Chapter 7: The Sister Who Knew Everything
I stared at Claire like I was looking at a stranger wearing my sister’s face.
The gun in her hand shook slightly.
Not enough to make her harmless.
Enough to show she was afraid.
“Claire,” I whispered.
She swallowed.
“I didn’t want it to happen this way.””
Michael stepped in front of Lily.
“You followed us.””
Claire’s eyes moved toward him.
For a second, something like guilt crossed her face.
Then it disappeared.
“You should have stayed hidden.””
My chest tightened.
“You knew?””
Claire looked at me.
“Yes.””
The answer was so simple that it hurt more.
“How long?””
She lowered the gun slightly.
“Since the beginning.””
I felt like the room was shrinking.
“The beginning of what?””
Claire looked at the hidden room around us.
“The beginning of the lie.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Claire, put the gun down.””
Claire laughed softly.
“Now you care about what happens?””
Vanessa froze.
“You don’t understand.””
“No,” Claire said.
“You never understood.””
I looked between them.
“What is going on?””
Nobody answered.
Then Claire looked at the letter in my hand.
“Did you read what Mom wrote?””
I held it tighter.
“She said Richard wasn’t the enemy.””
Claire nodded.
“She was trying to tell you.””
“Tell me what?””
“That Dad wasn’t the mastermind.””
Michael looked confused.
“But he was involved.””
“Yes.””
Claire’s voice hardened.
“Dad was weak. He made terrible choices. But Daniel Cross was the one who controlled everyone.””
I stared at her.
“Then why are you working with him?””
Her expression changed.
Pain.
Real pain.
“Because I had no choice.””
I almost laughed.
“No choice?””
Claire looked at Lily.
Then back at me.
“You think you know what fear looks like because you found out your wife kept secrets?””
She stepped closer.
“I spent fifteen years watching people disappear.””
The room became silent.
“When Michael vanished, I was seventeen.””
I looked at Michael.
He looked away.
Claire continued.
“Do you remember what Dad told us?””
I did.
My father stood in the living room after Michael disappeared.
He told us Michael ran away.
He told us not to ask questions.
He told us families survive by accepting painful truths.
But Claire knew something else.
“What did you see?””
Her eyes filled.
“I saw Dad crying.””
I froze.
“He told me Michael wasn’t coming back.””
Michael looked at her.
“You knew I was alive?””
Claire nodded.
“I knew.””
The words hit him.
“Then why didn’t you help me?””
Her face broke.
“Because I tried.””
Nobody spoke.
Claire looked down.
“I tried once.””
The gun lowered.
“Three months after you disappeared, I found a note hidden in Dad’s office.””
Michael stepped closer.
“What note?””
“It said you were alive.””
His expression changed.
“I went to find you.””
She took a shaky breath.
“And Daniel found me first.””
The silence was unbearable.
“What did he do?”” I asked.
Claire looked at me.
“He showed me pictures.””
“Of what?””
“Of you.””
My blood ran cold.
“He told me if I said anything, you would disappear too.””
Lily held onto Michael’s arm.
Claire looked at her.
“I know what I did was wrong.””
“No,” I said quietly.
Her eyes moved to mine.
“You don’t get to say you were protecting us while you helped hurt my daughter.””
The words hit her.
She looked away.
“I know.””
For a moment, she looked like my little sister again.
The girl who used to sit beside my bed when I had nightmares.
The girl who saved half her birthday cake because she thought I deserved more.
Then she looked at the gun.
And I remembered what she had become.
“Where is Daniel?”” Michael asked.
Claire hesitated.
That hesitation answered everything.
“You’re still protecting him.””
“No.””
She looked toward the basement door.
“I’m trying to stop him.””
A loud sound came from upstairs.
Everyone froze.
A car door.
Then another.
Claire’s face turned white.
“He followed me.””
My heart dropped.
“Who?””
She whispered:
“Daniel.””
The lights suddenly went out.
A second later, glass shattered upstairs.
Claire grabbed my arm.
“Listen to me.””
I pulled away.
“Why should I?””
“Because if Daniel gets here first, none of us leave.””
Michael looked at the stairs.
“How many people?””
Claire’s voice was barely audible.
“Enough.””
The basement door handle started moving.
Slowly.
Someone was trying to open it.
Lily pressed against me.
I held her close.
Then Claire whispered the words that made my blood freeze.
“Ethan…”
“What?””
“The person Daniel is bringing with him…”
She looked terrified.
“It’s someone you invited into this house.””
The door cracked open.
And a familiar voice called from the darkness.
“Ethan?””
My heart stopped.
May you like
Because I knew that voice.
It was my father’s.
