Chapter 6: The Missing Letter
Kiara stared at the blank phone screen.
“Call him back.””
Andre immediately redialed.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Rochelle was crying quietly now, one hand pressed over her mouth.
Darnell stood completely still.
Kiara turned toward him.
“You need to tell me everything.””
Darnell looked at her.
“I've told you what I remember.””
“No.””
Her voice cracked.
“You told me what you wanted me to know.””
Darnell's eyes filled.
“I didn't know Marcus was your father.””
“You knew him.””
“Yes.””
“You knew my mother.””
“Yes.””
“You were with her.””
Darnell looked at Rochelle.
“We were young.””
Kiara shook her head.
“That doesn't explain anything.””
Rochelle stepped closer.
“I made mistakes.””
“You made me.””
Rochelle stopped.
Kiara immediately regretted the words, but she couldn't take them back.
Darnell picked up the abandoned bouquet.
The flowers had begun to wilt under the afternoon heat.
He looked at them.
“I bought these for you because I thought today was about celebrating the person you became.””
He held them toward her.
“I don't care what a DNA report says.””
Kiara stared at him.
“You were my father.””
Darnell's eyes trembled.
“Was.””
The single word hurt more than she expected.
Darnell placed the bouquet down again.
Then he reached inside his blazer.
He pulled out a small brass key.
Kiara looked at it.
“What is that?””
Darnell closed his fingers around it.
“The last thing Marcus ever gave me.””
Rochelle's face changed.
“Darnell.””
He looked at her.
“You knew about this?””
“No.””
“You knew I kept it?””
Rochelle shook her head.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I thought you'd forgotten.””
Darnell laughed bitterly.
“I never forgot.””
Kiara stepped forward.
“What does it open?””
Darnell looked at the key.
“I don't know.””
“You've had it for twenty-three years and never checked?””
“He gave it to me the week before he died.””
“Why?””
“He told me to keep it safe.””
“Did he say what it was for?””
Darnell shook his head.
“He said, ‘You'll know when the time comes.’”
Kiara looked at Andre.
“Can you find Calvin?””
“I'll try.””
“Try harder.””
Andre nodded.
Rochelle suddenly grabbed Kiara's wrist.
“Please.””
Kiara pulled away.
“What?””
“Don't go looking for that safe.””
“Why?””
“Because you don't know what's inside.””
“Exactly.””
Rochelle's eyes filled with panic.
“Kiara, there are things about that night you don't understand.””
“Then tell me.””
“I can't.””
“Why?””
Rochelle looked toward Darnell.
“Because I wasn't the only one who lied.””
Darnell's head lifted.
“What are you saying?””
Rochelle's lips trembled.
“Marcus wasn't killed by the accident.””
Nobody moved.
Kiara stared at her.
“What?””
Rochelle swallowed.
“The car crash wasn't what killed him.””
Darnell stepped closer.
“Rochelle, stop.””
“You deserve to know.””
“Not like this.””
“Then when?””
Rochelle's voice broke.
“Twenty-three years ago, Marcus called me before he left.””
Kiara whispered, “What did he say?””
“He said someone had followed him.””
Darnell looked stunned.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I was afraid.””
“Afraid of who?””
Rochelle shook her head.
“I never saw their face.””
Kiara's heart pounded.
“But you know they were there.””
“Yes.””
“How?””
“Because Marcus stayed on the phone with me.””
Rochelle looked directly at Kiara.
“I heard the other car.””
The celebration around them had gone almost completely silent.
Even the music had stopped.
Kiara whispered, “What happened next?””
Rochelle wiped her tears.
“I heard Marcus arguing with someone.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“What did he say?””
Rochelle closed her eyes.
“I heard him say, ‘If you hurt my daughter, I'll tell her everything.’”
Kiara's breath caught.
“My daughter.””
Rochelle nodded.
“He was talking about you.””
Darnell looked toward the road beyond the celebration.
“Then the line went dead.””
“And after that?””
“Police found the car.””
Kiara stared at the key in Darnell's hand.
“Where is the safe?””
Darnell finally answered.
“Underneath Marcus's old house.””
Andre frowned.
“His house was demolished years ago.””
“No,” Darnell said.
Andre looked at him.
“What?””
Darnell slowly opened his hand.
The brass key caught the sunlight.
“The house was demolished.””
He looked at Rochelle.
“But the basement wasn't.””
Rochelle's face went pale.
Kiara stepped toward Darnell.
“You're taking me there.””
Darnell nodded.
Before anyone could move, Andre's phone buzzed.
A text message appeared.
No number.
Just one sentence:
*STOP LOOKING FOR THE SAFE.*
Andre looked up.
Kiara saw his face.
“What does it say?””
Andre turned the screen toward her.
Her eyes moved across the message.
May you like
Then another message appeared.
*YOUR MOTHER KNOWS WHO OPENED THE CAR DOOR.*
