Chapter 7: The Shadow Outside the Window
Aaliyah stared at the message until the letters stopped looking like words.
*I warned you, Aaliyah.*
Her fingers went cold.
The photograph on Derrick’s phone showed the three of them inside the old house.
The angle was impossible.
Whoever took it had been close.
Too close.
Grandma Ruth slowly stepped away from the window.
“Close the curtains.””
Derrick immediately moved.
Aaliyah watched him.
The urgency in his movements frightened her more than the message itself.
For years, Derrick had been quiet.
Passive.
The kind of person who avoided conflict.
But now?
Now he looked like someone who knew exactly what danger looked like.
“Dad.””
He stopped.
Aaliyah’s voice was low.
“Look at me.””
Derrick turned.
“What aren’t you telling me?””
His jaw tightened.
“Aaliyah…”
“No.””
She held up the phone.
“Someone just threatened me.””
Derrick looked down.
“And you’re still trying to protect the secret.””
“I’m trying to protect you.””
She shook her head.
“That’s the problem.””
The words hit him.
“You keep deciding what I can handle.””
Derrick looked away.
“I was trying to give you a normal life.””
Aaliyah laughed sadly.
“A normal life built on lies isn’t normal.””
Grandma Ruth walked toward them.
“She’s right.””
Derrick looked at his mother.
“Mom.””
“No more excuses.””
Grandma Ruth pointed at the phone.
“Someone knows we found the letter.””
Aaliyah looked at the old paper in her hand.
“And they’re scared.””
Derrick nodded slowly.
“Yes.””
That answer surprised her.
“You admit it?””
“Yes.””
The room went silent.
Aaliyah stared.
“Then tell me why.””
Derrick sat down heavily.
Because for the first time, he looked tired.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like he had been carrying something too heavy for too long.
“Your mother discovered something about Marcus.””
Aaliyah waited.
“She found out Marcus had proof.””
“Proof of what?””
Derrick rubbed his face.
“I don’t know exactly.””
“That’s not true.””
He looked at her.
“I know he was keeping records.””
“What kind of records?””
Derrick hesitated.
“Financial records.””
Aaliyah frowned.
“About what?””
Before he could answer, Grandma Ruth spoke.
“About money that was missing.””
Aaliyah turned.
“Missing from where?””
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Derrick said:
“From a company Marcus worked with.””
Aaliyah felt a chill.
“And Vanessa?””
Derrick looked toward the covered windows.
“She knew about it.””
The silence that followed felt heavy.
Aaliyah remembered Vanessa’s face at graduation.
The panic.
The fear.
Not sadness.
Fear.
“She knew my father was trying to expose something.””
Derrick nodded.
“Yes.””
“And she stopped him?””
Derrick looked down.
“I don’t know.””
Aaliyah’s voice cracked.
“But you believe it.””
He didn’t answer.
That was enough.
Suddenly, Grandma Ruth walked toward the old wooden cabinet near the kitchen.
“There’s something else.””
Aaliyah followed her.
“What?””
Grandma Ruth opened a drawer and pulled out a small key.
“I found this years ago.””
Derrick stood.
“Mom.””
“I never knew what it opened.””
She handed it to Aaliyah.
The key was old.
Rust covered the edges.
But engraved into the metal was a small symbol.
The same symbol on the medal.
Aaliyah’s eyes widened.
“Where did you get this?””
Grandma Ruth looked at Derrick.
“Your father gave it to me.””
Aaliyah froze.
“Marcus?””
“Yes.””
Derrick looked shocked.
“You had that all this time?””
Grandma Ruth nodded.
“He told me if anything happened, I should keep it safe until Aaliyah was ready.””
Aaliyah closed her fingers around the key.
“What does it open?””
Grandma Ruth looked at her.
“I don’t know.””
Derrick suddenly stepped closer.
“Give me that.””
Aaliyah pulled her hand back.
“No.””
“Aaliyah, listen.””
“No.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“I’m done handing things over because people tell me they’re protecting me.””
Derrick stopped.
Then slowly lowered his hand.
“You’re right.””
The admission surprised her.
“I should have trusted you.””
Before Aaliyah could answer, a loud sound came from outside.
A car door shutting.
Everyone froze.
Grandma Ruth turned off the kitchen light.
Derrick moved toward the window.
Aaliyah whispered:
“Who is it?””
Derrick looked outside.
His face changed.
“What?””
He didn’t answer.
Aaliyah stepped closer.
Through the small gap in the curtain, she saw a dark vehicle parked outside.
Someone standing beside it.
Aaliyah couldn’t see the face.
But she knew the posture.
The confidence.
The way they stood like they belonged there.
Then the person lifted their head.
Looking directly at the house.
Grandma Ruth whispered:
“No…”
Aaliyah turned.
“You know them?””
Grandma Ruth’s hands began shaking.
“I never thought I’d see her again.””
“Her?””
The figure outside slowly walked closer.
The porch light revealed her face.
Aaliyah stopped breathing.
Because the person standing outside the door was someone she knew.
Someone who had smiled at her that morning.
Someone who had hugged her.
May you like
Someone who had congratulated her graduation.
Jasmine.
