Chapter 9: The Woman Who Stole My Family
I stared at Vanessa’s name.
The cemetery suddenly felt colder.
For years, I thought Vanessa was cruel because she disliked me.
Because I reminded her of my mother.
Because I was an inconvenience.
But now I wondered if it was something much deeper.
She wasn’t trying to remove a reminder.
She was trying to remove evidence.
I drove back to the house.
Not because I wanted to return.
Because I needed answers.
The place looked different.
The same walls.
The same windows.
But now every room felt like it was hiding something.
When I opened the front door, Vanessa was sitting in the living room.
Waiting.
She didn’t look surprised.
That scared me.
“I knew you would come back.””
I closed the door behind me.
“You knew?””
She smiled slightly.
“You’re more like your mother than I expected.””
I stepped forward.
“Don’t say her name.””
Her smile disappeared.
Good.
For once, she looked uncomfortable.
“Where is Dad?””
“He left.””
“Convenient.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“You think you know everything now?””
“No.””
I held up the envelope.
“But I know enough.””
The moment she saw her name, her expression changed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
“You found that?””
“Yes.””
She stood.
“Emma, you need to stop.””
The way she said it wasn’t threatening.
It was warning.
That almost made me laugh.
“You threw me out of my home.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
I stared.
“Protect me?””
“Yes.””
“By destroying my mother’s things?””
Silence.
“By lying to my father?””
Silence.
“By taking everything from me?””
Her face hardened.
“You don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
She looked away.
For the first time, Vanessa didn’t have a perfect answer.
“I made mistakes.””
I laughed.
“Mistakes?””
I stepped closer.
“You don’t accidentally erase someone’s life.””
Her eyes became cold again.
“Your mother was stubborn.””
The sentence made my blood boil.
“You hated her.””
“No.””
“Then why did you hurt her?””
Vanessa looked at me.
And what she said next changed everything.
“Because she was going to destroy all of us.””
I froze.
“All of us?””
“Yes.””
“Who is us?””
She didn’t answer.
I noticed something on the table.
A photograph.
Old.
Half-hidden under a magazine.
I picked it up.
It was my mother.
Standing beside Vanessa.
Not fighting.
Not enemies.
Friends.
My head spun.
“What is this?””
Vanessa reached for it.
I pulled it away.
“You knew my mother before Dad.””
Her face went pale.
“Yes.””
“How?””
She sat down slowly.
“She hired me.””
The room went silent.
“My mother hired you?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Vanessa looked exhausted.
“Because she trusted me.””
I stared at her.
Nothing made sense anymore.
“You were her friend.””
“Yes.””
“Then what happened?””
Vanessa looked toward the stairs.
Toward my old bedroom.
“She discovered the truth about Michael.””
My heartbeat changed.
“What truth?””
Vanessa whispered:
“Michael wasn’t killed because he threatened Robert.””
I waited.
“He was killed because he knew who Robert was working for.””
A cold feeling spread through me.
“Who?””
Vanessa looked at me.
Then toward the front door.
Like she was afraid someone would hear.
“Someone who has been watching this family for years.””
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
A photo appeared.
Vanessa and my father.
Standing together.
The date was yesterday.
Impossible.
Because my father had told me he had never spoken to her after I left.
Then another message appeared.
“You are looking at the wrong enemy.””
A second message followed.
“The person you trust most is the one who betrayed you.””
I slowly lifted my eyes toward Vanessa.
She was staring at my phone.
And for the first time…
She looked afraid of someone else.
Not me.
Not my questions.
Someone above her.
Someone controlling everything.
Then the front door opened.
My father walked in.
And behind him was a man I had never seen before.
A man holding the original copy of my mother’s missing journal.
My father looked at me.
“Emma.””
His voice broke.
“There’s something you need to know.””
The stranger smiled.
“Your mother never died trying to expose Robert.””
May you like
He placed the journal on the table.
“She died trying to expose me.””
