Chapter 2: The Night My Family Lied
The second video began with my mother standing beside the kitchen counter.
Her blonde hair was tied into a loose bun. She wore the pale blue cardigan she had worn that entire winter.
In her right hand was a match.
In her left was a small bottle.
I stared at the screen, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.
“That can't be Mom,” I whispered.
Caleb looked miserable.
“It is.””
On the video, Mom checked the hallway before placing the bottle inside a kitchen cabinet.
Then she struck the match.
The flame illuminated her face.
She stood there for several seconds, staring at it.
Finally, she dropped it into the metal sink and walked away.
The video ended.
My mother started shaking her head.
“No. No, that's not…”
Aunt Meredith stepped closer.
“Eleanor, what was in that bottle?””
Mom looked at my father.
He didn't look back.
“Richard?””
Dad rubbed his forehead.
“This is being taken completely out of context.””
I laughed.
It wasn't a happy sound.
“Out of context? We watched you both on camera.””
Sloane moved closer to Mom.
“Tell them, Mom.””
Mom's eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't start the fire.””
Caleb looked at her.
“Then why did you hide the bottle?””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
I felt as if I were standing outside my own body.
Eight months.
Eight months of believing I had somehow caused the worst night of my life.
Eight months of hearing my father tell people I had been careless.
Eight months of watching my mother avoid looking at my scars.
And now there they were, standing in front of everyone, unable to explain a video.
“June,” Mom whispered.
I turned toward her.
“Don't.””
“Please, sweetheart. Let me explain.””
“You had eight months.””
Her face crumpled.
I looked down at my exposed shoulder.
The grafted skin was tight beneath the garden lights. A thin scar curved toward my collarbone.
“You had eight months to tell me the truth,” I continued.
“You visited me in the hospital and complained about my pajamas. You stood in front of my bedroom and told me to cover my scars because people might stare.””
My voice cracked.
“And all that time, you knew something about that fire.””
Mom started crying harder.
“I was scared.””
“Of what?””
She glanced at Dad.
That was answer enough.
Caleb suddenly stepped between us.
“June, there's another thing.””
He opened the tablet's gallery.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a small bottle lying on the kitchen floor. Beside it was a folded piece of paper.
I recognized the handwriting.
It was Sloane's.
Caleb zoomed in.
The note read:
Keep the original container. Dad says we need to get rid of the evidence.
My sister let out a sharp breath.
“Where did you get that?””
“From the storage room,” Caleb replied.
Sloane shook her head.
“You went through my things?””
“No. It was in the old camera box.””
Dad grabbed his phone.
“Security! Take that device away from him!””
Aunt Meredith stepped directly into his path.
“Touch that child and I'll call the police myself.””
“You wouldn't dare.””
“Try me.””
Several guests began quietly moving away from the pool.
Others continued recording.
A man in a gray suit approached us.
I recognized him as Mr. Whitaker, my father's longtime business partner.
“Richard,” he said, “I think you should stop talking.””
Dad glared at him.
“This doesn't concern you.””
“Your company's name is on the property records for that cottage. If there's evidence of a criminal act, it absolutely concerns me.””
Dad looked toward the crowd.
For years, he had been the most powerful man in every room he entered.
Now he was simply a man with a sweating forehead and an increasingly desperate expression.
“Everyone is jumping to conclusions,” he said.
I turned toward Sloane.
“Did you know?””
She wiped her cheeks.
“Know what?””
“Did you know what was in the bottle?””
“No.””
“Did you put it near the fireplace?””
“I don't remember.””
“You were on camera.””
She lifted her chin.
“I was sixteen. I made mistakes.””
“You're my twin.””
Her expression hardened.
“And you always got everything!””
The words came out before she could stop herself.
I stared at her.
“What?””
Sloane laughed bitterly.
“Everyone loved you. Caleb followed you everywhere. Dad trusted you with everything. Even Mom worried about you more.””
I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“More?””
“You were always the responsible one. The brave one. The perfect daughter.””
I shook my head.
“I almost died.””
“And everyone treated me like I was the problem!””
She pointed at my shoulder.
“Look at you! You get sympathy everywhere you go now!””
The garden fell silent again.
I felt the air leave my lungs.
My sister had just explained why she had spent months humiliating me.
Not because she didn't understand what I had suffered.
Because she resented the attention my survival had brought.
Dad stepped between us.
“Enough. Sloane, go inside.””
But she wasn't finished.
“You want the truth?”” she shouted.
“Fine! I didn't think the fire would spread!””
My mother gasped.
I looked at her.
Then at my sister.
“What did you say?””
Sloane froze.
Dad grabbed her arm.
“Stop talking.””
But I was already moving toward her.
“You knew?””
She shook her head rapidly.
“I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt!””
“Caleb was upstairs!””
“I know!””
“You knew he was upstairs?””
She covered her mouth.
The answer was written all over her face.
Caleb began crying.
“Why would you do that?””
Sloane looked at him.
“Caleb, I…”
He backed away.
“Why?””
My father suddenly shouted.
“Because she was angry! That's all! She was angry, and she made a stupid decision!””
I turned toward him.
“Why are you explaining it like that makes it better?””
He didn't answer.
Then Mr. Whitaker took out his phone.
“I've called the police.””
Dad's head snapped around.
“You did what?””
“Someone should have done it eight months ago.””
My mother sat down on a garden chair.
Sloane began screaming that everyone was misunderstanding her.
And I stood beside the swimming pool, still holding my robe in one hand.
For the first time, I wasn't the person being accused.
I was the person waiting for answers.
Then a police officer who had just arrived approached Caleb.
“Son, you mentioned another recording?””
Caleb nodded.
“Yes, sir.””
“What does it show?””
My brother looked at Dad.
Then at Mom.
May you like
Finally, he whispered:
“It shows who locked June's bedroom door.””
