Chapter 8: The Message She Deleted
I didn’t remember leaving the house.
One moment I was standing in my kitchen.
The next, I was sitting in my car outside the police station.
My hands were shaking.
My mind kept replaying the same sentence.
*Rachel asked if the child would be alone when she drank the lemonade.*
My sister.
My daughter’s aunt.
The woman who held Emma when she was born.
The woman who kissed her forehead before school.
The woman who brought her birthday decorations.
I wanted to believe there was another explanation.
But every explanation was disappearing.
Detective Harris met me in the lobby.
“You shouldn’t be driving right now.””
“I needed answers.””
He nodded.
“I understand.””
“No, you don’t.””
He looked at me.
“You’re right.””
That surprised me.
He didn’t pretend.
He didn’t comfort me with empty words.
He just handed me a folder.
“These are copies of the messages.””
I opened it.
The first page showed a conversation between Mark and Rachel.
*Rachel: Is she going to drink from the unicorn cup?*
*Mark: Yes.*
My fingers went cold.
I kept reading.
*Rachel: And Lily?*
*Mark: She’ll be busy with guests.*
I stopped.
My breathing became uneven.
Detective Harris watched me.
“There’s more.””
I turned the page.
*Rachel: I don’t like this.*
*Mark: You said you wanted your money back.*
*Rachel: I wanted him scared.*
*Mark: Then trust me.*
I looked up.
“They were planning something.””
“Yes.””
“But what?””
Detective Harris hesitated.
“We don’t know yet.””
I kept reading.
The next messages were missing.
Deleted.
“How do you know there were more?””
“Because we recovered fragments.””
“From where?””
“Rachel’s phone.””
My stomach dropped.
“Did you arrest her?””
“Not yet.””
“Why?””
“Because we believe she may not be the only person involved.””
I thought about Mark.
About his fear.
About his confession.
“What does my husband say?””
Detective Harris looked at me carefully.
“He claims Rachel manipulated him.””
I laughed.
“Of course he does.””
“He also claims he tried to stop the plan.””
“Did he?””
“We’re investigating.””
I looked down.
A question kept forming in my mind.
“If Mark knew…”
My voice broke.
“If Mark knew Rachel was planning something, why didn’t he warn me?””
Detective Harris didn’t answer.
Because he knew.
There was no good answer.
That evening, I went to Rachel’s house.
I needed to hear it from her.
She opened the door and immediately knew.
“You found something.””
Not:
Why are you here?
Not:
What happened?
You found something.
“You knew.””
Rachel’s face went pale.
“Lily…”
“You knew what would happen at Emma’s birthday.””
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
“You just admitted you knew about the messages.””
“I knew Mark was desperate.””
“That’s not what I asked.””
She looked away.
I stepped inside.
“Did you put something in that drink?””
“No.””
“Did you ask Mark if Emma would be alone?””
Her face changed.
That was enough.
“Why?””
Rachel started crying.
“I didn’t want her hurt.””
“Then what did you want?””
“I wanted Mark to stop.””
I stared at her.
“By doing what?””
She wiped her face.
“I wanted to scare him.””
“Scare him?””
“Yes.””
“With a sedative?””
“No.””
Her voice became desperate.
“I swear.””
“Then why was it there?””
Rachel looked at me.
And for the first time, she looked terrified.
“Because someone changed the plan.””
I froze.
“What?””
She whispered:
“Mark told me Emma would only pretend to feel sick.””
My blood ran cold.
“Pretend?””
Rachel nodded.
“He said he needed a reason to expose someone.””
“Expose who?””
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“You’re lying.””
“I’m not.””
“Then tell me the truth.””
Rachel looked at me.
“I never wanted Emma to get hurt.””
“Then who changed the drink?””
Rachel’s eyes filled with fear.
“Someone who knew we were going to use the birthday party.””
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A new message.
I opened it.
A photograph appeared.
A picture of Rachel leaving my house on Emma’s birthday.
But behind her was someone else.
Someone standing near the kitchen window.
Someone I recognized.
My blood turned cold.
The person in the photo was not Mark.
May you like
It was my father.
But my father had been dead for six years.
