Chapter 8: The Woman In The Photograph

The person who walked through the door was not who I expected.

It wasn’t another man.

It wasn’t one of Victor’s employees.

It was a woman.

An older woman wearing a dark coat, carrying a small leather bag.

Claire immediately stepped backward.

“No.””

The woman looked at her.

“Hello, Claire.””

Claire’s face lost all color.

“Mom.””

The room went silent.

I looked at Victor.

Then at Claire.

Then at the woman.

Her mother.

The woman from the hospital photograph.

The woman who had been there the night Lily was born.

She looked at me calmly.

“You must be Ethan.””

I didn’t answer.

She smiled slightly.

“I’ve heard a lot about you.””

I felt anger rising.

“Then you know what happened.””

Her expression didn’t change.

“I know everything.””

Those words made Daniel step forward.

“You were part of it.””

She looked at him.

“Yes.””

No denial.

No excuses.

Just the truth.

I stared at her.

“How?””

She placed her bag on the table.

“Because I was the one who arranged the paperwork.””

Claire closed her eyes.

“Mom…”

The woman ignored her.

“Victor wanted Lily protected.””

“Protected?”” I repeated.

“You changed records. You erased her father.””

She looked at me.

“You don’t understand what was happening.””

“No,” I said.

“I understand perfectly.””

My voice shook.

“You took away the truth from everyone.””

She looked at Claire.

“She agreed.””

Claire looked down.

That hurt.

Because it was true.

She had been young.

She had been scared.

But she had still chosen silence.

Daniel stared at the woman.

“Why come back now?””

The woman opened her bag.

She pulled out an old envelope.

“Because the person who has been threatening all of you is not Victor.””

Victor looked uncomfortable.

“What are you saying?””

She placed the envelope on the table.

“The chip was never just evidence.””

I looked at it.

“What was it?””

“A warning.””

She turned toward me.

“Someone inside this family has been trying to find what Claire’s father hid.””

I frowned.

“Who?””

She didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she looked at Lily’s photograph on the wall.

Then she said:

“Someone who believes Lily is the key to everything.””

A chill ran through me.

“What does that mean?””

The woman opened the envelope.

Inside was a photograph.

A recent one.

My breath stopped.

It showed Lily.

Standing outside her school.

Someone had taken it from a distance.

On the back was a message.

“She knows where it is.””

Claire grabbed the photograph.

“No.””

I looked at her.

“What?””

She was shaking.

“What does this mean?””

Claire looked at the picture.

Then whispered:

“Lily found something else.””

I stared at her.

“What are you talking about?””

She looked toward the hallway.

Toward where Lily was waiting with a babysitter at home.

“When she found the chip…”

Claire’s voice broke.

“She wasn’t looking for it.””

My heart started pounding.

“Then why did she have it?””

Claire looked at me.

Because she knew the answer would change everything.

“She was hiding it from someone.””

The room went completely silent.

I grabbed my keys.

“Take me to Lily.””

But before anyone could move, my phone buzzed.

A new message.

One sentence.

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