Chapter 3: The Person Behind The Call
For a few seconds, I couldn’t speak.
The rain continued falling outside my car, but everything around me felt strangely quiet.
Someone we both knew.
Those four words repeated in my mind.
Because Linda had spent months making my life miserable.
She had insulted me.
She had controlled me.
She had hurt me when nobody was watching.
But now I was realizing something much worse.
She might not have been acting alone.
“Ryan,” I said carefully, “who was it?””
“I don’t know.””
His voice sounded frustrated.
“I listened to the recording three times. The other voice is quiet. Almost like they were trying not to be heard.””
“Then how do you know we know them?””
“Because Mom said a name.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What name?””
There was a long pause.
Then he said it.
“Your sister.””
My breath stopped.
“What?””
“Emily, I’m sorry. I know how that sounds.””
“No.””
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
My younger sister, Claire, had always been one of the closest people in my life.
She was the person who held my hand when our mother died.
The person who helped me move into my first apartment.
The person who cried at my wedding and told me she had never seen me happier.
At least, that was who I thought she was.
“Play the recording again,” I whispered.
“I already did.””
“No. Send it to me.””
“Emily—”
“Send it.””
A few seconds later, my phone buzzed.
A file appeared.
I stared at it.
A tiny audio recording.
Something so small that had the power to destroy everything I believed.
I pressed play.
Static.
Then Linda’s voice.
“I’m telling you, I can’t keep waiting.””
A pause.
A faint voice in the background.
I leaned closer.
The sound was barely there.
Then Linda spoke again.
“She thinks she can take everything from us.””
My heart started racing.
Then another voice.
Soft.
Almost a whisper.
“You need to make him see her differently.””
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
I knew it.
“No,” I whispered.
The recording continued.
Linda laughed.
“Don’t worry. Ryan always listens to me.””
The other voice answered.
“She won’t give up easily.””
Linda replied.
“She will when everyone finally sees what she really is.””
The audio ended.
I sat there staring at my phone.
The voice belonged to Claire.
My sister.
My own sister.
“No,” I said again.
But this time, I wasn’t trying to convince Ryan.
I was trying to convince myself.
The next morning, I drove to Claire’s apartment.
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I heard that voice.
I heard my sister helping Linda destroy me.
I kept telling myself there had to be another explanation.
A misunderstanding.
A coincidence.
Anything.
Because accepting the truth meant accepting that two people I loved had been working together.
When Claire opened the door, she smiled immediately.
“Emily?””
Then she saw my face.
The smile disappeared.
“What happened?””
I walked inside without waiting for an invitation.
Claire frowned.
“Okay… you’re scaring me.””
I placed my phone on the table.
“Listen to this.””
Her eyes moved to the screen.
“What is it?””
“Just listen.””
I pressed play.
I watched her face carefully.
At first, she looked confused.
Then uncomfortable.
Then something else.
Something I couldn’t identify.
The recording ended.
Silence filled the room.
Claire looked away.
My stomach dropped.
Because she didn’t look shocked.
She looked caught.
“Claire.””
She didn’t answer.
“Say something.””
She crossed her arms.
“Emily, you’re misunderstanding.””
I laughed softly.
Not because it was funny.
Because I had heard that sentence too many times.
“Misunderstanding what?””
“Everything.””
“Your voice is on the recording.””
She looked at me.
“You don’t know the whole story.””
“Then tell me.””
Nothing.
Just silence.
“Tell me why you were talking to Linda.””
Claire sat down slowly.
“Because I was worried about you.””
I stared at her.
“Worried about me?””
“Yes.””
She looked frustrated.
“You have changed since you married Ryan.””
I felt a cold feeling in my chest.
That sounded exactly like Linda.
“You’re blaming me?””
“No.””
“Yes, you are.””
Claire shook her head.
“I’m saying you don’t see what everyone else sees.””
“And what is that?””
“That you’re obsessed with proving yourself.””
I stepped back.
The words hurt because they sounded so familiar.
Linda had said the same thing.
“You’ve been talking to her.””
Claire looked away.
“Emily…”
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“How long?””
She didn’t answer.
“How long have you been helping her?””
“I wasn’t helping her.””
“Then what were you doing?””
Claire stood up.
“I was trying to stop things from getting worse.””
“By telling her things about me?””
Her silence answered.
I felt like someone had punched me.
“What did you tell her?””
“Nothing important.””
“Claire.””
She sighed.
“She asked questions.””
“What questions?””
“About your marriage.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why?””
Claire looked uncomfortable.
“Because she thought you were unhappy.””
“I’m not.””
“She said you complained about Ryan.””
“I complained to my sister.””
“That’s what she said.””
I stared at her.
Suddenly, I understood.
The little comments.
The arguments.
The moments where Ryan seemed to know things I had only told Claire.
Things I thought were private.
They weren’t private.
They were being delivered straight to Linda.
“You told her everything.””
Claire’s eyes filled with guilt.
“I was trying to help.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You were trying to control the story.””
“Emily—”
“You made me look like the problem.””
Claire looked down.
And that hurt more than if she had argued.
Because guilt was confirmation.
“Why?””
The question came out quietly.
“Why would you do this to me?””
Claire sat back down.
“Because I saw what was happening.””
“What was happening?””
“You were getting everything.””
I frowned.
“What?””
She swallowed.
“You had the perfect life.””
I stared at her.
“Is that what this is about?””
“No.””
“It is.””
“You had Ryan. You had the house. You had the career. Everyone thought you were the successful one.””
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“You were jealous.””
Claire’s face hardened.
“Don’t say it like that.””
“Why? Because it’s true?””
She looked away.
“You always got everything.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Everything?””
I pointed toward the door.
“Did you see me leave my wedding crying because Linda insulted my dress?””
Claire said nothing.
“Did you know I spent months pretending I wasn’t scared to go home?””
Her eyes flickered.
“You never told me.””
“Because I thought you were my sister.””
That sentence broke something between us.
Claire looked down.
For a moment, I saw regret.
Real regret.
Then her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
And her expression changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
I noticed.
“Who is it?””
“No one.””
“Claire.””
She turned the phone over.
I reached out.
She grabbed it first.
Too fast.
That was enough.
“Give me the phone.””
“Emily, stop.””
“Give me the phone.””
She shook her head.
And then a message notification appeared on the screen.
I only saw three words.
But they were enough.
Linda had sent it.
*She knows everything.*
Claire looked at me.
And for the first time, she looked afraid.
Not of me.
Of what was coming next.
Another message appeared.
This one was longer.
Claire read it silently.
Then her face went completely pale.
“What did she say?”” I asked.
Claire didn’t answer.
“Claire.””
Her lips parted.
Then she whispered:
“She said we need to leave before Ryan finds out what really happened three years ago.””
My heart stopped.
“Three years ago?””
Claire looked at me.
And I knew immediately.
Whatever Linda and Claire had been hiding…
It started before I ever moved into that house.
Before the insults.
Before the bucket.
Before everything.
“What happened three years ago?”” I asked.
Claire’s eyes filled with tears.
May you like
Then she said the one thing I never expected.
“Emily… you weren’t supposed to marry Ryan.””
