Chapter 6: The Woman Who Knew Hannah’s Secret
I couldn’t speak.
The voice on the phone belonged to someone I knew.
Someone I had seen standing in the front row at Hannah’s funeral.
Someone I remembered hugging my daughter while we all cried.
“Marcus?””
The woman’s voice trembled.
“You’re there, aren’t you?””
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“Who is this?””
A pause.
Then:
“Evelyn.””
The name hit me like a wave.
Evelyn Carter.
Hannah’s mother.
My mother-in-law.
The woman who had moved away six months after Hannah’s death and rarely answered my calls.
The woman who had once been my second mother.
The woman who disappeared when I needed family the most.
I stood there, staring at nothing.
Sarah watched my face.
“Who is it?””
I didn’t answer.
My mind was somewhere else.
Four years earlier.
A funeral.
A little girl wearing a black dress.
A woman with red eyes holding a framed photograph of her daughter.
Evelyn had looked broken.
I had thought she was grieving.
Now I wondered if she had been hiding something.
“Marcus,” Evelyn said quietly.
“You need to listen to me.””
My voice finally returned.
“Where have you been?””
“I know you’re angry.””
“Angry?””
I laughed bitterly.
“My wife died. You left. You barely spoke to Lily.
You missed birthdays. You missed holidays.””
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
My voice cracked.
“You don’t know what it was like trying to explain to a three-year-old why her grandmother stopped calling.””
Sarah looked away.
Even she seemed uncomfortable hearing it.
Evelyn was silent.
Then she whispered:
“I stayed away because I was afraid.””
The same word again.
Afraid.
Everyone was afraid.
Everyone except me.
I was the only person who didn’t know what was happening.
“Afraid of what?””
“Daniel.””
The room went still.
I looked at the cameras on the table.
At the envelope.
At Sarah.
Everything connected back to the same name.
“What did Daniel do?””
Evelyn took a shaky breath.
“Not everything happened the way you think.””
“I’m listening.””
“I need you to understand something first. Hannah loved you.””
The words hurt.
Because they were unnecessary.
I knew Hannah loved me.
But hearing her mother say it made something inside me ache.
“She loved you more than anything,” Evelyn continued.
“But she also knew you had a weakness.””
I frowned.
“What weakness?””
“You trusted people completely.””
I looked at Sarah.
Then at the envelope.
“That’s not a weakness.””
“It is when the wrong people know it.””
I walked toward the window.
“Tell me what happened.””
Evelyn was quiet for several seconds.
Then she said:
“Three years before Hannah died, she discovered Daniel was stealing from your company.””
I closed my eyes.
I already knew that part.
“But she also discovered something else.””
“What?””
“He wasn’t working alone.””
I looked back at Sarah.
She was listening carefully.
“Who was helping him?””
Evelyn didn’t answer immediately.
That hesitation terrified me.
“Evelyn.””
“It was someone close.””
“Who?””
The line went silent.
Then she said:
“Someone Hannah trusted.””
I felt anger rise.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
“I know.””
“Everyone keeps giving me half the truth.””
“I’m sorry.””
“No.””
I gripped the phone.
“I don’t need apologies. I need answers.””
Another pause.
Then Evelyn said:
“Meet me.””
“Where?””
“Somewhere private.””
“I’m not leaving Lily.””
“You shouldn’t.””
The answer surprised me.
“She’s the reason I called.””
“What does that mean?””
Evelyn’s voice lowered.
“Marcus, Hannah didn’t just worry about Daniel stealing money.””
I waited.
“She worried that he would use Lily.””
My blood turned cold.
“He what?””
“Hannah found messages.””
“What messages?””
“Between Daniel and another person.””
“About Lily?””
“Yes.””
I looked upstairs.
Toward my daughter’s room.
My hands started shaking.
“What did they say?””
“I don’t know everything.””
“You don’t know?””
“I saw enough.””
“Enough for what?””
“To know Hannah was right to be scared.””
The call suddenly became muffled.
Then Evelyn whispered:
“Marcus, I have to go.””
“No.””
I stepped away from the window.
“You called me. You don’t get to disappear again.””
“I didn’t disappear.””
“You did.””
“I was protecting you.””
“By abandoning us?””
Silence.
Then:
“By staying alive.””
The words froze me.
“What?””
Before she answered, the line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
Sarah spoke softly.
“What did she say?””
I looked at her.
For once, I didn’t know whether she was an enemy or someone else caught in the same trap.
“She said Hannah knew someone would use Lily.””
Sarah’s face changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
“What?””
“You know something.””
“No.””
“You do.””
She shook her head.
“I swear I don’t.””
I studied her.
Then I remembered something.
Something Lily had said.
After Daniel came back.
“Sarah.””
She looked up.
“When did Daniel start visiting this house?””
She looked uncomfortable.
“Marcus…”
“When?””
“About six months ago.””
Six months.
The same time Sarah began acting differently.
The same time Lily started having “episodes.””
The same time cameras appeared.
I picked up the envelope.
“Where is the original recording?””
Sarah looked confused.
“What?””
“The recording the message mentioned.””
“I don’t know.””
“Think.””
“I don’t.””
I watched her.
She was telling the truth.
At least, I thought she was.
Then I heard something.
A soft sound from upstairs.
A door closing.
My body went rigid.
“Lily.””
I ran.
I took the stairs two at a time.
“Lily!””
Her bedroom door was open.
The room was empty.
The window was open.
Cold air rushed inside.
My heart stopped.
“Lily!””
I ran to the window.
Below was the backyard.
Empty.
I turned around.
A small piece of paper was sitting on her bed.
My hands shook as I picked it up.
Four words.
Written in a child’s handwriting.
*Daddy, I’m sorry.*
Behind me, Sarah screamed:
“Marcus!””
I turned.
She was holding something.
A phone.
An old phone.
Not hers.
Not mine.
She looked terrified.
“I found this inside the bear.””
I grabbed it.
The screen was cracked.
There was one video file.
Created three months ago.
The title made my blood run cold.
*HANNAH_FINAL_MESSAGE*
I pressed play.
For a few seconds, there was only darkness.
Then Hannah appeared.
My wife.
The woman I buried four years ago.
She looked exhausted.
Scared.
But alive.
My knees almost gave out.
“Marcus,” Hannah whispered through the screen.
“If you’re watching this, something happened.””
I couldn’t breathe.
Sarah covered her mouth.
Hannah looked directly into the camera.
“I need you to understand something.””
A tear rolled down her face.
“Do not trust the person who finds this recording.””
The room became silent.
Because the phone was in my hand.
And the person who had found it…
May you like
Was standing right beside me.
Sarah.
