Chapter 10 - The Last Lie Vanessa Could Never HideThe next morning, we found Vanessa.
The next morning, my father did something I had never seen him do before.
He locked every door in the house.
Not because he was afraid of Vanessa.
Because he finally understood something.
The danger had never been outside.
It had been invited inside.
The wedding decorations were still everywhere.
White roses.
Crystal glasses.
Beautiful flowers.
A perfect celebration that would never happen.
My father walked through the house slowly.
Looking at every picture.
Every memory.
Every moment Vanessa had been part of our lives.
And now every memory had a question attached.
Was it real?
Or was it another lie?
I watched him from the stairs.
The same stairs where Vanessa had pushed me.
The same stairs where everything finally changed.
My mother came beside me.
“You okay?”
I nodded.
But I wasn’t.
Because even though I had my mother back…
I had lost the version of my childhood I thought I knew.
“I hate that I believed her.”
My mother looked at me.
“Lily.”
“I believed she hated me because I wasn’t good enough.”
My mother immediately hugged me.
“You were never the problem.”
Those words were something I had needed to hear for ten years.
Never the problem.
I closed my eyes.
And for the first time…
I believed them.
Then my father called us downstairs.
His face was serious.
Michael was standing beside him.
“We found the folder.”
My mother froze.
“What?”
My father placed it on the table.
The same folder from the security footage.
The one created by Vanessa and Rachel.
The one with my name on it.
My father opened it.
Inside were documents.
Photos.
Notes.
Everything they had collected about me.
My school.
My habits.
My fears.
My favorite things.
I felt sick.
“She studied you,” my father whispered.
My mother grabbed the papers.
“She was preparing.”
“For what?” I asked.
Nobody answered.
Because the answer was obvious.
To replace my mother.
To make me forget her.
My father found one final document.
He opened it.
And his face changed.
“What?”
My mother asked.
He handed it to her.
She read it.
Then tears filled her eyes.
“What does it say?”
My father looked at me.
“It says Vanessa planned to change your last name.”
I froze.
My last name.
My identity.
My connection to my parents.
Everything.
My father crushed the paper.
“She wanted to erase your mother.”
My mother whispered:
“And me.”
Then suddenly…
Someone knocked on the door.
Everyone froze.
My father looked toward the entrance.
The security system showed the visitor.
Vanessa.
Standing outside.
Alone.
My father immediately stepped forward.
“No.”
Michael stopped him.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
“Because she came here for a reason.”
My father opened the door but stayed between Vanessa and us.
“What do you want?”
Vanessa looked different.
No makeup.
No perfect smile.
No wedding dress.
Just a woman who had lost everything.
“I need to talk.”
My father laughed coldly.
“You had ten years.”
Vanessa looked past him.
Her eyes landed on me.
“Lily.”
I stepped back.
She noticed.
And for the first time…
She looked hurt.
“I know you hate me.”
I didn’t answer.
Because I did.
But I also wanted answers.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“I never wanted to hurt you.”
My father immediately responded:
“You pushed her down the stairs.”
Vanessa looked away.
A moment of guilt crossed her face.
Then disappeared.
“I made mistakes.”
My mother stepped forward.
“Mistakes?”
Her voice shook.
“You destroyed my life.”
Vanessa looked at her.
“No.”
She whispered.
“You destroyed mine first.”
Everyone froze.
My father stared.
“What does that mean?”
Vanessa smiled sadly.
“You still don’t know everything.”
My mother became pale.
“Vanessa…”
Vanessa looked at me.
Then said:
“Ask your mother why she never told you about the accident.”
My father frowned.
“What accident?”
My mother said nothing.
Vanessa stepped back.
“Ask her why she disappeared that night.”
Then she turned around.
Before leaving, she said:
“Because your mother wasn’t running away.”
A pause.
“She was running from what she did.”
The door closed.
Nobody moved.
I looked at my mother.
And for the first time…
I wondered.
Was Vanessa lying again?
May you like
Or was there another secret my mother had buried?
A secret about the night everything changed.
