Chapter 3: The Person Behind The Plan
The name on the paper belonged to someone I trusted.
Someone who had hugged me after every soccer game.
Someone who had smiled at me and told me how proud they were.
My aunt.
Rachel Bennett.
My father's sister.
I dropped the folder.
The papers scattered across the floor.
For a few seconds, I couldn't understand what I was seeing.
My brain refused to accept it.
Aunt Rachel?
The woman who brought me hot chocolate when I was sick?
The woman who called me "her little champion"?
No.
That couldn't be true.
I picked up the pages again.
The messages were real.
Claire had written:
"Marcus won't leave if he thinks Nia needs him.""
Rachel replied:
"Then make him see that she's holding him back.""
My hands trembled.
Holding him back.
That was what they thought I was.
Not a daughter.
Not family.
An obstacle.
The front door opened.
I quickly shoved the papers back into the folder.
Dad walked in.
He immediately noticed my face.
"Nia?""
I couldn't answer.
He saw the folder.
His expression changed.
"Where did you find that?""
I looked at him.
"Did you know?""
"Know what?""
I held up the paper.
"That Claire wanted to send me away?""
Dad froze.
The silence told me everything.
"You knew.""
"No.""
His voice cracked.
"I knew she wanted us to discuss boarding school.""
"Boarding school?""
"I thought it was just an idea.""
I laughed.
But there was no humor in it.
"She didn't want me at all.""
Dad walked toward me.
"Nia, listen.""
"No.""
I stepped back.
For once, I didn't want to be comforted.
I wanted answers.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
His eyes filled with pain.
"Because I thought I could fix it.""
"You couldn't.""
"No.""
He looked down.
"I couldn't.""
That honesty hurt.
But it also mattered.
The next day, Dad drove me to school.
Neither of us talked much.
Finally, he said,
"I am sorry.""
I looked out the window.
"For what?""
"For making you feel like you had to earn a place in my life.""
I swallowed.
"I never wanted to leave.""
"I know.""
"Mom wouldn't have let someone treat me like that.""
Dad gripped the steering wheel.
"No.""
His voice was quiet.
"She wouldn't have.""
After school, I found Mrs. Daniels waiting near the field.
She smiled.
"Champion.""
I smiled a little.
"Hi.""
She noticed my expression.
"Something happened.""
I looked at the soccer field.
The same field where I had felt unstoppable.
Now I felt tired.
"My family is falling apart.""
Mrs. Daniels sat beside me.
"Sometimes the people who disappoint us teach us the most important lessons.""
I looked at her.
"What lesson is that?""
"That your worth was never decided by whether someone showed up.""
I looked away.
Because I wanted to believe her.
But believing was hard.
That evening, Dad received a phone call.
I was doing homework upstairs when I heard his voice rise.
"No, Rachel.""
I stopped writing.
A few seconds later:
"You don't get to pretend this didn't happen.""
My heart raced.
I walked downstairs.
Dad was standing near the window.
His phone was pressed to his ear.
"Because I saw the messages.""
A pause.
Then:
"You were planning to separate me from my daughter.""
My feet stopped moving.
Dad saw me.
His face softened.
He ended the call.
"What did she say?""
He sighed.
"She said Claire misunderstood.""
I laughed quietly.
"Everyone always misunderstands.""
Dad looked at me.
"Not anymore.""
The following weekend, Dad took me to Claire's old office.
She had left several boxes behind.
"I don't want you involved in adult problems," he said.
I looked at him.
"But they made me the problem.""
He didn't argue.
Inside one of the boxes, I found a notebook.
Claire's handwriting covered the pages.
Plans.
Schedules.
Ideas.
At first, I thought it was just a diary.
Then I found a page with my name.
"Nia is becoming too attached to Marcus.""
I felt sick.
Another line:
"If Marcus spends enough time away from her, he'll see that she is not the center of his world.""
My father read over my shoulder.
His face became pale.
Then I turned the page.
And there was the final entry.
The one that explained everything.
It wasn't about moving.
It wasn't about a job.
It wasn't even about me.
It was about money.
A secret Claire had been hiding.
A secret that explained why she needed my father to choose her over me.
At the bottom of the page was one sentence.
"When Marcus signs the new agreement, everything will finally belong to me.""
Dad stared at it.
Then whispered,
"She never wanted a family.""
He looked at me.
"She wanted control.""
And then his phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed immediately.
"Nia...""
I stood up.
"What?""
He looked at the screen.
"It’s the police.""
My heart stopped.
"Why?""
Dad didn't answer right away.
May you like
Then he said something that made me realize the nightmare was not over.
"They found something in Claire's car.""
