Chapter 7: The Sister I Never Knew
For several seconds, nobody breathed.
I stared at the photograph on the table.
My mother.
Alive.
Standing beside the stranger who had just walked into my wedding.
And between them…
A little girl.
A little girl with my mother’s eyes.
My fingers trembled as I picked up the photo.
“No.””
The word escaped before I could stop it.
The stranger watched me carefully.
“I know this is difficult.””
I looked up sharply.
“Difficult?””
My voice cracked.
“You’re showing me a picture of my dead mother and a child you’re claiming is my sister.””
The stranger nodded.
“Yes.””
“That’s not difficult. That’s impossible.””
Michael stepped forward.
“Daniel…”
I turned toward him.
“Don’t.””
My uncle stopped.
“Not one more person gets to tell me what I can handle.””
The stranger lowered his eyes.
“My name is Ethan Walker.””
I looked at him.
“Why should I care?””
“Because your mother trusted me.””
Those words again.
Everyone trusted my mother.
Everyone knew something.
Everyone except me.
“What is this?”” I asked.
Ethan pointed at the photograph.
“This is your sister, Emma.””
The room felt smaller.
“I don’t have a sister.””
“You do.””
“My parents only had me.””
Ethan looked at Michael.
Your uncle knows the truth.””
My eyes moved slowly.
Michael didn’t deny it.
That hurt more than anything.
“You knew?””
Michael looked away.
“Daniel…”
“You knew?””
His silence answered.
I stepped back.
“How long?””
Michael swallowed.
“Since before you were born.””
The anger inside me became something colder.
“You’re telling me my entire life was built on a lie?””
“No.””
“Yes.””
Michael shook his head.
“Your mother wanted to protect you.””
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
I grabbed the photograph.
“Protect me from what?””
Ethan answered.
“From the same people who are still trying to erase your family.””
A loud crash echoed from outside the room.
Everyone froze.
The stranger immediately moved toward the window.
“They found us.””
Vanessa looked terrified.
“Who?””
Ethan didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
We all knew.
The people my mother was hiding from.
The people who had chased secrets for three years.
I looked at the photograph again.
My mother’s face.
Her smile.
A smile I hadn’t seen since I was a child.
And beside her was a girl who shared my blood.
“Where is Emma now?””
Ethan looked at me.
“That’s why I came.””
“What happened to her?””
“She disappeared.””
My stomach tightened.
“Like my mother?””
Ethan nodded.
“Your mother hid Emma when she realized someone was hunting your family.””
“Why didn’t she tell me?””
“Because you were the bait.””
The room went silent.
“What?””
Ethan looked at me.
“The people after your mother believed you were the key to finding her.””
“I was a child.””
“Exactly.””
My hands tightened.
“They watched you grow up.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
Every memory.
Every stranger who seemed familiar.
Every time I felt like someone was following me.
“You’re saying they’ve been watching me my whole life?””
“Yes.””
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“I knew they were dangerous.””
I turned toward her.
“You knew about Emma too?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“No.””
That answer sounded different.
Broken.
“I only knew your mother had another child.””
I stared.
“How?””
“Because she told me.””
“When?””
“The night before she disappeared.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“Because she begged me not to.””
My anger faded for one second.
“What did she say?””
Vanessa wiped her tears.
“She said, ‘If Daniel knows about Emma, he’ll spend his life looking for her. And they’ll use that against him.’”
I looked down at the photo.
My mother had been protecting me.
Even while I thought she abandoned me.
Another crash came from outside.
Ethan turned toward the door.
“We have to move.””
Michael shook his head.
“There’s no exit.””
Ethan smiled slightly.
“There is.””
He walked toward an old painting on the wall.
He pulled it aside.
Behind it was a hidden doorway.
I stared.
“How do you know about that?””
Ethan looked at me.
“Because your mother built this room.””
My heart stopped.
“My mother?””
He nodded.
“She knew one day you would find the truth.””
He opened the hidden door.
Before we left, I looked back at the ballroom.
The wedding decorations.
The flowers.
The life I thought I was starting.
Everything had changed.
As we stepped into the darkness, my phone buzzed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
I opened it.
One sentence appeared.
*Daniel, if you are with Ethan Walker, you are already too late.*
Below it was a picture.
A recent picture.
Taken only minutes ago.
Of us standing inside the hidden room.
May you like
Someone had been watching.
And they were closer than we thought.
