookshelf.
The old wooden shelves my mother loved.
I ran my fingers along the books.
Then I stopped.
One book was slightly different.
Out of place.
A worn blue novel.
My mother's favorite.
I pulled it out.
Something fell behind it.
A small black box.
Nobody spoke.
Victoria took a step forward.
Daniel immediately moved between us.
"Don't.""
She stopped.
I picked up the box.
My hands shook.
Not from fear.
From knowing.
This was it.
The truth my mother had fought to leave behind.
I opened the box.
Inside was the recording device.
And a folded piece of paper.
My mother's handwriting.
I unfolded it.
Only one sentence.
"Claire, if you are hearing this, then Victoria has finally shown you who she really is.""
My eyes filled.
I pressed the button.
Static filled the room.
Then...
A voice.
A voice I hadn't heard in twelve years.
"Claire.""
My knees almost gave out.
My mother's voice.
Older.
Tired.
But still my mother.
"If you are listening to this, I'm sorry.""
I covered my mouth.
Victoria's face changed.
Because she knew.
She knew what was coming.
My mother's recording continued.
"I need you to understand something. The house was never the thing I was trying to protect.""
A pause.
Then:
"The thing I was trying to protect was the truth about your father.""
My heart stopped.
Daniel looked at me.
Victoria looked away.
My mother's voice continued.
"Claire, your father made a choice. A choice he has regretted every day since.""
The recording crackled.
Then my mother whispered:
"He helped Victoria hide what happened to me.""
The room went silent.
I looked at Daniel.
Then at Victoria.
Then the recording played the final words.
"The accident that put me in the hospital was not an accident.""
I couldn't breathe.
My mother continued:
"And the person responsible is someone you trust.""
The recording stopped.
No one moved.
Then my phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
The caller's name appeared.
*Dad.*
May you like
And before I answered, Victoria whispered:
"Now you finally know why your father never wanted you to find Daniel.""
