Chapter 9: The Person Behind The Lie
The name on the screen made Nia stop breathing.
I watched her face change.
Not anger.
Not surprise.
Fear.
“Who is it?”” I asked.
She didn’t answer.
“Nia.””
Her eyes stayed locked on the phone.
Finally, she whispered:
“Adrian.””
The name meant nothing to me.
But it meant everything to her.
Evelyn noticed.
And that was the moment I realized there was another story buried underneath this one.
“Who is Adrian?”” I asked.
Nia looked at the ground.
“He was someone I trusted.””
The way she said it made my stomach tighten.
Trusted.
Past tense.
Leon looked at me.
“Adrian was the reason I believed Evelyn’s story at first.””
I turned.
“Explain.””
Leon sighed.
“Before Nia came to me, Adrian had already told me things about her.””
Nia shook her head.
“No.””
Her voice was quiet.
“No, he was supposed to help me.””
Marcus looked confused.
“Help you?””
Nia nodded.
“When I realized Evelyn was trying to separate me from Darius, I reached out to Adrian.””
“Why?””
She looked at me.
“Because he knew Evelyn better than anyone.””
I felt another piece move into place.
“Who was he?””
Nia hesitated.
Then answered.
“Her brother.””
Everyone froze.
Evelyn’s face changed.
“You should have stayed quiet.””
Nia looked at her.
“Why?””
Her voice was stronger now.
“Because you’re afraid everyone will finally know what your family did?””
Evelyn stepped forward.
But Leon blocked her.
“No.””
A simple word.
A boundary.
One she could no longer cross.
Brielle looked at Evelyn.
“You had someone else helping you?””
Evelyn looked away.
That was enough.
I stared at her.
“How many people?””
She didn’t answer.
“How many people helped you erase my wife from our lives?””
Still nothing.
Nia looked at me.
“I didn’t know Adrian was involved.””
Her voice broke.
“I thought he understood.””
I reached for her hand.
Not because everything was fixed.
It wasn’t.
But because I finally understood she had been fighting alone.
“What happened?””
Nia looked at Evelyn.
Then at Lily.
Then back at me.
“Adrian promised he would talk to Evelyn.””
She swallowed.
“He said he would convince her to stop.””
“And?””
“He never came back.””
Leon nodded.
“Because Evelyn convinced him too.””
A phone rang.
Everyone looked around.
It was Evelyn’s.
She stared at the screen.
Nobody moved.
“Answer it,” I said.
She looked at me.
“No.””
“Why?””
Her face tightened.
“Because you don’t want to hear this.””
That was exactly why I needed to.
She answered.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then a man’s voice.
Even from a distance, I could hear the panic.
“Evelyn, they know.””
Her face went pale.
I looked at Nia.
She heard it too.
The man continued.
“You need to leave now.””
Evelyn whispered:
“Adrian?””
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
“I can’t fix this anymore.””
Then the call ended.
Nobody spoke.
Evelyn slowly lowered the phone.
Brielle stared at her.
“Your brother?””
Evelyn looked at her daughter.
And for once, she had no answer.
I stepped closer.
“Where is he?””
Evelyn looked at me.
“He’s gone.””
“Gone where?””
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
But I knew she was lying.
Because fear had returned to her face.
Not fear of losing control.
Fear of what Adrian might reveal.
Clara suddenly stepped forward.
“There’s something else.””
Everyone turned.
She looked at Evelyn.
“You never told them why Adrian helped you.””
Evelyn’s eyes widened.
“Clara.””
Clara opened the folder again.
“I found this years ago.””
She pulled out a photograph.
She handed it to me.
I looked down.
And my entire body went cold.
It wasn’t a picture of Evelyn and Adrian.
It wasn’t a picture of Nia.
It was a picture of me.
Taken years ago.
Before Nia disappeared.
And standing beside me in the photo was someone I never expected.
Someone who had been close to my family the entire time.
Someone who had been pretending to help me find the truth.
I looked up.
“Who took this?””
Clara’s voice dropped.
May you like
“Your father.””
And Leon looked away.
