Chapter 7: The Name Hidden In The Past
I couldn’t move.
The words kept echoing in my head.
“You’re connected to the secret too.””
For years, I thought I knew my own life.
I knew where I grew up.
I knew my parents.
I knew every important moment that shaped me.
At least, I thought I did.
But standing in my kitchen with Ethan’s voice coming through the phone, I felt like a stranger inside my own story.
“What does that mean?”” I asked.
My voice sounded smaller than I wanted.
Ethan didn’t answer immediately.
That silence hurt.
Because silence always meant there was something worse coming.
“Ethan.””
“I didn’t want you involved.””
“That doesn’t answer my question.””
“I know.””
“Then answer it.””
Daniel stayed quiet nearby.
For the first time since he revealed the camera, he wasn’t watching me like a suspect.
He was watching me like someone who had just discovered a much bigger problem.
Ethan finally spoke.
“Your maiden name.””
I frowned.
“What about it?””
“Your father’s last name before he changed it.””
My heartbeat slowed.
Then stopped.
“What?””
“Claire, your father wasn’t always a Carter.””
I stared at the phone.
“That’s impossible.””
“I wish it was.””
I shook my head.
“No. My father was Robert Bennett.””
“Yes.””
“Then what are you saying?””
Ethan took a deep breath.
“Robert Bennett was the name he used after he disappeared.””
The room went completely silent.
My fingers tightened around the edge of the table.
“Disappeared?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Before you were born.””
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because my brain couldn’t accept it.
“You’re telling me my father had another identity?””
“Yes.””
“And you knew?””
“I found out after we got married.””
The anger came back instantly.
“You knew something about my family and never told me?””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
My voice cracked.
“But nobody tells me the truth.””
Ethan didn’t argue.
Maybe because he knew I was right.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Claire, there’s something you should know.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“When I investigated Mark, I wasn’t only following him.””
“Then what were you doing?””
“I was looking into the people connected to him.””
He pulled out another photograph.
This time, it was older.
A faded picture.
I took it from his hand.
And my breath disappeared.
It was my father.
But younger.
Standing beside another man.
A man I recognized.
Ethan’s father.
I looked up.
“They knew each other?””
Ethan answered.
“Yes.””
“How?””
“That’s what I’ve been trying to find out.””
I looked back at the photograph.
Two men who were supposed to have nothing in common.
Two families that somehow crossed paths.
And somehow, I was standing in the middle.
Then I noticed something.
A small mark in the corner of the photograph.
A date.
1998.
My eyes widened.
“That was the year before my parents moved.””
Ethan became silent.
“You know about that?””
I nodded slowly.
“My mother always said we moved because my father got a better job.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Did your mother ever mention where he worked?””
I searched my memory.
“No.””
“Did she ever talk about his old friends?””
“No.””
“Did she ever tell you why he refused to discuss his past?””
I froze.
Because suddenly, I remembered.
One night when I was sixteen, I asked my father about an old box I found in the attic.
He had grabbed it from my hands.
Too quickly.
Too aggressively.
He told me:
“Some things are better left forgotten.””
At the time, I thought he was just being emotional.
Now I wondered what he was afraid I would find.
My phone suddenly rang.
Everyone looked at it.
Unknown number.
Again.
My hand shook as I answered.
“Hello?””
A woman’s voice spoke.
“Claire?””
I froze.
I knew that voice.
But I couldn’t place it.
“Who is this?””
“You don’t know me.””
The woman sounded nervous.
“But I know your father.””
My heart started racing.
“What about him?””
A pause.
Then she whispered:
“He didn’t abandon his old life.””
I stood still.
“He was forced to leave it.””
I looked at Daniel.
Then at the phone.
“Who are you?””
The woman lowered her voice.
“My name is Evelyn Carter.””
The name hit me.
Carter.
Ethan’s family name.
“Why are you calling me?””
The woman took a shaky breath.
“Because Ethan’s father didn’t die alone.””
My body went cold.
“What?””
“And your father was there the night it happened.””
The call suddenly cut out.
I stared at the screen.
No one moved.
Then Daniel’s phone buzzed.
He checked the message.
His face changed.
“What?””
I looked at him.
“What is it?””
He slowly turned the phone toward us.
Another unknown message.
*You’re running out of time. They know you found the truth.*
Then, a second message appeared.
A photo.
A live image taken outside my house.
A person standing near the gate.
Watching us.
Daniel immediately walked toward the window.
“Stay away from the glass.””
I felt fear rise inside me.
“Who is that?””
Daniel looked carefully.
Then his expression changed.
May you like
Because he recognized the person outside.
“It’s Mark.””
