Chapter 5: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Gone
Nobody moved.
Arthur’s phone continued vibrating on the dining table.
Lena.
The name glowed across the screen.
My mother’s name.
The woman who had been buried eight years ago.
The woman who had left me with more questions than memories.
My knees almost gave out.
“That’s impossible,” I whispered.
Arthur looked at me.
“I know.””
Vanessa backed away from the table.
“No.””
Her voice was different.
Not angry.
Not controlling.
Terrified.
Arthur picked up the phone.
The call was still coming in.
“Should I answer?”” he asked.
Nobody spoke.
The screen kept flashing.
LENA.
LENA.
LENA.
Finally, Arthur pressed the button.
“Hello?””
Static.
Then silence.
Arthur looked at the phone.
“Hello?””
A faint sound came through.
A woman breathing.
My heart stopped.
“Mom?””
I didn’t even realize I had said it out loud.
Vanessa immediately turned toward me.
“Nia, don’t.””
But I stepped closer.
“Mom?””
The voice on the phone was weak.
Broken.
But I knew it.
A voice could change with age.
With pain.
With time.
But some things never disappeared.
“Nia?””
My entire body froze.
Arthur looked at me.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
The voice continued.
“My baby…”
Tears filled my eyes.
I couldn’t breathe.
“Mom?””
The dining room disappeared.
For eight years, I had imagined this moment.
I imagined hearing her voice.
I imagined asking why she left me.
I imagined asking why she hid everything.
But I never imagined Vanessa standing beside me.
I never imagined Arthur holding a photograph.
I never imagined my mother’s voice would return with a secret.
“Nia, listen to me,” Lena whispered.
I grabbed the phone from Arthur’s hand.
“Where are you?””
A pause.
Then:
“You cannot trust Vanessa.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Lena, don’t do this.””
My blood ran cold.
Because Vanessa knew she was there.
She knew.
“You know her?”” I asked.
Vanessa said nothing.
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Mom?””
Lena’s voice trembled.
“Nia, I’m sorry.””
“Sorry for what?””
“For leaving you with lies.””
I looked at Arthur.
Then Vanessa.
Then the photograph.
Everything connected.
But nothing made sense.
“Tell me the truth.””
Lena breathed heavily.
“I tried to tell you.””
“When?””
“When I found out Vanessa had the letter.””
Vanessa’s face went pale.
Arthur looked at her.
“What letter?””
Lena continued.
“The letter from your first wife.””
Arthur went still.
“What?””
Lena’s voice cracked.
“She knew the baby was in danger.””
The room became silent.
A baby.
My heart started racing.
Arthur slowly looked at me.
Vanessa whispered:
“No.””
Lena continued.
“Nia needs to know why you abandoned her.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“Abandoned me?””
I looked at my mother’s name on the phone.
“What are you talking about?””
There was a long pause.
Then Lena said:
“Arthur was your father.””
The words didn’t feel real.
They didn’t enter my mind immediately.
They just floated there.
Arthur stared at me.
Vanessa looked like she had been struck.
I couldn’t move.
“No,” I whispered.
Lena started crying.
“I wanted to tell you sooner.””
“Mom…”
“I wanted you to have a normal life.””
My eyes filled with tears.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Before Lena could answer, Vanessa reached toward the phone.
“Give me that.””
I stepped back.
“No.””
“Nia, you don’t understand.””
“You’re right.””
My voice shook.
“I don’t understand anything.””
Arthur looked at Vanessa.
“You knew?””
Vanessa didn’t respond.
That was enough.
Arthur’s face changed.
“You knew she was my daughter?””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From my own child?””
The pain in his voice was impossible to ignore.
Vanessa finally broke.
“I was protecting my family.””
I stared at her.
“You mean yourself.””
She looked at me.
And for the first time, she didn’t deny it.
The call suddenly crackled.
Lena’s voice became urgent.
“Nia, you have to leave that house.””
I froze.
“Why?””
Silence.
Then my mother whispered:
“Because Vanessa didn’t hide the truth to protect you.””
A pause.
“She hid it because she was afraid you would find out what she did.””
The phone went dead.
I stared at the screen.
Arthur looked at Vanessa.
“What did you do?””
Vanessa didn’t answer.
She only looked at the envelope.
And I realized there was still something inside.
May you like
Something nobody had seen.
Something my mother was afraid of.
