Chapter 8: The Friend Who Knew Too Much
I called Lily that night.
She answered on the third ring.
“Nia?””
Her voice immediately changed when she heard my breathing.
“What happened?””
I looked at my father sitting across the room.
At the lawyer’s folder.
At the life I thought I understood collapsing piece by piece.
“I need to ask you something.””
A pause.
“Okay.””
“Did your mom know my mother?””
Silence.
Not a normal pause.
The kind where someone is deciding whether the truth is worth the damage.
“Why are you asking?””
I closed my eyes.
“Because her name is in a witness statement.””
Lily stopped breathing.
“What witness statement?””
My father reached for the phone.
“Lily, this is Michael.””
Another silence.
Then she whispered:
“Oh no.””
Those two words made my stomach drop.
Dad’s voice was calm.
“Your mother saw something the night my wife died.””
“I know.””
Everyone in the room froze.
“You know?””
Lily exhaled.
“My mom told me years ago.””
I stood up.
“What?””
“Nia…”
“No. You knew?””
My voice cracked.
“You knew something about my mom’s death?””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
Lily didn’t answer.
Dad took the phone again.
“Lily, we need the truth.””
A long pause.
Then:
“My mom saw Vanessa arguing with your mother.””
The room went silent.
I felt dizzy.
“Arguing?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“The night she died.””
I gripped the edge of the table.
“Why didn’t anyone tell us?””
“Because my mom was scared.””
“Of Vanessa?””
“Yes.””
My father looked away.
The answer hurt him.
Because it meant another person had been afraid.
And he had never known.
Lily continued.
“My mom said Vanessa wasn’t supposed to be there.””
Dad frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“She said Vanessa showed up unexpectedly.””
I looked at the lawyer.
The accident report.
The missing twenty-eight minutes.
Everything connected.
“Did your mother see the accident?””
Lily was quiet.
“No.””
“Then what did she see?””
“She saw your mom’s car leaving.””
My father leaned forward.
“Leaving where?””
“The road near Daniel Reed’s office.””
My heart stopped.
Daniel.
Again.
Dad stood.
“Why was my wife at Daniel’s office?””
Nobody knew.
Until now.
Lily answered.
“My mom said your wife was carrying a folder.””
“What folder?”” Dad asked.
“I don’t know.””
The call ended ten minutes later.
Not because we had no more questions.
Because Lily was crying.
And because she promised to bring her mother’s old notes.
The next day, Lily arrived.
She looked older than I remembered.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like carrying a secret had aged her.
She hugged me immediately.
“I’m sorry.””
I wanted to be angry.
I was angry.
But I also saw the fear in her eyes.
“What happened?””
She handed my father a notebook.
“My mom kept everything.””
Inside were handwritten notes.
Dates.
Times.
Names.
My father read silently.
Then stopped.
“What?””
He looked up.
“She wrote that Vanessa threatened her.””
My heart dropped.
“Threatened her how?””
He handed me the page.
The handwriting was rushed.
Vanessa knows I saw her with the folder. She told me to stay out of things that don’t involve me.
I looked at Lily.
“Your mom never told anyone?””
“She wanted to.””
“Why didn’t she?””
Lily looked down.
“Because Vanessa found out where I went to school.””
My blood ran cold.
“She threatened you?””
Lily nodded.
“She said if my mom talked, she would make sure my family suffered.””
Dad stood.
“That’s enough.””
But Lily wasn’t finished.
“There’s more.””
Everyone looked at her.
She pulled out another paper.
“My mom wrote this the night before she disappeared.””
My father frowned.
“Disappeared?””
Lily swallowed.
“She left town after that.””
I read the paper.
Only one sentence was written.
*Vanessa wasn’t trying to steal money. She was trying to erase someone.*
My hands shook.
“Someone?””
Lily nodded.
“My mom thought Vanessa had done this before.””
The room went silent.
Dad looked at the notebook again.
“What does that mean?””
Lily looked at me.
“She was investigating Vanessa.””
“And?””
“She found another name.””
The lawyer stepped closer.
“Whose name?””
Lily opened the notebook to the final page.
There was a photograph attached.
An old newspaper clipping.
A woman smiling.
A woman I didn’t recognize.
But Vanessa did.
Because when she saw the picture, her face changed.
She had walked into the room without anyone noticing.
And she whispered:
“No.””
Everyone turned.
Vanessa stared at the newspaper.
The woman in the picture.
May you like
Then she said something that made my father freeze.
“She wasn’t supposed to be alive.””
