Chapter 3: The Secret My Father Buried
I spent that night staring at the ceiling.
The house was quiet, but my mind wouldn't stop replaying everything.
Nicole's slap.
The video.
Her final words.
Your father has been hiding something from you.
By morning, I still didn't know what to believe.
Dad found me sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of untouched coffee.
He sat across from me.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Finally, he sighed.
"Emma.""
I looked up.
"What did she mean?""
His face tightened.
"I don't want you to think—"
"Think what?""
My voice broke.
"That I can't handle the truth?""
Dad looked down.
And that scared me more than anything.
Because my father was always the person who had answers.
Except now, he didn't.
"I should have told you years ago," he said.
My hands curled into fists.
"Told me what?""
Before he could answer, Lily walked into the room.
She looked between us.
"Is it about Mom?""
Dad nodded slowly.
"Part of it.""
I stood up.
"I deserve to know.""
"You do.""
He took a deep breath.
"Your mother didn't leave because she stopped loving you.""
My heart froze.
I hadn't heard my mother's name spoken in years.
Everyone always said the same thing.
She left.
She moved on.
She chose a different life.
But Dad had never looked at me and said she abandoned me.
I just assumed.
"What are you saying?""
Dad rubbed his forehead.
"Your mother wanted custody of you.""
I stared at him.
"What?""
"She fought for you.""
The room blurred.
"Then why isn't she here?""
Dad didn't answer immediately.
And that silence hurt.
"Because Nicole made sure she wasn't.""
My stomach dropped.
Lily gasped.
"Mom did that?""
Dad nodded.
"Your mother found out Nicole had been spreading lies. She tried to expose it, but before she could, Nicole convinced everyone that your mother was unstable.""
I sat down slowly.
All those years.
All those questions.
All those nights wondering why my mother didn't call.
"You knew?""
Dad's eyes filled with regret.
"I knew pieces of it.""
"Pieces?""
"I was afraid.""
The honesty hurt.
My father had always seemed strong.
Now he just looked tired.
"After your mother disappeared from our lives, Nicole became the person taking care of the family. I thought she had changed.""
"And when she treated me like a problem?""
He looked away.
That was my answer.
Dad reached across the table.
"I failed you.""
I wanted to be angry.
Maybe I should have been.
But seeing him admit it made something inside me break.
Then Lily suddenly grabbed her phone.
"Wait.""
We both looked at her.
She was scrolling through old messages.
"What is it?""
She turned the screen toward us.
"I found this yesterday.""
It was an email.
An old one.
From my mother's name.
Dad's face changed when he saw the date.
"That's impossible.""
"Why?""
He took the phone with shaking hands.
The email was short.
Only a few lines.
But one sentence made my blood run cold.
"I know what Nicole did, and I have proof.""
Dad looked at me.
"Emma...""
I stared at the screen.
There was an attachment.
A file name.
A date.
And something I never expected to see.
A photo of Nicole standing beside someone I knew very well.
Someone who had been protecting her secret for years.
May you like
And beneath the photo was one name.
My father's.
