Chapter 6: The Hidden Connection
Ethan didn’t move.
The phone remained pressed against his ear.
“Who are you?””
The man on the other end didn’t answer immediately.
I could hear his breathing.
Like he was deciding how much to reveal.
Finally, he spoke.
“My name is Robert Carter.””
Diane’s face changed instantly.
Not fear this time.
Panic.
“Hang up,” she said.
Ethan looked at her.
“You know him.””
Diane didn’t respond.
That was enough.
Ethan turned away from her.
“Robert, tell me what you know.””
The man sighed.
“Your mother hired me to investigate Emily.””
Ethan looked at the documents on the table.
“We already know that.””
“No. You don’t know why.””
The room felt smaller.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
“What does he mean?””
Robert continued.
“Diane wasn’t looking for dirt on Emily.””
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“Then what was she looking for?””
A pause.
“She was looking for Emily’s connection to a woman named Margaret Hayes.””
The name meant nothing to me.
I shook my head.
“I don’t know anyone named Margaret.””
Diane looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw something strange.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Recognition.
Ethan noticed too.
“Mom?””
Diane looked away.
Robert continued.
“Emily, did your mother ever tell you about Margaret?””
My chest tightened.
“My mother died when I was young.””
“I know.””
The answer shocked me.
“How do you know that?””
Silence.
Then Robert said:
“Because Diane paid me to find out everything about your family.””
I looked at Diane.
“Why?””
She said nothing.
Ethan’s voice became sharper.
“Answer her.””
Diane looked at him.
“You wouldn’t understand.””
“Try me.””
She sat down slowly.
For the first time, she looked old.
Tired.
Not powerful.
“I knew Margaret.””
Nobody moved.
I stared at her.
“How?””
Diane looked at the floor.
“Before you were born, Margaret and I worked together.””
I frowned.
“My mother?””
“Yes.””
The room spun slightly.
My entire life had suddenly gained a missing chapter.
“What does my mother have to do with you?””
Diane looked at me.
“That’s the part I was trying to find out.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
My voice became louder.
“You don’t get to lock me in a cage, accuse me of stealing, and then suddenly act like you’re protecting me.””
Ethan stepped closer to me.
“She’s right.””
Diane closed her eyes.
“I made mistakes.””
“You abused my wife.””
“I know.””
The admission shocked all of us.
Even Diane seemed surprised she had said it aloud.
Ethan stared at her.
“Why?””
She looked at me.
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
Diane hesitated.
Then she said:
“That Emily would discover the truth before I did.””
Nobody spoke.
I felt my heartbeat in my ears.
“What truth?””
Diane looked toward the window.
“When Margaret died, she left something behind.””
“What?””
“I don’t know.””
“That makes no sense.””
“She trusted someone with it.””
“Who?””
Diane looked directly at me.
“You.””
I froze.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“My mother died when I was a child.””
“I know.””
“Then how could she leave something with me?””
Diane didn’t answer.
And that scared me more than anything.
Ethan looked at Robert’s name on the phone screen.
“Where is this thing?””
Robert answered.
“That’s why Diane was investigating Emily.””
Ethan waited.
“She believed Emily had it.””
I felt sick.
“I don’t have anything.””
Robert lowered his voice.
“Maybe you don’t remember.””
The words stayed in the room.
Because suddenly I did remember something.
A small wooden box.
My mother’s.
I had seen it once when I was a child.
Before my father gave away our old house.
Before everything disappeared.
I looked at Ethan.
“I…”
Everyone turned.
“What?”” Ethan asked.
I swallowed.
“There was something.””
Diane stood up immediately.
“What?””
I looked at her.
And I hated that she cared.
“I don’t know where it is.””
Robert spoke quickly.
“Emily, listen to me.””
His voice became urgent.
“Whatever your mother left behind, Diane cannot find it.””
Ethan frowned.
“Why?””
The line went silent.
Then Robert said:
“Because your mother wasn’t the only person looking for it.””
A cold feeling spread through me.
“Who else?””
Robert didn’t answer.
Instead, Ethan’s phone received a notification.
A new photo.
He opened it.
And all of us stared.
It was a picture of my childhood home.
The house my mother lived in before she died.
But that wasn’t what scared me.
The picture had been taken that morning.
May you like
And written across the bottom was a message:
I FOUND WHERE YOUR MOTHER HID THE BOX. YOU HAVE 24 HOURS BEFORE THEY DO.
