Chapter 8: The Woman In The Photograph
We didn’t call the police.
That decision still haunts me.
Maybe because I know fear made the choice before logic could.
When your entire life suddenly becomes a collection of unanswered questions, you stop knowing who is safe to call.
The police?
What if the person behind everything had influence?
Family?
What if family was the reason you were in danger?
I stood inside the funeral chapel holding my phone, staring at the message.
YOU’RE ASKING THE WRONG QUESTIONS.
Ava was wrapped in my arms.
Vanessa stood beside the coffin.
Elijah watched the windows.
Everyone looked afraid.
Except Marcus.
He was gone.
And somehow he was still the only person I trusted.
Because even in death, he had been trying to guide me.
“Where did Marcus keep his things?”” I asked.
Vanessa looked at me.
“What?””
“His personal things.””
She hesitated.
“Why?””
“Because I’m tired of finding pieces of my husband’s life from strangers.””
The words hurt her.
Good.
They needed to.
“Elijah?””
He nodded.
“His office.””
I looked at him.
“Take me there.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“No.””
I looked at her.
“Stop saying no.””
“Nia, please.””
“Please what?””
My voice broke.
“Please let you continue deciding what I deserve to know?””
Vanessa’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’m trying to protect you.””
“Then protect me with the truth.””
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Then she looked at Ava.
“Your father loved you.””
I swallowed.
“I know.””
“No.””
Her voice softened.
“You know how he loved you.””
She looked at the coffin.
“You don’t know what he gave up.””
The words stayed with me.
What he gave up.
I followed Elijah out of the chapel.
But before we reached the door, Ava grabbed my hand.
“Mommy.””
I looked down.
“What?””
She looked toward Vanessa.
“Grandma is sad.””
I sighed.
“Yes, baby.””
“Is she bad?””
The question broke something inside me.
Because children don’t ask questions like that unless adults have made them feel unsafe.
I knelt.
“I don’t know.””
It was the hardest answer I had ever given my daughter.
“I don’t know.””
Marcus’s office was exactly how I remembered it.
And somehow, that made it worse.
His coffee mug was still on the desk.
A notebook sat beside his computer.
A jacket hung on the back of his chair.
Normal things.
Things that belonged to a man who was supposed to walk through the door tomorrow.
I stood there for a moment.
Then I saw it.
The empty space.
One drawer was missing.
Not empty.
Missing.
The entire drawer had been removed.
“Someone searched this place,” Elijah said.
I looked at him.
“How do you know?””
“Because Marcus never left anything unfinished.””
I touched the desk.
“He knew someone was coming.””
Elijah nodded.
“Yes.””
My eyes filled.
“Why didn’t he tell me?””
Elijah looked away.
“Because he thought you would become a target.””
I turned sharply.
“I was already his wife.””
“He knew.””
The room went quiet.
“He told me the hardest part wasn’t fighting the people after him.””
I looked at Elijah.
“What was?””
“Keeping you away from the fight.””
My throat tightened.
Marcus.
My Marcus.
The man who held me every night.
The man who danced with Ava in the kitchen.
The man who always told me honesty mattered.
He had been fighting something alone.
I opened his notebook.
Most pages were normal.
Numbers.
Work notes.
Appointments.
Then I found a page folded in half.
At the top were two names.
LENA.
VANESSA.
My hands shook.
I read the first sentence.
“Lena discovered the truth about Vanessa’s connection before she disappeared.””
I stopped.
My eyes moved down.
Another sentence.
“Vanessa isn’t protecting me. She’s protecting the person who started this.””
I dropped the notebook.
Elijah caught it before it hit the floor.
“No.””
“What?””
His face changed.
“This wasn’t here before.””
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?””
“Marcus wouldn’t write something like this.””
I stared.
“Why?””
“Because Marcus never accused without proof.””
I picked up the notebook again.
The handwriting looked like Marcus’s.
But now that Elijah said it…
Something felt wrong.
The letters.
The pressure.
The spacing.
It wasn’t his.
Someone had copied him.
Someone wanted me to believe this.
Someone wanted me to turn against Vanessa.
A sound came from the hallway.
A door closing.
Elijah immediately moved.
“Stay behind me.””
We walked out.
The hallway was empty.
But on the floor was another envelope.
This one was old.
Yellowed.
Like it had been hidden for years.
My name wasn’t on it.
Instead, there was one word.
LENA.
I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The first line made me stop breathing.
“Vanessa, if you are reading this, it means I failed to stop him.””
I looked at Elijah.
Then at the letter.
Because it wasn’t from Marcus.
It was from his missing sister.
May you like
And at the bottom was the date.
The same day Lena disappeared.
