Chapter 5: The First Video
Aaliyah spent the night in a hotel three miles from home.
She didn't sleep.
She sat on the edge of the bed with the curtains closed, the flash drive on the desk in front of her.
Every few minutes, she checked the door.
Locked.
Chain secured.
Phone beside her.
She had received no more messages from the unknown number.
That somehow made everything worse.
At 6:17 a.m., someone knocked.
Aaliyah jumped to her feet.
âHousekeeping,â a woman's voice called.
âI didn't request housekeeping.ââ
A pause.
âSorry, ma'am.ââ
Footsteps moved away.
Aaliyah waited another full minute before approaching the door.
She looked through the peephole.
Nobody.
She returned to the desk.
The flash drive waited beside her laptop.
Marcus had warned her not to open it.
That was exactly why she needed to.
She inserted it.
One folder appeared.
*MARCUS â PRIVATE*
Inside were seven video files.
Aaliyah clicked the first.
The screen showed Marcus sitting in what looked like a small office.
His face was pale.
He looked directly into the camera.
âIf you're watching this, Aaliyah, something has gone wrong.ââ
She leaned closer.
Marcus continued.
âI need you to understand something before you watch anything else. I never stopped loving you.ââ
Aaliyah's eyes burned.
âBut there are things I couldn't tell you while we were together.ââ
The video suddenly cut.
A second video began.
Marcus was standing outside a bank.
He spoke to someone off-camera.
Aaliyah recognized the building immediately.
It was the bank connected to the mysterious account.
A woman stepped into view.
Aaliyah stopped breathing.
It was the woman from the photograph.
Her mother's face.
The woman handed Marcus a folder.
Marcus said something Aaliyah couldn't hear.
The woman shook her head.
Then Marcus reached for her arm.
The video ended.
Aaliyah stared at the screen.
Her stomach twisted.
That looked bad.
Very bad.
She clicked the third file.
This time, the camera showed Marcus inside a restaurant.
He sat across from Denise.
Aaliyah's sister looked terrified.
Marcus pushed a document across the table.
Denise shook her head.
âNo.ââ
Marcus leaned forward.
âYou promised.ââ
âI can't do this anymore.ââ
âYou already did it.ââ
âI was trying to protect Aaliyah.ââ
âBy lying to her?ââ
Denise looked down.
âI didn't have a choice.ââ
Marcusâs voice hardened.
âYou always have a choice.ââ
The video ended.
Aaliyah covered her mouth.
Her sister had known.
Marcus had known.
Everyone seemed to know something except her.
She clicked the fourth file.
This one was different.
The camera showed a hallway.
Aaliyah recognized it.
Her childhood home.
The house that supposedly had been sold after her father's death.
Someone was walking through the hallway.
Then the camera angle changed.
The woman appeared.
The woman who looked like her mother.
She walked into a bedroom.
Aaliyah's old bedroom.
She opened a drawer.
Pulled out a small wooden box.
Then she looked directly toward the camera.
Her lips moved.
Aaliyah turned up the volume.
The woman whispered:
âShe still doesn't know, does she?ââ
The video ended.
Aaliyah sat motionless.
Her childhood home wasn't supposed to exist.
Yet someone was inside it.
She immediately called Denise.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Aaliyah called Marcus.
Straight to voicemail.
She stood.
She needed to see that house.
Even if it was empty.
Even if she was wrong.
She couldn't sit there anymore.
An hour later, she was standing outside the property.
The house looked abandoned.
The grass had grown wild.
The windows were dusty.
The mailbox leaned sideways.
Aaliyah slowly approached the front door.
She touched the handle.
Unlocked.
Her heart pounded.
âHello?ââ
Nothing.
She stepped inside.
The smell hit her first.
Dust.
Old wood.
And something else.
Her father's cologne.
Aaliyah's eyes filled with tears.
She walked through the hallway.
Everything looked almost exactly as she remembered.
The staircase.
The framed family photos.
The scratch on the wall from when she was twelve.
She reached her old bedroom.
The wooden box from the video was gone.
But the drawer was open.
Inside was a single envelope.
Aaliyah picked it up.
Her father's handwriting covered the front.
*For Aaliyah. Give this to her only when Marcus is gone.*
Her hands trembled.
âMarcus?ââ
She unfolded the letter.
Only one sentence had been written.
*Your mother didn't die when you were told she did.*
Aaliyah dropped the paper.
âNo.ââ
A floorboard creaked behind her.
She turned.
The woman from the videos stood in the doorway.
The same face.
The same scar.
The same gold necklace.
Aaliyah couldn't breathe.
The woman stared at her with tears in her eyes.
âAaliyahâŠâ
Aaliyah backed against the wall.
âWho are you?ââ
The woman took one trembling step forward.
âI'm the reason your husband left.ââ
âWhy?ââ
The woman looked toward the hallway.
âBecause Marcus discovered what your father did.ââ
Aaliyah's voice broke.
âWhat did my father do?ââ
The woman opened her mouth.
Before she could answer, headlights swept across the bedroom window.
A car had stopped outside.
The womanâs face changed instantly.
âThey found us.ââ
Aaliyah looked toward the window.
âHow?ââ
The woman grabbed her wrist.
âBecause Marcus was never the person they were watching.ââ
Aaliyah stared at her.
âThen who were they watching?ââ
May you like
The woman whisperedâ
âYou.ââ
