Chapter 9: The Truth Beneath The Funeral Flowers
Nobody spoke after Thomas said it.
Not one word.
The kind of silence that comes after something breaks.
I stared at my brother.
Waiting for him to take it back.
Waiting for him to laugh nervously and say it was a misunderstanding.
He didn’t.
“Say that again.””
Thomas looked down.
“I shouldn’t have come here.””
I grabbed his arm.
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You don’t get to walk in here, destroy everything I thought I knew, and leave.””
“David—”
“What happened to my wife?””
Thomas looked at Lily.
Then away.
“I was wrong.””
My grip tightened.
“Wrong about what?””
“About thinking I could control it.””
Marcus stepped between us.
“Let him speak.””
I looked at him.
“You knew?””
Marcus nodded.
“I suspected.””
I felt betrayed all over again.
Everyone knew.
Everyone except me.
Thomas wiped his face.
“Claire found out about the money.””
I stared.
“The money you stole?””
His eyes closed.
“Yes.””
Vanessa gasped softly.
I turned toward her.
“You knew.””
She whispered:
“I knew he was involved.””
My chest tightened.
“And you stayed?””
“I was trying to help Claire.””
I laughed.
A painful laugh.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
Thomas looked at Vanessa.
“She’s telling the truth.””
I turned.
“You’re defending her?””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“I’m admitting I was the problem.””
The words hit differently.
Because Thomas was never someone who admitted mistakes.
Not easily.
“I got into debt,” he said.
I listened.
“I thought I could fix it before anyone noticed.””
“By stealing from us?””
He looked ashamed.
“Yes.””
My hands curled into fists.
“But Claire found out.””
Thomas nodded.
“She confronted me.””
“When?””
“Three months before she died.””
My heart sank.
“What happened?””
Thomas looked at the floor.
“She wanted to tell you.””
“Then why didn’t she?””
His eyes filled.
“Because I begged her not to.””
I stared.
“You begged my wife to hide your crime?””
“Yes.””
“And she agreed?””
Thomas shook his head.
“No.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Then why didn’t she tell me?””
“Because someone else was involved.””
The room went quiet.
I looked at Vanessa.
Thomas followed my eyes.
And immediately shook his head.
“Not Vanessa.””
I froze.
“What?””
“She wasn’t the one Claire was afraid of.””
Everyone looked confused.
Even Vanessa.
Thomas continued.
“Claire thought Vanessa knew more than she admitted, but she wasn’t the person controlling everything.””
My head spun.
“Who was?””
Thomas looked at me.
“I never found out.””
I stared.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I saw Claire the night before she went to the hospital.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
Thomas swallowed.
“She called me.””
“Why?””
“She had found the final piece.””
“What piece?””
Thomas looked at the locket.
“The evidence.””
I looked down.
“The locket?””
He nodded.
“She told me she put something inside it.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“The note.””
Thomas shook his head.
“No.””
Everyone froze.
“No?””
Thomas looked at me.
“The note was only a warning.””
My fingers tightened around the silver locket.
“Then what was the evidence?””
Thomas looked toward the door.
“Something Claire knew someone would try to destroy.””
Before I could ask another question, Vanessa suddenly covered her mouth.
Her phone rang.
Again.
She looked at the screen.
This time, she didn’t look afraid.
She looked devastated.
“Who is it?”” I asked.
She didn’t answer.
I walked closer.
She turned the phone around.
A new message.
Unknown number.
Only one sentence.
“YOU FAILED TO STOP HIM.””
Vanessa’s hands started shaking.
Then another message appeared.
“NOW THEY ALL KNOW.””
Marcus looked at the phone.
“Who sent that?””
Vanessa whispered:
“I don’t know.””
But Thomas did.
I saw it on his face.
“You know.””
He looked away.
“Thomas.””
He closed his eyes.
“It’s the person Claire was investigating.””
“Who?””
He didn’t answer.
I stepped closer.
“Who?””
Finally, he looked at me.
And whispered the name.
The name that made Vanessa collapse into the chair.
The name that made Marcus reach for his phone.
May you like
The name that changed everything.
“Your father.””
