Chapter 7: The Person Behind the Curtain
For several seconds, nobody breathed.
Someone inside the family.
Those words felt heavier than the entire truth we had uncovered.
I looked at Julian.
He looked at me.
And for the first time since Clara came back, I wondered if the nightmare had another face hiding behind Rebecca.
“Who?”” Detective Harris demanded.
Mark Ellison looked down at his hands.
“I don’t know if I should say.””
“You already helped someone try to kill a woman,” Detective Harris said firmly.
“You don’t get to protect anyone now.””
Mark flinched.
“I never wanted Clara dead.””
Clara’s voice was cold.
“But you helped make it happen.””
He nodded.
“I know.””
“Then tell us.””
Mark took a long breath.
“It was someone who knew the family schedule. Someone who knew when Clara would be driving alone. Someone who knew enough about your finances and your marriage to make Rebecca’s plan work.””
My heart pounded.
“Who?””
Mark looked at me.
And then he said:
“Your brother.””
The room went completely silent.
Julian’s face changed.
“My brother?””
Mark nodded.
“Ethan Carter.””
I felt the floor disappear beneath me.
“No.””
Detective Harris studied my reaction.
“You’re familiar with that name?””
“He’s my younger brother.””
Clara looked at me.
“Julian…”
I shook my head.
“No. Ethan wouldn’t do this.””
But even as I said it, memories started appearing.
Ethan asking questions about my marriage.
Ethan joking that I was “wasting my life chasing a perfect family.””
Ethan telling me after Clara disappeared that I needed to “accept reality.””
I had ignored every warning because he was my brother.
Because family was supposed to mean safety.
Mark continued.
“Ethan contacted me first.””
Julian stared at him.
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
Mark looked ashamed.
“He said Rebecca wanted help. He said Clara’s death would solve a lot of problems.””
Clara’s expression hardened.
“Problems?””
Mark looked at her.
“He said you were standing between Rebecca and the life she deserved.””
My stomach turned.
Detective Harris wrote something down.
“Where is Ethan now?””
“I don’t know.””
“When did you last speak to him?””
Mark hesitated.
“Three days ago.””
That caught everyone’s attention.
“Why?””
Mark reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone.
“Because he contacted me after Rebecca was arrested.””
Detective Harris took the phone.
“What did he say?””
Mark looked toward Clara.
“He said, ‘If Clara is alive, we have to finish what we started.’”
Lily was upstairs.
Sleeping.
Safe.
At least, I hoped she was.
But suddenly every locked door in the house felt meaningless.
Every person I trusted felt like a possible threat.
That night, I checked every window twice.
Then three times.
Clara found me standing in the hallway at midnight.
“You’re afraid.””
I looked at her.
“I lost you once.””
She stepped closer.
“I’m here now.””
“I almost lost Lily too.””
Clara’s face softened.
“She told me what happened.””
I looked away.
“I should have protected her.””
“Julian.””
“I brought Rebecca into our home.””
Clara gently touched my arm.
“You were grieving.””
“That doesn’t excuse it.””
“No,” she said softly.
“But it explains it.””
For the first time since she returned, we stood close enough to remember what we used to be.
Not strangers.
Not survivors.
A family.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
My entire body froze.
Clara looked at the screen.
“Answer it.””
I did.
“Hello?””
A man’s voice came through.
“Julian.””
My blood ran cold.
“Ethan?””
A quiet laugh.
“You always were slow to see the truth.””
I gripped the phone.
“Where are you?””
“Somewhere you should have looked years ago.””
“What did you do?””
Silence.
Then Ethan said:
“I didn’t kill Clara.””
I swallowed.
“Then why did you help Rebecca?””
His voice became colder.
“Because Rebecca promised me something.””
“What?””
“She promised me everything you took from me.””
I frowned.
“What are you talking about?””
The call ended.
Seconds later, a message arrived.
A photograph.
I opened it.
And my heart stopped.
May you like
It was a picture of Lily sleeping.
Taken inside our house.
