Chapter 3: The Plan
I read Daniel’s message three times before my brain accepted what he was saying.
*Your sister wasn't surprised when you fell.*
My thumb hovered over the screen.
I typed, deleted, then finally sent the only question I could think of.
*What do you mean?*
The typing bubble appeared almost immediately.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally, his reply arrived.
*I saw her look at the pool before she pushed you. She checked the water first. Then she looked around to make sure nobody was standing close enough to stop her.*
I sat perfectly still on the edge of the sofa.
My mother noticed my face.
“What is it?””
I handed her the phone.
She read the messages.
Her expression changed.
“She checked the water?””
I nodded.
My father stepped closer.
“What did Daniel say?””
I showed him.
He read the messages without speaking.
Then he looked toward the staircase.
“Your sister planned it.””
The word sounded too deliberate.
Planned.
Not impulsive.
Not careless.
Not a stupid joke.
Planned.
I felt the cold return to my skin despite the dry clothes.
“Why would she plan to push me into a pool?””
Neither of my parents answered.
Because we all knew the answer had to be somewhere inside the strange tension that had existed between Vanessa and me for years.
But tension was not enough.
Jealousy was not enough.
Sibling rivalry was not enough.
This was different.
My phone buzzed again.
Daniel.
*I should tell you something else.*
I opened it.
*Yesterday, Vanessa asked me what I would do if you fell into the pool.*
My heart stopped.
I looked at my parents.
“She asked him that yesterday.””
My father frowned.
“What exactly did she ask?””
I read the message aloud.
My mother covered her mouth.
My father’s expression hardened.
“What did Daniel say?””
Another message arrived.
*I told her I'd pull you out. She laughed and said, "Good. Then you won't have to worry.""*
The room fell silent.
A faint humming came from the air conditioner.
Somewhere upstairs, a drawer slammed.
Vanessa.
Still moving around.
Still acting like she was the victim.
I stared at the staircase.
“Why didn't Daniel tell us this before?””
My mother answered quietly.
“Maybe he was trying to understand what he was seeing too.””
My phone rang.
Daniel.
I answered.
“Hello?””
His voice was low.
“Emily, are you somewhere private?””
“Yes.””
“Is your sister upstairs?””
I looked toward the ceiling.
“Yes.””
“Good.””
He exhaled slowly.
“I don't want her hearing this.””
“What happened yesterday?””
There was a pause.
“I was helping Vanessa with the rehearsal dinner seating chart. You know how obsessive she gets about appearances.””
Despite everything, a bitter smile almost escaped me.
“She does.””
“She kept asking questions about you.””
“About me?””
“Yes. About your shoulder. Whether you were still weak. Whether the surgery had worked.””
I frowned.
“That doesn't sound strange.””
“It didn't at first.””
“Then what?””
“She asked whether you'd be embarrassed if people saw you struggling.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
Daniel continued.
“She said you hated people seeing you as weak.””
I remembered something.
Three weeks earlier, I'd told Vanessa exactly that.
Not because I was ashamed of my recovery.
Because I was tired of people staring at me.
She had hugged me and promised she understood.
I felt sick.
Daniel said, “Then she asked me whether I thought everyone would notice if you needed help.””
“What did you say?””
“I told her nobody would care.””
Another silence.
“I was wrong.””
I closed my eyes.
“Did she tell you why she was asking?””
“No. But later, she mentioned the pool.””
“What did she say?””
“She asked whether you'd get in.””
My fingers tightened around my phone.
“I told her probably not.””
“And?””
“She said, 'Emily always surprises everyone.''”
I swallowed.
“What happened after that?””
“I didn't think much of it.””
His voice became quieter.
“Until today.””
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
I glanced toward the ceiling.
“What else?””
Daniel hesitated.
“I went back through something on my phone.””
“What?””
“A video.””
My pulse quickened.
“What video?””
“The rehearsal dinner.””
I sat upright.
“What does it show?””
“I recorded a short clip when everyone was outside. It was supposed to be a panoramic shot of the garden.””
He paused.
“Vanessa is in the background.””
My mouth went dry.
“Doing what?””
“Talking to your cousin Rachel.””
“About me?””
“I couldn't hear them clearly at first.””
“And now?””
“I listened with headphones.””
“What did they say?””
Daniel took a breath.
“I heard Vanessa say, 'She'll get in the water if I make everyone think she's being boring.''”
My chest tightened.
“No.””
“I know.””
“She said that?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“About twenty minutes before you came outside.””
I stood up so quickly the room tilted.
My mother grabbed my elbow.
“Emily?””
“I'm fine.””
I wasn't.
I walked toward the window and looked out at the dark pool.
The underwater lights had been turned off.
The surface was black.
For the first time, I didn't see it as a swimming pool.
I saw it as a trap.
“Daniel,” I whispered, “why would she want me in the water?””
“That is what I'm trying to figure out.””
“You're saying she wanted me there before she pushed me?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“I don't know.””
Then his voice changed.
“Actually, I think I might know.””
I turned from the window.
“What?””
“This morning, Vanessa asked me something strange.””
“What?””
“She asked whether the wedding photographer had already been paid in full.””
My stomach dropped.
“What does that have to do with me?””
“I'm not sure yet.””
Daniel continued.
“But when she said it, she wasn't worried about the photographer.””
“What was she worried about?””
“Evidence.””
The word echoed in my mind.
Evidence.
I sat back down.
“What evidence?””
“I don't know.””
“You're scaring me.””
“I’m sorry.””
A pause.
“Emily, I need you to listen carefully.””
His voice was suddenly serious.
“Don't confront Vanessa tonight.””
I glanced upstairs again.
“Why?””
“Because I think she has been planning something longer than we realized.””
The hairs on my arms stood up.
“What kind of something?””
“I don't know yet.””
“Then how can you be sure?””
“I found something in her desk.””
I stared at my phone.
“What?””
“A list.””
“A list of what?””
“Names.””
My stomach twisted.
“Whose names?””
He didn't answer immediately.
Then:
“Yours. Mine. Your parents.
Rachel. And three other guests.””
I stopped breathing.
“Why would she have a list?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you take a photo?””
“Yes.””
“Send it to me.””
A few seconds later, an image appeared.
I opened it.
It was a handwritten page on cream-colored stationery.
At the top was one word.
*WITNESSES*
Below it were names.
*Daniel.*
*Emily.*
*Mom.*
*Dad.*
*Rachel.*
Three other names belonged to guests attending the wedding.
Next to several names were small handwritten notes.
*Will believe me.*
*Likely to stay quiet.*
*Needs convincing.*
My hands began to shake.
Then I reached the bottom.
There was one final line.
*Need Emily alone first.*
I looked at my mother.
She could see the answer on my face.
“What does it say?””
I couldn't speak.
My father took the phone from my hand.
His face went pale.
“What the hell?””
My mother moved closer.
He showed her.
She sat down slowly.
“This isn't a prank.””
“No,” I whispered.
A door opened upstairs.
All three of us looked toward the staircase.
Vanessa appeared at the top step.
She had changed again.
Her eyes were swollen from crying, but her voice was strangely calm.
“Who are you talking to?””
Nobody answered.
Her gaze moved from my father to my mother.
Then to me.
“Emily?””
I quickly locked my phone.
“I'm talking to Daniel.””
Vanessa went very still.
“You're talking to Daniel?””
“Yes.””
“What does he want?””
I forced myself to stay calm.
“He was checking on me.””
Vanessa started down the stairs.
“I don't appreciate you turning him against me.””
My mother stood.
“You did that yourself.””
Vanessa stopped halfway down.
“What?””
My father held up the phone.
She saw the photograph.
Everything changed.
Her face emptied.
For two seconds, she didn't move.
Then she whispered:
“Where did you get that?””
I looked directly at her.
“Why am I on a list?””
Vanessa's eyes flicked toward the front door.
Then toward the kitchen.
Then back to me.
She was calculating.
I saw it happen.
Whatever she was about to say wasn't the truth.
“You went through my things.””
“No.””
“Then Daniel did.””
Silence.
Vanessa's lips tightened.
“What else did he show you?””
My father stepped forward.
“You need to answer her question.””
Vanessa laughed softly.
“It's just a list.””
“A list titled witnesses,” my mother said.
“I was organizing seating.””
“Then why did you write 'Need Emily alone first'?””
Vanessa's expression finally cracked.
She looked at me.
“I can explain.””
I heard Daniel's voice in my memory.
*Don't confront Vanessa tonight.*
Too late.
I stood.
“Then explain it.””
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
The color drained from her face.
She rejected the call.
It rang again.
She rejected it again.
Then a text appeared.
I couldn't see the sender, but I could see Vanessa's reaction.
She whispered one word.
“No.””
“What is it?”” I asked.
She backed away.
“Nothing.””
My father's voice sharpened.
“Who is texting you?””
Vanessa looked at me.
For the first time that night, she looked genuinely afraid.
Then she said something that made the room go silent.
“It wasn't supposed to happen tomorrow.””
I stared at her.
“What wasn't?””
Her phone slipped from her hand.
It struck the floor.
The screen lit up.
I saw the message before she could pick it up.
*THE POOL WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE THE BEGINNING.*
May you like
Vanessa lunged for the phone.
But I had already read it.
