Chapter 17: The Person Pulling the Strings
The next hour felt like standing in the middle of a storm.
Nobody trusted anyone.
Not Ethan.
Not Vanessa.
Not even the people I loved most.
The only thing we knew was that someone else had been hiding behind the chaos.
Vanessa sat at the kitchen table.
For the first time since I met her, she looked uncertain.
“Who found it?”” Ethan asked.
She ignored him.
“Chloe, you need to understand something.””
I crossed my arms.
“Why would I believe anything you say?””
“Because I’m the only one telling you the full story.””
I almost smiled.
“The full story?””
“Yes.””
“You attacked my daughter.””
Her face tightened.
“I know.””
“And you expect forgiveness?””
“No.””
That surprised me.
Vanessa looked down.
“I don’t deserve it.””
The admission was so unexpected that nobody spoke.
Then she continued.
“But I need you to know why.””
I stared at her.
“Go ahead.””
She opened the folder.
“The night Lily was born, I wasn’t trying to take her.””
Ethan looked angry.
“You were.””
“No.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“You wanted to believe that because it made me easier to hate.””
“Because it’s true.””
“Is it?””
She turned toward me.
“Ask yourself something.””
“What?””
“If I wanted Lily gone, why did I spend years trying to stay close to her?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I had wondered that.
Vanessa had always been obsessed with Lily.
Buying expensive gifts.
Showing up at birthdays.
Trying to be involved.
It had never felt normal.
But it also hadn’t looked like someone who wanted her gone.
“So what did you want?””
Her voice became quiet.
“I wanted Ethan.””
My stomach tightened.
“There it is.””
“Yes.””
She didn’t deny it.
“I loved him.””
Ethan looked disgusted.
“I was your brother.””
“I know.””
“And I was married.””
“I know.””
Her eyes moved to me.
“But that doesn’t mean my feelings disappeared.””
I hated her honesty.
Because it made her more complicated.
Not better.
Just more real.
“What evidence did someone find?””
Vanessa looked at the table.
“The original hospital file.””
Ethan frowned.
“But it was destroyed.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“It was replaced.””
“By who?””
Silence.
Then Vanessa looked at me.
“Your mother.””
My entire body went cold.
“No.””
“She changed the file.””
“Why?””
Vanessa looked at Ethan.
“Because she wanted to protect him.””
I stared.
“Protect Ethan?””
“Yes.””
I felt dizzy.
My mother.
Again.
Everyone had chosen what truth I was allowed to know.
“She knew about the accident,” Vanessa continued.
“She knew about the contract.””
“And she knew about the hospital mistake.””
I whispered:
“Why?””
Vanessa answered:
“Because she believed if you knew everything, you would leave Ethan.””
I laughed softly.
A painful sound.
“So everyone lied because they thought they knew what was best for me.””
Nobody answered.
Because it was true.
Then the front door opened.
Everyone turned.
Zoe walked in.
Her face was pale.
“Chloe.””
“What happened?””
She looked at Vanessa.
Then Ethan.
Then me.
“I found the person who sent the video.””
My heart started racing.
“Who?””
Zoe held up her phone.
“The original file wasn’t uploaded by Vanessa.””
Vanessa stood.
“What?””
Zoe turned the screen around.
The email details were visible.
The sender’s name.
I read it.
And my blood ran cold.
Because it wasn’t Vanessa.
It wasn’t Ethan.
It wasn’t my mother.
The sender was:
*Lily Carter.*
I stared at the screen.
“That’s impossible.””
Zoe shook her head.
“No.””
Her voice trembled.
“It isn’t.””
I looked toward Lily’s bedroom.
My daughter was asleep.
Five years old.
Too young to even understand what was happening.
“Someone used her name.””
Zoe nodded.
“But the account belongs to her.””
My heart stopped.
“How?””
May you like
Zoe looked terrified.
“Because the account was created when Lily was born.””
