Chapter 6: The Second Secret
Nobody spoke after Dad said those words.
Amanda looked like she had been slapped.
“Daniel.””
Dad kept staring at the letter.
“I want the truth.””
“I told you.””
“No.””
His voice was different now.
Stronger.
“I want all of it.””
Amanda looked at me.
“Ethan, you need to go upstairs.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Dad looked at me.
“Buddy.””
“I’m tired of leaving.””
The words came out before I could stop them.
Everyone went quiet.
“I leave when people fight.””
“I leave when adults have secrets.””
“I leave when people say I’m too young.””
My voice cracked.
“But it’s always about me.””
Dad looked heartbroken.
So did Amanda.
For a second, I almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
Dad sat down.
“Okay.””
He looked at me.
“You stay.””
Amanda stared at him.
“Daniel.””
“No more hiding.””
He placed the letter on the table.
“Tell us.””
Amanda looked away.
“I don’t know where to start.””
“Start with Claire.””
She closed her eyes.
“My sister.””
I froze.
“What?””
Dad looked confused.
“Your sister?””
Amanda nodded.
“Claire wasn’t just your wife.””
She looked at me.
“She was my sister.””
The room spun.
I looked at Dad.
He looked just as shocked.
“You never told me.””
Amanda laughed bitterly.
“You never asked.””
“That’s not possible.””
“Why?””
“Because Claire never mentioned you.””
Her face changed.
“She did.””
Dad went quiet.
Amanda continued.
“You just didn’t know.””
I stared at her.
“You’re saying Mom was your sister?””
Amanda nodded.
“She was.””
My mind struggled to understand.
The woman I thought I knew nothing about had been connected to the person sitting across from me every day.
The person who punished me.
The person who said I wasn’t family.
Dad stood.
“Why did you marry me?””
Amanda looked at him.
“At first?””
She paused.
“Because Claire asked me to.””
Dad froze.
“What?””
Amanda looked down.
“She knew something was wrong.””
“What?””
“She knew someone close to her was stealing money from her business.””
Dad stared.
“What does that have to do with me?””
“Everything.””
Amanda’s voice became quieter.
“Because the person stealing from her was connected to you.””
Dad shook his head.
“No.””
Amanda looked at him.
“You think you know everyone around you.””
She picked up the letter.
“But you don’t.””
She unfolded it again.
“There’s a reason Claire left this message.””
Dad grabbed the paper.
“Who was she talking about?””
Amanda looked at me.
Then at him.
“Your best friend.””
Dad went still.
I didn’t know who she meant.
But Dad did.
His face changed.
“No.””
Amanda whispered:
“Michael.””
The name from the phone.
The man who knew everything.
The man who said he saw what happened.
Dad stepped back.
“That’s impossible.””
“He was there.””
“Where?””
“When Claire disappeared.””
The room became silent.
Dad looked sick.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Amanda laughed softly.
“Because I was scared.””
“Of Michael?””
“No.””
She looked at me.
“Of what would happen if you knew the truth.””
I looked at the letter.
“What truth?””
Amanda hesitated.
Then she said:
“Your mother didn’t disappear because someone wanted her gone.””
Dad frowned.
“What?””
Amanda’s eyes filled with tears.
“She disappeared because she ran.””
“From who?””
She looked at Dad.
“From Michael.””
Dad shook his head.
“He loved her like a sister.””
“No.””
Amanda’s voice broke.
“He loved her.””
A terrible silence followed.
Then Dad’s phone buzzed.
He looked down.
A message.
From Michael.
Dad opened it.
I watched his face change as he read.
“What does it say?”” Amanda asked.
Dad didn’t answer.
He handed me the phone.
I looked at the screen.
There were only two sentences.
*Daniel, I know Amanda told you about me.*
*But she didn’t tell you the part where she helped Claire disappear.*
I looked up.
Amanda was crying.
Dad was staring at her.
And before anyone could say another word, another message arrived.
This time with a photo.
Dad opened it.
Then dropped the phone.
Because the picture showed a woman standing outside a house.
A woman I recognized immediately.
The same eyes.
The same smile.
My mother.
And underneath the photo was a message:
May you like
*She’s been alive this whole time.*
*And she wants to see Ethan.*
