Chapter 5: The Call From the Past
I stared at the message on my phone.
*Ask yourself why Vanessa was the first person at the hospital the night Elena died.*
For a moment, I couldn’t move.
The words weren’t complicated.
They weren’t a riddle.
They were a question.
A question I should have asked six years ago.
But I never did.
Because when Elena died, I wasn’t looking for answers.
I was looking for a way to survive.
I remembered that night.
The rain.
The flashing lights outside the hospital.
The smell of disinfectant in the emergency room.
The doctor walking toward me with a face that already told me everything.
I remembered falling apart.
I remembered holding baby Mia afterward.
But there was one detail I had almost forgotten.
Vanessa.
She had been there.
Before my family.
Before Elena’s sister.
Before anyone else.
At the time, I thought it was kindness.
A friend helping during the worst moment of my life.
Now, I wondered why I had never questioned it.
“Mia?””
My daughter looked up from her drawing.
“Yes, Daddy?””
I forced myself to smile.
“Can you go with Mrs. Carter for a little while?””
She studied my face.
Children always noticed more than adults thought.
“Are you sad?””
I sat beside her.
“A little.””
“Because of Mommy?””
I nodded.
She reached out and held my hand.
“She’s still with us.””
The simplicity of those words almost broke me.
“How do you know?””
Mia smiled faintly.
“Because I remember her singing.””
I looked at her drawing again.
The mysterious woman with the erased face.
“Mia, can I ask you something?””
She nodded.
“Do you remember the woman in your picture?””
Her smile disappeared.
Slowly, she covered the drawing.
“I’m not supposed to talk about her.””
My heart tightened.
“Who told you that?””
She looked toward the window.
“Mommy.””
I stayed quiet.
Because I knew children didn’t invent fear.
Someone had given it to her.
“Mia,” I said gently, “when did Mommy tell you that?””
She hugged her stuffed rabbit.
“Before the rain.””
My breath stopped.
“What rain?””
She looked confused.
“The rain when Mommy left.””
The room became silent.
I lowered my voice.
“Mia, you were very little.””
“I know.””
“Do you remember all of this?””
She nodded slowly.
“Not everything.””
“What do you remember?””
She looked at the floor.
“Mommy was packing.””
“Packing?””
“Yes.””
My heart started beating faster.
“Why?””
“She said we might go somewhere.””
“Where?””
“I don’t know.””
Mia frowned, trying to remember.
“She was crying.””
I swallowed.
“Elena was crying?””
Mia nodded.
“She told me to be brave.””
The words hit me.
Because those were the same words Elena had told me many times.
Be brave.
Everything will be okay.
But now I wondered…
Had she been saying goodbye?
“Mia,” I whispered.
“Did Mommy say why she wanted to leave?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
Then she looked at me.
“But she was scared of someone.””
My fingers went cold.
“Who?””
Mia didn’t answer.
Instead, she looked at the drawing.
At the woman with the hidden face.
“I don’t remember her name.””
“That’s okay.””
“But I remember what Mommy called her.””
I leaned closer.
“What?””
Mia’s voice became almost silent.
“She called her ‘the friend who wasn’t a friend.’”
My heart sank.
Because I knew only one person who had been close enough to Elena to fit that description.
Vanessa.
That afternoon, I went through every old file I had.
Every photo.
Every message.
Every memory I had stored away because it hurt too much to open.
I found pictures from before Elena died.
Family dinners.
Birthday celebrations.
Holiday trips.
And there she was.
Vanessa.
Always nearby.
At first, I had never thought anything about it.
She was Elena’s friend.
Someone who helped her after Mia was born.
Someone who brought food when Elena was tired.
Someone who listened when Elena needed someone to talk to.
A trusted person.
But now I noticed things I had ignored.
In every picture…
Vanessa was watching.
Not smiling at the camera.
Watching Elena.
I grabbed my laptop and searched through old emails.
Most were meaningless.
Work.
Bills.
Appointments.
Then I found one.
Six years old.
From Elena.
The subject line made my heart stop.
*“I need to tell you something.””*
I opened it.
The email was unfinished.
Only three lines.
Adrian, I don’t know if I’m overthinking everything.
But I think someone close to us is lying.
I need to talk to you tonight.
That was it.
No more.
No explanation.
I stared at the screen.
Why had I never seen this?
Because it had been saved as a draft.
Never sent.
Elena had written it.
But she never got the chance.
I printed it immediately.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A man’s voice responded.
“Adrian?””
I frowned.
“Who is this?””
“My name is Daniel.””
I waited.
“I knew your wife.””
The room went quiet.
“What do you mean?””
“I worked with Elena.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Where?””
“At the charity foundation.””
I remembered.
Elena had volunteered for years.
She loved helping people.
“What do you want?””
“To warn you.””
My eyes narrowed.
“About what?””
There was a pause.
Then he said:
“About Vanessa.””
I stood up.
“What do you know?””
Daniel took a breath.
“Your wife was investigating missing donations.””
I froze.
“Missing donations?””
“Yes.””
“From where?””
“The foundation.””
I walked toward the window.
“How does Vanessa connect to this?””
Another pause.
Then:
“She had access.””
My stomach tightened.
“That’s impossible.””
“Is it?””
I closed my eyes.
Because I had heard that sentence too many times recently.
“Why are you telling me this now?””
“Because I saw what happened.””
“What happened?””
“I saw Vanessa arguing with Elena the night she died.””
The room went silent.
My voice lowered.
“You were there?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?””
Daniel sounded ashamed.
“Because I was scared.””
“Scared of Vanessa?””
“No.””
“Then who?””
A long pause.
Then he said:
“Scared because I thought I was next.””
The line went quiet.
I looked around the house.
The same house where I had lived.
The same house where I had raised Mia.
The same house where Vanessa had walked freely.
“Daniel, I need you to tell me everything.””
“I can’t.””
“Why?””
“Because if Vanessa knows I talked to you…”
The call cut.
I immediately called back.
No answer.
Then a message appeared.
Not from Daniel.
From another number.
*“Stop digging into the past.””*
I stared at it.
A second message appeared.
*“You already lost Elena. Don’t make Mia lose you too.””*
My blood ran cold.
Someone was watching.
Someone knew exactly what I was doing.
I turned toward the hallway.
Toward Mia’s room.
And suddenly the fear wasn’t about Elena anymore.
It was about my daughter.
I rushed upstairs.
“Mia?””
No answer.
My heart started racing.
“Mia!””
I opened her bedroom door.
The room was empty.
The window was open.
The curtains moved in the wind.
My stomach dropped.
Then I saw something on her bed.
Her stuffed rabbit.
And beside it…
A piece of paper.
I picked it up.
Three words were written on it.
Words that made my entire body go cold.
*“I found her.””*
At that exact moment, my phone rang.
This time, it wasn’t unknown.
It was Vanessa.
I answered immediately.
“What did you do?””
Her voice came through, shaking.
“Adrian…”
“Where is Mia?””
A long silence.
Then Vanessa whispered:
“That’s why I was trying to warn you.””
My heart stopped.
“What are you talking about?””
Her voice cracked.
“Because the person you should be afraid of…”
May you like
A pause.
“…isn’t me.””
