Chapter 8: The Voice From The Phone That Should Not Exist
Nobody spoke.
Not even Victor.
The message stayed on my screen.
A few words.
A few seconds.
But they felt like they had cracked open another door into a nightmare that never ended.
The number at the top belonged to my mother.
Not a similar number.
Not a random number.
Her number.
The one I used to call when I was younger.
The one that stopped working the day she disappeared.
The one I had saved in my phone even after everyone told me to delete it.
Because some part of me believed that if I erased the number, I was admitting she was truly gone.
I looked at my mother.
"How?""
She couldn't answer.
Her eyes were fixed on the screen.
"I don't understand.""
"You know this number.""
She nodded slowly.
"I haven't seen it in three years.""
Victor stepped forward.
"Give me the phone.""
I immediately moved back.
"No.""
His expression hardened.
"Elijah.""
"No.""
I held the phone tighter.
"You've all been telling me what to believe.""
I looked around at the three adults standing in front of me.
"My mother says one thing.""
I pointed at Daniel.
"My father says another.""
Then I looked at Victor.
"And you say you're the only one telling the truth.""
My voice shook.
"But none of you have actually listened to me.""
Nobody responded.
Because they knew I was right.
I looked at the message again.
I typed back.
Who is this?
The response came almost immediately.
I watched the three dots appear.
Then disappear.
Then appear again.
Finally:
Someone who knows what happened.
My heart started racing.
I typed:
Prove it.
The reply took longer this time.
Then:
Your brother's favorite toy is missing an eye.
I froze.
I looked at Devon.
He was standing beside me, confused.
"What?""
I turned toward him.
"Your stuffed bear.""
His face changed.
The little bear.
The one he carried everywhere when he was younger.
The one with one plastic eye because it fell off when we moved apartments.
Nobody knew about that.
Nobody except us.
Devon whispered:
"How do they know that?""
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know.
My mother looked at me.
"Elijah, don't respond.""
I looked at her.
"Why?""
"Because whoever this is, they have access to personal information.""
"Like you?""
The words hurt her.
I saw it.
But I couldn't take them back.
She lowered her eyes.
"Yes.""
The silence returned.
Then Daniel spoke.
"We need to leave.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
He looked toward the street.
"The person who sent that message wants us distracted.""
Victor laughed.
Everyone turned.
"What?""
Victor shook his head.
"You always think you're the smartest person in the room.""
Daniel stepped toward him.
"And you always think you're in control.""
"Enough.""
My mother's voice stopped both of them.
She looked exhausted.
"We cannot keep doing this.""
She looked at me.
"Elijah, there is something you need to know.""
I didn't move.
"What?""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"The custody papers.""
I looked at the document in my hand.
"The fake ones?""
She nodded.
"I know who created them.""
My stomach tightened.
"Who?""
She looked at Victor.
Then Daniel.
Then me.
"It wasn't either of them.""
A strange feeling moved through me.
"Then who?""
My mother took a breath.
"The person who helped me disappear.""
Nobody spoke.
I waited.
Finally, she said:
"Clara.""
The name hit me.
The woman from the courtroom.
The woman who cried when she saw me.
The woman who claimed to know my mother.
"No.""
My mother nodded.
"Yes.""
I shook my head.
"She was your friend.""
"I know.""
"She was the one who said you were alive.""
"I know.""
"Then why would she do that?""
My mother looked away.
"Because she knew exactly how much I trusted her.""
I remembered Clara's face in the courtroom.
The tears.
The apology.
The way she looked at me like she carried guilt.
Was it real?
Or was it an act?
My phone buzzed again.
Another message.
This time:
Don't let them make you choose sides.
I stared at it.
Another message followed.
The truth is not with your mother.
It is not with your father.
It is in the place where you last saw her.
My breathing slowed.
The place where I last saw her.
I knew immediately.
The hospital.
The night she supposedly died.
I looked at my mother.
She saw my expression.
"No.""
The word came softly.
"You can't go there.""
"Why?""
She looked terrified.
"Because that's where everything started.""
Daniel stepped closer.
"She's right.""
I looked at him.
"Why?""
He hesitated.
"Because that's where Victor made his move.""
Victor's expression changed.
"You don't know what you're talking about.""
Daniel looked at him.
"I was there.""
My eyes moved between them.
"You were both there?""
Nobody answered.
That was answer enough.
I felt anger building again.
"You were all there.""
My voice cracked.
"The night I lost my mother.""
I looked at each of them.
"And nobody told me.""
My mother stepped closer.
"Elijah—"
"No.""
I backed away.
"I don't want another explanation.""
Tears burned my eyes.
"I want the truth.""
Devon grabbed my hand.
I looked down.
He was scared.
And suddenly, I remembered something.
Something small.
Something I had forgotten.
The night Mom disappeared.
Devon was asleep.
But I wasn't.
I had been sitting in the hospital hallway.
Waiting.
A nurse had walked past me.
She had stopped.
She had looked at me.
And she had said:
"Your mother wanted you to have this.""
I remembered the small object she gave me.
A necklace.
A silver necklace with a tiny key attached.
I had kept it in my room for years.
I never knew why.
I never knew what it opened.
I looked at my mother.
"Did you give me something that night?""
Her face changed.
"What?""
"A necklace.""
The color left her face.
"Where is it?""
"I have it.""
Daniel stepped closer.
"Elijah.""
"What?""
He looked shocked.
"Your mother thought she lost that.""
"Why?""
My mother whispered:
"Because it contains the only proof.""
I felt my heart pounding.
"The proof of what?""
She looked at Victor.
"The truth about our family.""
Victor's calm expression disappeared.
For the first time, he looked genuinely angry.
"Marissa.""
She ignored him.
"Elijah, listen to me.""
I stared at her.
"That necklace was never meant to be opened unless something happened to me.""
My hand went to my pocket.
I always carried it.
A habit I never questioned.
I pulled it out.
The small silver key caught the light.
Victor took one step forward.
"Give me that.""
I immediately stepped back.
"No.""
His voice became colder.
"You don't understand what you have.""
My mother moved between us.
"That's exactly why he needs it.""
Victor stared at her.
"You would risk everything?""
She looked at me.
"No.""
Then she looked at Devon.
"I already lost everything once.""
The wind blew through the parking lot.
The world felt suspended.
I held the necklace.
The key.
The one thing that had survived three years of lies.
My phone buzzed again.
One final message.
This time, it wasn't a warning.
It was an address.
A location.
And underneath it:
Come alone if you want to know who signed the papers.
I stared at the screen.
Daniel noticed.
"What is it?""
I didn't answer.
Because I knew what I had to do.
I knew they would tell me not to go.
I knew everyone would try to protect me.
But protecting me was what had caused all these secrets.
I looked at Devon.
Then at my mother.
Then at the three people who had spent years deciding what I could handle.
"I need to go somewhere.""
My mother immediately shook her head.
"No.""
Daniel stepped forward.
"Absolutely not.""
Victor said nothing.
But his expression told me he already knew.
I looked at them.
"For three years, everyone made choices for me.""
I closed my hand around the necklace.
"Now I'm making one.""
My mother grabbed my arm.
"Elijah, please.""
I looked at her.
And I saw the fear in her eyes.
Not fear for herself.
Fear for me.
"Where are you going?""
I hesitated.
Then I answered.
"To find out who really signed those papers.""
I turned away.
But before I could take a step, my phone rang.
Not a message.
A call.
From the same impossible number.
My mother's old phone number.
Everyone stared at the screen.
Then my mother whispered:
"Don't answer.""
I looked at her.
"Why?""
She looked like she was about to break.
"Because the only person who could be calling you from that number...""
She swallowed.
"...is the person who was standing beside me the night I disappeared.""
The phone kept ringing.
May you like
And on the screen was a name I hadn't seen in three years.
*Mom.*
