Chapter 4: The Name On The Screen
Marcus stared at the phone.
He did not blink.
He did not breathe.
The name glowing on Vanessa’s screen seemed impossible.
A name that belonged to a memory.
A name that belonged to a funeral.
A name that should never have appeared again.
Elena noticed his expression.
“What did you see?””
Marcus slowly looked at Vanessa.
“Who is Daniel?””
The color drained from Vanessa’s face.
For a moment, the only sound was the rain hitting the driveway.
Lily stood silently between them, holding onto the iron gate.
Marcus looked down at the phone again.
“Daniel Cross.””
Vanessa’s fingers tightened around the device.
“Marcus, give me the phone.””
He stepped back.
“No.””
“Please.””
That word frightened him more than anything else.
Vanessa Whitmore did not beg.
Not for anything.
Not in ten years of marriage.
Not when she lost arguments.
Not when the company nearly collapsed.
Not even when Marcus told her he needed space after Lily stopped speaking.
But now she was begging.
“Who is Daniel?”” Marcus asked again.
Vanessa looked at Elena.
Then at Lily.
Then back at Marcus.
“He’s someone who should have stayed away.””
Elena laughed quietly.
But there was no humor in it.
“He tried.””
Marcus turned.
“What does that mean?””
Elena’s eyes filled with anger.
“It means Vanessa knows exactly who he is.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“You don’t understand what happened.””
Elena stepped closer to the bars.
“No, Vanessa. You don’t get to say that.””
Her voice cracked.
“You spent two years letting everyone believe I was dead.””
Marcus looked between them.
“Two years?””
He turned toward Vanessa.
“You knew she survived?””
Vanessa said nothing.
That silence was enough.
Marcus felt something inside him break.
“You knew my daughter’s mother was alive?””
“I didn’t know everything.””
The answer came too quickly.
Marcus stared.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa looked exhausted now.
Like the perfect image she had carried for years was finally too heavy.
“It means I thought she was dead.””
Elena shook her head.
“You thought?””
Marcus looked at Elena.
“Then tell me.””
Elena looked at Lily.
The little girl was watching her father.
Waiting.
“After the fire, I woke up in the hospital.””
Marcus froze.
The rain seemed louder.
“I was badly injured. I couldn’t remember everything. I didn’t know where Lily was. I didn’t know what happened.””
She touched the scar near her wrist.
“I heard people saying Elena Whitmore died in the fire.””
Marcus swallowed.
“But you were Elena Whitmore.””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you come back?””
Elena looked away.
“Because someone came to my hospital room.””
A chill moved through Marcus.
“Who?””
Elena didn’t answer.
She looked at Vanessa.
Marcus followed her eyes.
His stomach tightened.
“Vanessa?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.””
Elena’s voice became softer.
“She wasn’t alone.””
Marcus looked at the mansion.
Every room suddenly felt like it contained a secret.
“What happened in that room?””
Elena closed her eyes.
“I was told that if I came near Lily, she would disappear too.””
Marcus felt his chest tighten.
“Who told you that?””
Elena looked down.
“Daniel.””
The name hung between them.
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“And you knew him?””
Vanessa finally answered.
“Yes.””
Marcus waited.
Nothing prepared him for the next words.
“He was my brother.””
Silence.
Even Elena looked surprised.
Marcus stared.
“Your brother?””
Vanessa nodded slowly.
“Daniel Cross.””
The phone rang again.
Everyone looked at it.
Vanessa refused to answer.
Marcus stepped closer.
“Pick it up.””
“No.””
“Pick it up.””
His voice was different now.
Cold.
Controlled.
Vanessa looked at him.
“You don’t know what you’re asking.””
Marcus held her gaze.
“I’ve spent two years watching my daughter live without her mother.””
A pause.
“I deserve to know what I’m asking.””
Vanessa slowly answered.
She placed the phone on speaker.
At first, there was only static.
Then a man’s voice.
“Vanessa.””
Marcus felt Elena grab the gate.
The voice continued.
“You made a mistake.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Daniel spoke again.
“She was never supposed to reach the house.””
Marcus looked at Elena.
Then at Lily.
Then back at Vanessa.
The man on the phone continued.
“Now Marcus knows.””
The call went silent.
Vanessa looked terrified.
Marcus whispered:
“Daniel.””
Then the voice returned.
“One more thing, Vanessa.””
Everyone froze.
“Check the music box.””
The call ended.
No one moved.
Slowly, Elena looked down at the gold music box in her hand.
Marcus noticed.
“What?””
Elena’s face changed.
She looked like she had forgotten something important.
Then she opened the small compartment again.
And this time, there was something else inside.
A photograph.
Old.
Folded.
And when Marcus saw who was standing in the picture beside Elena…
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He realized the fire was not the beginning of the story.
It was the middle.
