Chapter 8: What Nia Left Behind
The storage unit smelled like dust and old memories.
Marcus stood in front of the metal door, holding the key.
For a moment, he couldn’t move.
The hallway was quiet.
Too quiet.
Like the past was waiting on the other side.
Evelyn stood beside him with Lily.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” she said.
Marcus looked at his mother.
“I should have done this years ago.””
Evelyn’s expression softened.
“You didn’t know.””
“That’s the problem.””
He looked at Lily.
“I should have known.””
Lily reached for his hand.
Marcus looked down.
“You’re still my dad.””
The words were simple.
But they almost destroyed him.
He squeezed her hand.
“I’m always your dad.””
Evelyn watched them.
Then looked at the lock.
“Open it.””
Marcus inserted the key.
It turned slowly.
Click.
The sound echoed.
He opened the door.
Inside were boxes.
Old photographs.
Folders.
A small wooden chest.
Everything was organized.
Carefully.
Almost like someone expected it to be found one day.
Marcus stepped inside.
“Nia.””
He whispered her name.
Like he was speaking to a ghost.
Evelyn picked up a box.
“Everything is labeled.””
Marcus looked.
One box said:
LILY.
Another said:
MARCUS.
And a third said:
EVELYN.
He froze.
“Nia made these.””
Evelyn touched the box with her name.
“Why?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t know.
They opened the box marked Lily first.
Inside were birthday cards.
Tiny handwritten notes.
A pink bracelet.
A stuffed rabbit.
Lily reached toward it.
“That was mine.””
Marcus looked at her.
“You remember?””
She nodded.
“Mom gave it to me.””
The room became still.
Evelyn looked at Marcus.
He looked at Lily.
“Your mother?””
Lily nodded.
“She used to sing to me.””
Marcus’s eyes filled.
Because nobody had ever told him that.
Vanessa had always described Nia differently.
Cold.
Unstable.
Uninterested.
But the box told another story.
A mother saving memories.
A mother preparing for a future she might not see.
Marcus opened the next folder.
Inside were printed emails.
Documents.
Photographs.
Then he saw a name.
Vanessa.
His heart dropped.
Evelyn leaned closer.
“What is it?””
Marcus read silently.
Then handed it over.
The first page was a complaint.
Not against Nia.
Against Vanessa.
Evelyn read the opening lines.
Her face changed.
“She filed this?””
Marcus nodded.
“When?””
He checked the date.
“Before Nia disappeared.””
Lily looked confused.
“What does it mean?””
Evelyn immediately closed the folder slightly.
“It means adults were trying to solve something.””
But Marcus knew.
This wasn’t just something.
It was the reason.
He searched through the papers.
Then found a letter.
This one was addressed to him.
Marcus.
Not Evelyn.
Not Lily.
Him.
His hands trembled.
“Open it,” Evelyn said.
He unfolded it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Marcus,
If you are reading this, I’m sorry.
I’m sorry you had to find out this way.
I never wanted you to believe I abandoned you.
Marcus stopped.
His breathing changed.
Evelyn watched him.
“Keep going.””
He continued.
I found out something about Vanessa that I should have told you sooner.
Marcus’s fingers tightened.
The next line was underlined.
She was not trying to protect Lily.
She was trying to control her.
Marcus looked up.
Evelyn’s face went pale.
Then Marcus kept reading.
I tried to get help.
I tried to prove what was happening.
But Vanessa found out.
The page shook.
Lily noticed.
“Daddy?””
Marcus lowered the letter.
“I’m okay.””
But he wasn’t.
Because the next sentence was the one he never expected.
If anything happens to me, the person who knows the truth is not Vanessa.
Marcus frowned.
“What?””
He looked at the bottom.
There was another name.
A person he had forgotten.
A person connected to Nia.
A person who had witnessed everything.
Evelyn looked over his shoulder.
“Who is that?””
Marcus stared.
Then whispered:
“I don’t know.””
Because underneath the sentence was a name.
A name neither of them expected.
May you like
And beside it was a phone number.
A phone number that had been written only days before Nia vanished.
