Chapter 9: The Memory Buried In The Rain
“Ask your sister why she was there.””
Linda’s words followed me like a shadow.
I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t think.
I could only hear the sound of my own heartbeat.
Claire.
My sister.
The person I grew up trusting.
The person who held my hand at my father’s funeral.
The person who told me she would always protect me.
She knew.
She knew what happened that night.
Ryan looked at me.
“Emily…”
I didn’t answer.
Because suddenly every memory I had of Claire felt different.
Not fake.
Not completely.
But incomplete.
Like there was a missing piece hidden beneath every moment.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Linda, stop.””
But Linda only smiled.
“Why?””
Her eyes stayed on me.
“Everyone deserves the truth.””
“You don’t want the truth,” Daniel said.
“You want revenge.””
Linda’s expression hardened.
“Easy for you to say.””
Ryan looked between them.
“Someone explain.””
No one answered.
That was when I realized something.
Everyone in this room knew a different version of my life.
Everyone except me.
I looked at Linda.
“What happened that night?””
She tilted her head.
“Ask Claire.””
“I’m asking you.””
For a second, her expression changed.
Something almost like sadness appeared.
Then it disappeared.
“You want to know why I never left you alone?””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
“Because I watched you lose everything.””
My jaw tightened.
“You caused it.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“You survived it.””
I hated how calmly she said it.
Like she was discussing the weather.
Like my pain was just another chapter in her story.
Ryan stepped closer.
“Mom, enough.””
Linda looked at him.
“You really think I’m the villain.””
“You hurt my wife.””
“You don’t know what she is.””
Ryan’s face hardened.
“She is the person you abused.””
Linda looked away.
For the first time, she looked uncertain.
Then Daniel spoke.
“Emily needs to hear this from Claire.””
I turned toward him.
“You knew?””
He looked down.
“I knew Claire was involved.””
My chest tightened.
“And you didn’t tell me?””
“I tried.””
“When?””
“Before your wedding.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
I looked around the room.
“Everyone tried to tell me something.””
My voice cracked.
“But nobody actually told me.””
Nobody argued.
Because they knew I was right.
I found Claire sitting in her car outside her apartment.
She didn’t look surprised when I knocked on the window.
Like she knew this moment was coming.
She lowered the window slowly.
“Linda told you.””
I stared at her.
“You knew she was your mother.””
Claire looked down.
“Yes.””
The answer hurt.
Not because I didn’t expect it.
Because she didn’t deny it.
“How long?””
“My whole life.””
I stepped back.
“My whole life?””
Claire nodded.
“My parents adopted me.””
I swallowed.
“So you always knew?””
“No.””
She looked at me.
“I found out when I was eighteen.””
“How?””
Claire looked away.
“Linda came to see me.””
The same pattern.
Linda finding people.
Linda creating secrets.
“What did she tell you?””
“That she was my biological mother.””
I shook my head.
“And you believed her?””
“She showed me documents.””
“Fake?””
“No.””
That stopped me.
“No?””
Claire nodded.
“They were real.””
I didn’t know what to say.
“So she really abandoned you.””
Claire’s face tightened.
“Yes.””
For a moment, I saw something I recognized.
Pain.
Not anger.
Not jealousy.
Pain.
“She told me she had no choice.””
I looked away.
“Sounds familiar.””
Claire flinched.
“I know.””
Silence.
Then I asked:
“Why did you help her?””
Claire closed her eyes.
“Because she convinced me you were the reason she lost me.””
My stomach dropped.
“She blamed me?””
“She blamed your father.””
“Then why me?””
“Because you were his daughter.””
I stared.
“But I wasn’t.””
Claire shook her head.
“You don’t understand.””
She opened the car door and stepped out.
“Your father knew Linda had a child.””
“My father knew about you?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t he tell me?””
“Because he wasn’t sure.””
“Sure about what?””
Claire looked at me.
“About whether Linda was telling the truth.””
The rain began falling again.
Just like that night.
I hated that my body remembered before my mind did.
The cold.
The sound.
The fear.
“Tell me what happened.””
Claire looked terrified.
“I can’t.””
“You have to.””
“Emily…”
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“I spent years thinking I was crazy.””
My voice shook.
“I thought I was imagining things because Linda kept telling me I was the problem.””
Claire looked down.
“I know.””
“You knew.””
“I’m sorry.””
“Sorry doesn’t change what happened.””
“I know.””
“Then tell me.””
Claire’s eyes filled with tears.
Finally, she whispered:
“I was there because Linda asked me to follow your father.””
My blood went cold.
“Why?””
“Because Linda thought he had something.””
“The evidence.””
Claire nodded.
“She wanted it back.””
“What happened?””
Claire looked toward the rain.
“Your father met Daniel that night.””
I froze.
“Daniel?””
“Yes.””
Daniel had been there too.
“The three of them argued.””
“Who?””
“Your father, Linda, and Daniel.””
My head spun.
“What were they arguing about?””
Claire swallowed.
“Money.””
“Money?””
“And you.””
I felt sick.
“Me?””
Claire nodded.
“Your father found out Linda had been keeping secrets about her child.””
About Claire.
“He threatened to expose everything.””
“Then what?””
Claire’s voice became quieter.
“Linda followed him.””
I waited.
“She wasn’t supposed to hurt him.””
My heart stopped.
“Claire.””
“She wanted the documents.””
“What happened?””
Claire looked at me.
“The crash.””
I closed my eyes.
“Was it an accident?””
Claire didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
“No.””
The word came out broken.
“No.””
She started crying.
“I didn’t know she would do that.””
“You were there.””
“Yes.””
“You watched.””
“I tried to help.””
I stared.
“What does that mean?””
Claire covered her face.
“After the crash, I ran to the car.””
My breathing became shallow.
“Your father was alive.””
Everything stopped.
“What?””
“He was alive.””
I felt dizzy.
“Then why…”
“Because Linda told me to leave.””
I looked at her.
“She said if I helped him, everyone would know.””
“Know what?””
Claire whispered:
“That I was her daughter.””
The rain grew louder.
“I was scared.””
My eyes burned.
“You left my father there?””
“I was eighteen.””
“You left him.””
“I was scared!””
She broke down.
“I thought I was protecting myself.””
I stared at her.
And suddenly, I remembered.
The hand.
The voice.
The person pulling me away from the broken glass.
It wasn’t a stranger.
It was Claire.
“But you saved me.””
Claire looked up.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Her tears fell.
“Because even then…”
She paused.
“Even then, you were my sister.””
The words hurt.
Because they were both true.
She betrayed me.
And she loved me.
Both existed.
And somehow, that made it worse.
“What happened to my father?””
Claire looked away.
“Daniel found him.””
I froze.
“Daniel?””
“He arrived after Linda left.””
“And?””
“He was alive.””
My breath caught.
“What?””
Claire nodded.
“He survived.””
The world shifted.
“My father is alive?””
Claire looked at me.
“No.””
My heart broke.
“He survived that night.””
A pause.
“But Linda made sure he could never come back.””
I stared.
“How?””
Claire looked at me.
“Because she made everyone believe he died too.””
I felt sick.
Another person erased.
Another life rewritten.
Linda had been doing this for years.
My phone rang.
Ryan.
I answered.
“Ryan?””
His voice was urgent.
“Emily, you need to come back.””
“What happened?””
“Your mother-in-law left.””
“So?””
“She took something.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
A pause.
“The original evidence.””
“What evidence?””
Ryan’s voice dropped.
“The one that proves what happened to your father.””
I looked at Claire.
“And?””
Ryan continued.
“She left a note.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What does it say?””
Silence.
Then Ryan whispered:
“She said if we want the truth…”
May you like
A pause.
“…we have to find the person who has been hiding your father for twenty-five years.””
