Chapter 8: The Missing Envelope
“Nia!””
Angela grabbed blindly through the darkness.
Her fingers caught only air.
Someone crashed into a folding chair.
Metal legs scraped violently across the floor.
“Mom!””
Nia stumbled backward.
A hand caught her wrist.
She screamed.
“Let go!””
The grip released instantly.
“Nia, it's me.””
David.
Nia pulled away.
“Where's Renee?””
“I don't know.””
Emergency lights flickered on.
Dim red strips illuminated the backstage room.
Vanessa was crouched beside a chair.
Thomas stood near the doorway.
Angela was searching the floor.
Renee was gone.
So was the envelope.
Nia stared at the open doorway.
“She was right there.””
Thomas shook his head.
“She's gone.””
David looked at him.
“You expect us to believe that?””
Thomas's expression hardened.
“You think I took her?””
“You're the one who wanted her silent.””
Thomas stepped forward.
“And you're the one who brought this chaos into a graduation.””
Nia pushed between them.
“Stop!””
Both men turned.
She looked at Thomas.
“Where did she go?””
“I don't know.””
“You're lying.””
Thomas's face tightened.
“Nia, I swear—”
“You've lied to me my entire life.””
Thomas fell silent.
Angela crouched beside the folder.
“Something's missing.””
Nia looked down.
Several documents were scattered across the floor.
“The envelope.””
“No.””
Angela shook her head.
“The photograph.””
Nia looked around.
The photograph of her aunt and the baby was gone.
David checked beneath the chairs.
“Someone took it.””
Vanessa suddenly said, “The person in the room.””
Everyone turned toward her.
“What person?”” Nia asked.
“When the lights went out…”
Vanessa's voice shook.
“I heard someone whisper.””
“What did they say?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“They said Nia was coming with them.””
Nia stared at her.
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
Thomas suddenly reached for the backstage door.
David blocked him.
“Where are you going?””
“To find Renee.””
“You're not leaving.””
Thomas shoved him.
David shoved back.
Nia shouted, “Stop!””
The fight stopped.
A loudspeaker crackled outside.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the brief interruption.””
Nia looked toward the stage.
Her name was still on the program.
She had almost forgotten.
A staff member appeared at the doorway.
“Nia?””
She turned.
The staff member looked confused.
“Are you ready?””
Nia stared at him.
“No.””
He glanced at the torn gown.
“What happened?””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Nothing.””
Nia looked at her.
Then at the staff member.
“I'm not going on stage.””
The staff member nodded uncertainly.
“Okay. We can hold your name.””
He disappeared.
Nia turned back.
“We have to find Renee.””
Angela nodded.
“Yes.””
Thomas said, “You don't know where she is.””
Nia looked at him.
“You do.””
“No.””
“Then why are you afraid?””
Thomas's face hardened.
“Because if she opens that envelope, everyone goes to prison.””
Silence.
Vanessa stared at him.
“What?””
Thomas looked at her.
“You heard me.””
David stepped forward.
“Who goes to prison?””
Thomas didn't answer.
Nia did.
“You.””
She pointed at Vanessa.
“And you.””
Then she pointed at Thomas.
“And whoever else helped.””
Thomas looked at her.
“You don't understand.””
Nia laughed bitterly.
“That's your favorite sentence.””
Angela picked up the remaining documents.
“There are three signatures.””
Nia looked at the page.
“Whose?””
Angela turned it toward her.
“Thomas Carter.””
Nia nodded.
“Vanessa Carter.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“And…”
Angela stopped.
“What?””
Angela stared at the third signature.
Her face drained of color.
“No.””
Nia took the page.
“Mom?””
Angela whispered, “That's impossible.””
David looked over her shoulder.
His expression changed.
“What?””
Angela handed him the document.
He stared.
“That's your aunt's signature.””
Nia's heart raced.
“But Renee said she never signed.””
“She didn't.””
Thomas suddenly said, “Exactly.””
Everyone looked at him.
Thomas's voice was quiet.
“That signature was added later.””
Nia frowned.
“By who?””
Thomas looked toward the hallway.
Before he could answer, a phone rang.
Everyone froze.
The sound came from inside the room.
Nia looked around.
It wasn't her phone.
Not Angela's.
Not David's.
Not Vanessa's.
The ringing came from underneath the folding chairs.
David moved one aside.
A black phone lay on the floor.
The screen displayed one word:
*RENEE.*
Nia picked it up.
The call connected automatically.
For several seconds, there was only breathing.
Then Renee whispered:
“Nia, don't trust your father.””
Nia's eyes widened.
David stepped closer.
“Renee?””
Her voice trembled.
“He wasn't the one who forged the signature.””
David stared at the phone.
“What are you saying?””
Renee breathed heavily.
“I found the original file.””
Nia gripped the phone.
“Where?””
“In the place where they kept you.””
Nia frowned.
“What place?””
Renee whispered, “The house you grew up in.””
Vanessa's face went white.
Renee continued.
“There's a hidden room behind the basement wall.””
Vanessa suddenly shouted, “No!””
Everyone turned toward her.
Nia stared.
“You knew?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.””
But her eyes said otherwise.
Renee's voice came through the phone one last time.
“Go there.””
The call ended.
Nia slowly lowered the phone.
Thomas was staring at Vanessa.
Vanessa was trembling.
David asked, “What's behind that wall?””
Vanessa whispered, “Nothing.””
Nia looked at her.
“You just said no before anyone even asked.””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
Then the backstage door opened again.
A police officer stood there.
Behind him were two more officers.
The first officer looked directly at Thomas.
“Thomas Carter?””
Thomas went still.
“Yes?””
The officer held up a warrant.
“We need to speak with you about a fraud investigation.””
Nia looked at the document in his hand.
Then she noticed the second officer holding a photograph.
It was the missing photograph of Renee.
On the back, beneath the words *BIOLOGICAL MOTHER*, someone had written a new message.
May you like
Nia read it from across the room.
*ASK VANESSA WHO THE BABY REALLY WAS.*
