Chapter 7: The Missing Page
The message stayed on Ethan’s phone screen for only a few seconds.
But Daniel felt like he had read it a thousand times.
*Stop looking for the missing page, or you’ll learn why Rachel really died.*
Nobody moved.
The ballroom, which had already felt like a courtroom, suddenly became something darker.
A warning.
A threat.
Daniel looked at Ethan.
“Who sent that?””
Ethan shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
“Can you trace it?””
Ethan looked at the phone again.
“I can try.””
Claire stepped forward.
“Daniel…”
He turned.
She stopped immediately.
Maybe she finally understood.
Maybe she finally realized that every time she said his name, it wasn’t bringing him comfort anymore.
It was reminding him of everything he had lost.
“What?”” he asked.
Claire swallowed.
“I know you hate me.””
Daniel stared.
“I don’t hate you.””
Her eyes lifted.
For a moment, hope appeared.
Then he continued.
“I just don’t know who you are.””
The words hurt her.
He could see it.
But he couldn’t take them back.
Not anymore.
His father approached slowly.
“We need to leave.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Leave?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Michael glanced toward Evelyn.
“Because whoever sent that message knows we’re here.””
The room went quiet.
Daniel looked around.
The guests.
The decorations.
The wedding that had become a disaster.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
“What about the security cameras?””
Everyone looked at him.
“The venue has cameras everywhere,” Daniel said.
“If someone took the missing page, if someone followed Rachel, if someone has been manipulating things, there might be footage.””
His father nodded.
“I’ll talk to the manager.””
Daniel turned toward Evelyn.
She was standing alone now.
Not surrounded by anyone.
Not protected.
For the first time, she looked small.
“Where is the rest of the letter?””
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
Her face tightened.
“You think I would destroy the only thing left from my sister?””
Daniel stepped closer.
“I don’t know what you’re capable of anymore.””
The sentence hit harder than anger.
Evelyn looked away.
“You’re right.””
Everyone became still.
Because she admitted it.
No defense.
No excuse.
Just regret.
“I made terrible choices.””
Daniel stared.
“Why?””
Her eyes filled.
“Because I watched Rachel destroy herself.””
Ethan immediately stepped forward.
“Don’t.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“I loved her.””
“No.””
His voice was sharp.
“You loved who you wanted her to be.””
Evelyn looked wounded.
But she didn’t argue.
Daniel noticed.
And that scared him more.
Because there was something between them.
Something deeper than hatred.
A history neither of them had fully explained.
“What happened between you and Rachel?”” Daniel asked.
Evelyn looked at the floor.
“She trusted me.””
“And then?””
“I betrayed her.””
The answer was almost too quiet.
Daniel waited.
Finally, Evelyn spoke.
“Rachel asked me to take care of Ethan when she couldn’t.””
Ethan looked away.
“She asked me to make sure both of her children were safe.””
Daniel’s expression changed.
“Both?””
Evelyn nodded.
“But then you had me.””
Daniel froze.
“What?””
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“You were supposed to be with Rachel.””
A cold feeling moved through him.
“What are you saying?””
Evelyn looked at him.
“I was there the day you were born.””
The room became silent.
“I held you before your adoptive mother did.””
Daniel couldn’t breathe.
“Why?””
“Because Rachel was afraid.””
“Of what?””
Evelyn looked at him.
“Of herself.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
“She loved you.””
“Then why was she afraid?””
Evelyn whispered:
“Because she knew she was losing control.””
Ethan interrupted.
“That’s not the whole truth.””
Everyone looked at him.
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“Rachel had problems. Real problems. But she was getting help.””
He looked at Evelyn.
“You stopped her from finishing treatment.””
Evelyn’s face changed.
“I did what I thought was right.””
“You isolated her.””
“I protected Daniel.””
“No.””
Ethan stepped forward.
“You protected your fantasy.””
The accusation hung in the air.
Daniel looked between them.
A sister.
A friend.
A mother.
A brother.
Everyone had a different version of Rachel.
And Daniel didn’t know who to believe.
Then the venue manager rushed into the room.
“Mr. Mercer?””
Daniel turned.
“What?””
The man looked nervous.
“We checked the cameras.””
“And?””
He hesitated.
“There is footage from earlier tonight.””
Daniel’s heart started racing.
“Show me.””
They moved to a small office near the ballroom.
The manager pulled up the security footage.
The screen showed the hallway outside the bridal suite.
Time stamp.
Three days earlier.
Daniel watched.
Claire entered.
Then Evelyn.
His stomach tightened.
They were talking.
But there was no audio.
The manager increased the volume.
Static.
Then voices.
Claire’s voice came through.
“I can’t do this anymore.””
Evelyn replied.
“You have to.””
Daniel looked at Claire.
She looked terrified.
The footage continued.
Claire was crying.
“I love him.””
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Then make sure he doesn’t leave you.””
Daniel felt sick.
The manager paused.
But Daniel didn’t look away.
“Continue.””
The footage played.
Claire said something else.
Something that made Daniel’s blood run cold.
“What if he finds out?””
Evelyn answered.
“Then we make sure he finds the truth too late.””
The room went silent.
Daniel turned slowly.
Not toward Claire.
Toward Evelyn.
Because suddenly he understood.
Claire had been manipulated.
Used.
But Evelyn?
Evelyn had been planning.
The manager paused the video.
Daniel stared at the frozen image.
Then something appeared in the corner of the screen.
A timestamp.
And another figure.
Someone standing outside the camera frame.
Someone who had been there the entire time.
Daniel leaned closer.
“Zoom in.””
The manager did.
The image became clearer.
A person standing in the hallway.
Watching.
Waiting.
Daniel’s breath stopped.
Because he recognized the coat.
The same coat worn by someone who had arrived at the wedding earlier.
Someone who had claimed to know nothing.
Someone who had been comforting everyone all night.
His father stepped closer.
“Daniel…”
Daniel didn’t answer.
He was staring at the screen.
At the person who had been there before everything fell apart.
Then he whispered:
May you like
“That’s impossible.””
Because the person on the screen was his mother.
