Chapter 6 - The Sister I Never Knew Existed
The photograph was still on my phone.
My bedroom.
My apartment.
Someone standing behind me.
I stared at the image until my eyes hurt.
Because there was only one question I could think of.
When was this taken?
I had been alone.
At least, I thought I had.
My fingers moved across the screen.
I zoomed in.
The person behind me was blurred.
But the shape was clear.
A woman.
Long hair.
Standing near the doorway.
Watching me.
Rebecca looked over my shoulder.
"Ella..."
Her voice was quiet.
"Do you recognize her?"
I shook my head.
"No."
But something about the picture felt familiar.
Not the face.
The feeling.
Like I had seen that person before.
Like some forgotten memory was trying to come back.
My phone vibrated again.
Another message from Elias.
You should stop looking for answers you aren't ready to know.
I stared at the screen.
Then I typed one reply.
Who is the woman in my apartment?
The message was delivered.
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally, his response came.
Ask your father. He has been lying to you longer than I have.
I threw the phone onto the table.
I didn't want another secret.
I didn't want another person telling me they were protecting me.
I wanted the truth.
My father arrived twenty minutes later.
The moment he stepped inside, he knew.
He looked at my face.
Then at the photograph.
Then he closed his eyes.
"Ella."
I hated that.
The way everyone said my name before revealing something that would destroy my life.
"What is her name?"
My father didn't answer.
"Who is she?"
Still nothing.
I walked closer.
"Why does Elias know about my sister?"
The color disappeared from his face.
That was my answer.
I already knew.
But hearing it from him mattered.
"You heard him."
My voice became colder.
"You knew."
My father sat down slowly.
"Yes."
I felt something break inside me.
Not because I had a sister.
Because everyone had known.
Everyone.
Except me.
"Why?"
My father looked at the floor.
"Because your mother made me promise."
I laughed.
A painful, empty laugh.
"Everyone keeps using my mother."
My father looked up.
"Ella..."
"No."
I wiped my eyes.
"Mom is gone. She can't explain herself. She can't defend herself. She can't tell me why every person around me decided I couldn't handle the truth."
My father was silent.
Then he whispered:
"Your sister was supposed to die."
The room went still.
"What?"
Rebecca looked shocked.
My father continued.
"She was born before you."
I stared at him.
"My sister was born before me?"
He nodded.
"Her name was Lily."
The name felt strange.
But somehow...
Not completely unfamiliar.
My father opened an old folder.
Inside was a hospital record.
A birth certificate.
A photograph.
A baby.
My hands shook as I picked it up.
A tiny girl wrapped in a pink blanket.
On the back of the photo was handwriting.
My mother's.
My two daughters.
I looked at my father.
"Why didn't I know?"
He swallowed.
"Because Lily disappeared."
The word hit me.
Disappeared.
The same word connected to my mother.
"What happened?"
My father looked away.
"Your mother believed someone took her."
"Who?"
He didn't answer.
And that was becoming unbearable.
"Who?"
Finally, he said:
"Cynthia."
My stomach turned.
Cynthia.
The woman who had smiled while fixing my wedding dress.
The woman who called me family.
The woman who planned to destroy me.
"Why would she take my sister?"
My father shook his head.
"We never proved it."
"Then why do you believe it?"
He looked at me.
"Because Elias was involved."
I couldn't breathe.
Every road led back to him.
Elias.
The man who held my hand at the altar.
The man who promised forever.
The man who had entered my life with a plan.
But there was one thing I didn't understand.
"If Elias knew about Lily..."
My voice broke.
"Why marry me?"
Nobody answered.
Then Rebecca opened the folder.
There was another document.
An old agreement.
She placed it in front of me.
"This was found with your grandfather's files."
I read the first page.
My eyes moved down.
Then stopped.
Because I saw a name.
Elias Carter.
Next to it.
A signature.
From twelve years ago.
Before I knew him.
Before we met.
Before he even entered my life.
"He knew my family."
Rebecca nodded.
"He knew exactly who you were."
I looked at the document.
"Then the wedding..."
"Was not the beginning."
Rebecca finished.
"It was the final step."
That night, I went back to my apartment.
I needed space.
I needed to think.
But the moment I opened the door, I knew something was wrong.
The apartment was clean.
Too clean.
I never left things that organized.
Someone had searched the place.
I walked slowly inside.
My hidden drawer was open.
The flash drive was gone.
My mother's letter was gone.
And the photograph of Lily was missing.
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Ella."
A woman's voice.
Not Elias.
Not Cynthia.
Someone else.
"Who is this?"
A pause.
Then:
"My name is Lily."
My body froze.
The room disappeared.
"What?"
"I don't have much time."
I couldn't speak.
"You need to listen carefully."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"Where are you?"
Another pause.
Then she whispered:
"Close to you."
My heart raced.
"Why did you contact me?"
The woman breathed shakily.
"Because I found out what Elias and Cynthia are planning."
I looked around the apartment.
"What are they planning?"
Silence.
Then Lily said:
"They don't want your apartment."
I swallowed.
"Then what do they want?"
Her answer came quietly.
"They want the thing your mother hid inside it."
I looked toward the wall.
"The thing?"
Before she answered, I heard something.
A door closing.
Not from my apartment.
From the phone.
"Lily?"
Her breathing changed.
Someone was with her.
"Ella..."
Her voice became urgent.
"Do not trust the person who says they are coming to save you."
"What?"
Then I heard a man's voice in the background.
A voice I recognized.
My blood turned cold.
Because it was the same voice from the recording.
The same voice that had warned me.
Lily whispered:
"He's here."
The call went silent.
Then my apartment door handle slowly moved.
Someone was outside.
But the door was locked.
And then my phone received one final message.
May you like
From Lily.
Don't open the door. He already has a key.
