Chapter 9: The Last Lie
We left the building through the underground garage.
Nobody spoke.
The city lights streaked across the windshield as I drove.
Maya sat beside me.
Lena sat behind her.
Daniel followed in another car.
Richard was in police custody.
Claire had been taken to the station for questioning.
And I still had no idea whether my mother was safe.
My phone rang.
I answered immediately.
“Mom?””
No response.
“Mom?””
A man's voice answered.
“She's here.””
My blood turned cold.
“Who is this?””
“You know who.””
I gripped the steering wheel.
“Where is she?””
“Turn around.””
“Where?””
“Go back to your father's house.””
“Why?””
“Because that's where this started.””
The call ended.
Maya stared at me.
“Dad?””
I turned the car around.
Lena looked at me.
“You shouldn't go.””
“I have to.””
“It's a trap.””
“I know.””
“Then why?””
“Because my mother is there.””
Lena went silent.
Twenty minutes later, we reached the old house.
The front door was open.
Every instinct told me not to enter.
I parked.
Daniel's car pulled in behind us.
He got out.
“I'll go first.””
“No.””
“Andre—”
“My family is inside.””
He looked at me.
“Then we go together.””
We entered.
The house was dark.
The office door stood open.
My mother's purse lay on the floor.
“Mom?””
Nothing.
Then a light came on.
My mother was sitting in the chair behind my father's desk.
She looked terrified.
And standing behind her was Patricia.
Maya froze.
“Grandma?””
Patricia smiled.
It wasn't a warm smile.
It was the smile of someone who had finally run out of places to hide.
“You shouldn't have come.””
I stepped forward.
“Let her go.””
Patricia shook her head.
“You always were impatient.””
“You took Lena.””
“I saved Lena.””
“You stole her.””
“I gave her a life.””
“You gave her a lie.””
Patricia looked at Maya.
“She had everything.””
“She had a family that treated her like a secret.””
Patricia's expression hardened.
“She was safer with me.””
“From whom?””
Patricia didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Who wanted her dead?””
Patricia looked at my mother.
Then at me.
“Your father.””
Maya's face went white.
“No.””
Patricia nodded.
“He believed Elena was going to expose him.””
“Expose him for what?””
“Everything.””
She pointed toward the desk.
“Your father had stolen millions.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“Thomas wasn't the respectable businessman you thought he was.””
I remembered the framed photographs.
The awards.
The speeches.
The handshakes.
All of it suddenly looked fake.
Patricia continued.
“He destroyed Elena's family. Then he discovered she had proof.””
“Where is that proof?””
Patricia smiled.
“You already have it.””
I frowned.
“What?””
She pointed toward the bookshelf.
“The original file.””
I grabbed it.
“Where?””
“Behind the photograph.””
I pulled down the photograph of my father.
There was a hidden compartment.
Inside was a small flash drive.
I stared at it.
“What is this?””
“Everything.””
Maya stepped closer.
Patricia's eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to keep you alive.””
Maya shook her head.
“You kept me away from my sister.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because Patricia knew the people behind your father's operation.””
I looked at my mother.
“Mom?””
She broke down.
“I didn't know.””
“You knew about the babies.””
“I knew.””
“You knew Elena was alive.””
“I suspected.””
“You knew Patricia took Lena.””
“Yes.””
I couldn't breathe.
“And you said nothing.””
My mother looked at Maya.
“Because Thomas threatened me.””
“With what?””
“He said he'd destroy you.””
I stared at her.
“He threatened his own son?””
“He wasn't afraid of destroying you.””
She began crying.
“He was afraid you'd discover what he'd done.””
I plugged the flash drive into my laptop.
A folder appeared.
*MARCH 18*
Inside were audio recordings.
Documents.
Photographs.
Bank transfers.
Then one video file.
I opened it.
My father's face appeared on screen.
Seventeen years younger.
He was sitting in this very office.
His voice was low.
“If you're watching this, Andre, then I'm probably dead.””
I stopped breathing.
Maya moved closer.
My father's voice continued.
“I lied to you.””
The room went silent.
“I told you Claire was Maya's biological mother.””
Maya covered her mouth.
“She isn't.””
My father's eyes looked exhausted.
“Neither Claire nor Patricia planned the first separation. I did.””
I felt something inside me collapse.
“I separated the twins because Elena found evidence against me.””
Maya started crying.
My father's voice continued.
“She threatened to expose everything.””
He looked directly into the camera.
“So I made a choice.””
The video paused.
Then resumed.
“I told myself I was protecting my family.””
He laughed bitterly.
“I wasn't.””
I looked at my mother.
She couldn't meet my eyes.
My father continued.
“I arranged for Maya to remain with Claire.””
My stomach twisted.
“And I arranged for Lena to disappear.””
Maya whispered,
“Where?””
The video answered.
“She was placed with Patricia temporarily.””
I stared.
“Temporarily?””
My father's expression changed.
“Patricia was supposed to return her after Elena left.””
A pause.
“She didn't.””
Patricia closed her eyes.
My father continued.
“I later discovered Patricia had falsified the adoption.””
Maya looked at her grandmother.
“Why didn't you stop her?””
Patricia whispered,
“Because by then I loved her.””
Maya shook her head.
“You loved having her.””
Patricia began crying.
“I did.””
The video continued.
My father's voice became almost inaudible.
“Years later, Elena came back.””
My heart stopped.
“She found out Maya was alive.””
Maya grabbed my hand.
“She tried to reach you.””
My father's face appeared on screen again.
“Claire intercepted her.””
Claire's voice suddenly came from behind us.
“That isn't true.””
Everyone turned.
Claire stood in the doorway.
She was crying.
“I didn't hurt Elena.””
“Then what did you do?””
“I met her.””
“Where?””
“Outside the motel.””
“What happened?””
“She gave me something.””
“What?””
“A letter.””
“For me?””
Claire nodded.
“She said if I gave it to you, you would destroy your father.””
“He was already dead.””
“I didn't know.””
“What did the letter say?””
Claire looked at Maya.
“She said she never stopped loving you.””
Maya's face crumpled.
“Where is it?””
Claire reached into her coat.
She pulled out a folded envelope.
Maya's name was written across the front.
Claire handed it to her.
Maya opened it with trembling fingers.
She read silently.
Then she looked up.
“Dad…”
“What?””
“She says she's sorry.””
“For what?””
Maya handed me the letter.
I read it.
Elena had written only one final sentence.
*Andre, I never left because I wanted to. I left because your father told me that if I stayed, he would make sure neither of our daughters survived.*
I looked at the screen.
At my father's frozen face.
At Patricia.
At Claire.
At my mother.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice spoke.
Older.
Soft.
Shaking.
“Andre?””
I couldn't move.
“Who is this?””
A breath.
Then:
“This is Elena.””
Maya screamed,
“Mom?””
There was silence.
Then Elena whispered,
“Maya?””
Maya grabbed the phone.
“Yes.””
Another silence.
Then a sob.
“My baby…”
Maya began crying.
“I've been looking for you.””
“So have I.””
“Where are you?””
Elena didn't answer.
Instead, she said,
“There's something you need to know about your father.””
I looked at the laptop.
“What?””
Elena's voice trembled.
“He wasn't the one who ordered me to disappear.””
I froze.
“Then who was?””
Elena whispered a name.
A name that made my mother suddenly stand up.
A name that made Patricia close her eyes.
A name I had seen on every company document my father ever signed.
Then the line went dead.
And in the silence that followed, my mother whispered,
“No…”
I looked at her.
“Mom?””
She shook her head.
“He can't be alive.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Who?””
My mother stared at me.
“The man who started all of this.””
She swallowed.
“Your father’s older brother.””
May you like
My blood ran cold.
Because my uncle had supposedly died twenty years ago.
