Chapter 6: The Call From the Past
For three seconds, nobody moved.
The birthday candles on the kitchen island were still burning.
The music was still playing.
Someone in the living room laughed at a joke they would never remember.
But inside that kitchen, everything had stopped.
Marcus held the phone against his ear like it was the only thing keeping him standing.
“Say that again,” he whispered.
I watched his face change.
The fear in his eyes wasn’t the fear of someone caught in a lie.
It was the fear of someone realizing the truth had been buried much deeper than he thought.
“Marcus,” I said softly.
He looked at me.
The woman’s voice on the other end continued speaking.
His hand tightened around the phone.
“No,” he said.
“No, that doesn’t make sense.””
A pause.
Then his expression collapsed.
“I thought you said she was gone.””
I felt my stomach twist.
Gone.
Not dead.
Gone.
There was a difference.
A terrifying difference.
Marcus turned away from us.
“I need to see you.””
Another pause.
“Tonight.””
He ended the call.
Nobody spoke.
Finally, Tara whispered:
“Who was that?””
Marcus looked at her.
For the first time in my life, I saw him look at his sister with complete distrust.
“Lily’s mother.””
Tara went pale.
“She called?””
“Yes.””
“What did she say?””
Marcus didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at me.
“Maya…”
I shook my head.
“No.””
He stopped.
“No more secrets.””
His eyes filled with regret.
“You’re right.””
“Then tell me.””
He took a breath.
“She said Lily survived the crash.””
The words felt impossible.
I gripped the edge of the counter.
“How?””
“She said Lily was found by someone after the accident.””
“Found?””
Marcus nodded slowly.
“She was alive.””
I looked at Tara.
Her face had gone completely blank.
But it wasn’t shock.
It was something else.
Recognition.
And I noticed.
“Tara.””
She looked at me.
“What?””
“You’re not surprised.””
Her lips parted.
“I…”
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“You knew.””
Marcus looked at his sister.
“Tara?””
She looked between us.
“I didn’t know.””
The way she said it was wrong.
Not defensive.
Desperate.
“You knew something,” I said.
“I knew rumors.””
“What rumors?””
She looked away.
Marcus’s voice hardened.
“Tell me.””
Tara swallowed.
“After the accident, I heard someone say Lily had been taken to a hospital.””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
She closed her eyes.
“I thought it was a mistake.””
“Who told you?””
Silence.
“Tara.””
She finally answered.
“A nurse.””
Marcus stared at her.
“You never told me?””
“I didn’t know if it was true.””
“You didn’t know?””
His voice rose.
“You heard my daughter might still be alive and you said nothing?””
Tara started crying.
“I was scared.””
“Of what?””
She didn’t answer.
And that was the answer.
I felt a cold wave move through me.
This wasn’t just a family tragedy.
This was a chain of choices.
People deciding what someone else deserved to know.
Marcus grabbed his jacket.
“I’m going to meet her.””
“I’m coming,” I said.
He looked at me.
“Maya…”
“I’m coming.””
He looked like he wanted to argue.
But he stopped.
Because he knew he had lost the right to tell me what I could handle.
Tara stepped forward.
“Marcus, wait.””
He turned.
“What?””
Her voice shook.
“If Lily is alive…”
She swallowed.
“If she’s alive, then you need to know what happened after the crash.””
Marcus stared at her.
“What are you talking about?””
Tara looked at me.
Then back at him.
“The reason nobody found her.””
My heart started racing.
“Why?””
Tara whispered:
“Because someone changed the records.””
The room went silent.
Marcus looked confused.
“What records?””
“The hospital records.””
I felt dizzy.
“Who would do that?””
Nobody answered.
Then Marcus’s phone buzzed.
A message.
He opened it.
His face changed.
“What?””
I moved closer.
The message was from Lily’s mother.
There was an address.
And one sentence.
*Come alone. The person who hid Lily is still watching.*
Marcus stared at the screen.
I looked at him.
“No.””
He looked up.
“Maya.””
“You are not going alone.””
He hesitated.
Then something appeared in the doorway.
Daniel.
He had been listening.
“I’m coming too.””
Marcus shook his head.
“This is family.””
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“Exactly.””
He looked at me.
“And right now, your family is the reason you’re in this mess.””
Nobody argued.
Because nobody could.
Twenty minutes later, we left the house.
The birthday party was still happening behind us.
The candles were still burning.
The cake was still untouched.
And upstairs, hidden in our bedroom, was the card that started everything.
*Do not disturb.*
But now I understood.
May you like
They didn’t want to keep me away from the party.
They wanted to keep me away from the truth.
