Chapter 7 - The Sister Who Knew Everything
The phone was in my hand.
But I couldn’t press it against my ear.
Because I was afraid.
Not of Sophia.
Not even of the truth.
I was afraid that the person I trusted most in the world had been the person who destroyed it.
Damian watched me carefully.
"Elena."
I looked at him.
"What if she admits it?"
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew what I meant.
What if Sophia admitted she knew?
What if my sister had watched me cry for two years while knowing Lily was alive?
What if every hug was a lie?
Lily tugged on my sleeve.
"Mommy?"
I looked down.
Her eyes were worried.
I immediately softened.
"I’m okay."
But I wasn’t.
I answered the call.
"Sophia?"
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then I heard her breathing.
A sound I had heard thousands of times.
A sound that belonged to my sister.
The woman who shared my childhood.
The woman who knew every scar I had.
The woman who knew every dream I ever had.
"Elena."
Her voice cracked.
And somehow that hurt more.
Because it sounded real.
"Where are you?"
I asked.
No greeting.
No pretending.
No pretending anymore.
"I don’t have much time."
My heart tightened.
"Why are you calling me?"
Another silence.
Then:
"Because you found Lily."
I closed my eyes.
She knew.
She already knew.
"You knew she was alive."
It wasn’t a question.
Sophia didn’t deny it.
"I knew."
My fingers tightened around the phone.
Lily looked at me.
I turned away from her.
Because I couldn’t let her see my face.
"You knew?"
My voice became smaller.
"You knew for two years?"
"Elena..."
"No."
Tears filled my eyes.
"Don’t say my name like that."
I heard her crying.
And that almost made me angrier.
Because she still sounded like my sister.
"I wanted to tell you."
"But you didn’t."
"I tried."
"When?"
Silence.
"Tell me when."
Sophia didn’t answer.
That was enough.
I laughed quietly.
A broken sound.
"Exactly."
Damian looked away.
Marco lowered his eyes.
Even Adrian looked uncomfortable.
Everyone understood.
The pain wasn’t only about losing Lily.
It was about realizing I had been surrounded by people who knew.
People who watched.
People who waited.
"Why?"
I whispered.
"Why would you do that to me?"
Sophia’s voice trembled.
"Because I was trying to keep you alive."
I froze.
"What?"
"Elena, you don’t understand what happened."
"Then explain."
"I can’t."
My anger returned.
"You always say that."
"No."
Her voice became desperate.
"This time I mean it."
I looked at Damian.
Then at Lily.
"Tell me the truth."
Sophia was silent.
Then she said:
"Daniel wasn’t the only one who found out about the plan."
My stomach dropped.
"What plan?"
"The plan to take Lily."
I gripped the phone.
"Who planned it?"
Another pause.
Then Sophia whispered:
"Your father."
I stopped breathing.
"My father died."
"I know."
"Then what are you saying?"
"I’m saying the man you buried was never the man who died."
The room went completely silent.
I looked at Damian.
He heard it.
Everyone heard it.
My father.
The person who raised me.
The person whose death I had mourned years before Lily was born.
Another lie.
Another impossible truth.
"Where are you?"
I asked.
Sophia immediately became quiet.
"Elena..."
"Where are you?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because if I tell you, they’ll find you."
Damian stepped closer.
His eyes were focused on the phone.
"Put her on speaker."
I did.
Sophia heard him.
Her breathing changed.
"Damian."
"You know me?"
A pause.
"Yes."
His expression hardened.
"How?"
Sophia didn’t answer.
I felt something.
Something hidden.
Something between them.
"You knew him before."
Damian looked at me.
"Who?"
"Sophia."
She stayed silent.
I looked at Damian.
"Why does my sister know you?"
Nobody moved.
Then Sophia said something that made the entire room freeze.
"Because I was there the night Lily was taken."
My heart shattered.
"No."
"Elena, listen."
"No."
I stepped back.
"You were there?"
"Yes."
"At the hospital?"
"Yes."
I shook my head.
Images came back.
The hospital room.
The empty crib.
The doctor’s expression.
Sophia holding my hand.
"I’m sorry."
The words she repeated.
Over and over.
"You knew."
"I knew Lily was alive."
My tears fell.
"But I didn’t know where they took her."
"Who took her?"
Sophia’s voice became quiet.
"The same person who killed Daniel."
Everyone became still.
Damian immediately moved.
"What did you say?"
Sophia continued.
"Daniel tried to expose them."
"Who?"
"He found out Lily wasn’t the only secret."
My heart raced.
"What other secret?"
Silence.
Then:
"Elena, there is something about your birth you were never told."
I frowned.
"What?"
"You weren’t supposed to survive either."
The words made no sense.
"What are you talking about?"
Sophia was crying now.
"Your family history."
I felt dizzy.
"What does my family have to do with Lily?"
Sophia whispered:
"Everything."
Damian looked at Adrian.
Adrian’s expression changed.
Like he already understood.
"Sophia."
I stepped closer to the phone.
"Tell me."
"I can't."
"You owe me."
Silence.
Then she said:
"Your father wasn’t trying to take Lily."
My heartbeat slowed.
"He was trying to protect her."
I looked at Damian.
"From who?"
Sophia didn’t answer immediately.
When she finally spoke, her voice was barely audible.
"From Daniel."
The room froze.
"What?"
Sophia continued.
"Daniel wasn’t the victim you think he was."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Elena, I saw what he did."
"No."
"He lied to you."
My hands started trembling.
"Stop."
"He made you believe you lost Lily."
"Stop."
"He planned everything."
I couldn’t breathe.
Because every truth was starting to look like another lie.
And I didn’t know which direction to run.
Then Sophia whispered:
"But there is one thing Daniel never knew."
"What?"
Her voice changed.
Like she was afraid someone was listening.
"Lily wasn’t the only child born that night."
My blood turned cold.
"What are you saying?"
Nobody spoke.
Not Damian.
Not Marco.
Not Adrian.
Because they all heard it.
Then Sophia said the words that changed everything.
"Elena... you had twins."
The phone suddenly went silent.
The call dropped.
I stared at the screen.
A second later, Damian’s security alarm started screaming.
One of the guards rushed into the room.
His face was pale.
"Boss."
Damian turned.
"What happened?"
The guard swallowed.
"The cameras detected someone entering the building."
"Who?"
The guard looked at me.
Then said:
"The system identified the person as Elena’s husband."
My blood froze.
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Because behind the guard...
the elevator doors were opening.
