Chapter 9: The Last Lie
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
“What?””
Maya looked terrified.
“I’m sorry.””
I grabbed her hand.
“No. No, don’t apologize.””
She was shaking.
“Claire said it was just for proof.””
“Proof of what?””
“That you didn’t really care about me.””
The words broke something inside me.
I looked at Emily.
She covered her mouth.
Because she understood.
Claire hadn’t just attacked our family.
She had attacked the bond between a father and daughter.
“Maya,” I said softly.
She looked at me.
“Did you believe her?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Sometimes.””
I closed my eyes.
That hurt more than anything.
Not because she believed Claire.
Because Claire had made my daughter doubt herself.
“Maya, listen to me.””
I held her hands.
“Nothing anyone says can change one thing.””
“What?””
“You are my daughter.””
She cried.
“I know.””
“No.””
I looked directly at her.
“You need to know.””
The next few days were a blur.
Investigations.
Interviews.
Evidence.
Every piece revealed another layer of Claire’s plan.
Daniel Price was arrested after detectives found proof connecting him to forged documents and financial schemes.
But Claire remained silent.
Until one night, she asked to speak with me.
I almost refused.
Then I remembered something.
Closure mattered.
I met her in the interview room.
She looked different.
Smaller.
Older.
“You came.””
“Yes.””
She smiled faintly.
“I knew you would.””
I sat across from her.
“Why?””
“Because you always wanted to believe the best in people.””
I looked away.
“Not anymore.””
Claire studied me.
“You really hate me.””
“I don’t know.””
That surprised her.
“I hate what you did.””
She nodded.
“That’s fair.””
“Why Maya?””
She looked down.
“Because she was the only thing standing between us.””
My jaw tightened.
“She was a child.””
“I know.””
“Then say it.””
She looked at me.
“Say what?””
“Say that you hurt a child because you wanted me.””
Claire’s eyes filled.
“I was jealous.””
“Of a child?””
“Of the love you gave her.””
I shook my head.
“That wasn’t love you wanted.””
“What was it?””
“Control.””
She went quiet.
Then she whispered:
“I thought if Maya needed me, you would need me.””
I stared at her.
“You never needed to replace anyone.””
She laughed sadly.
“Yes, I did.””
“No.””
I leaned forward.
“You chose that.””
For the first time, Claire looked defeated.
Then she said something I never expected.
“Emily wasn’t the only person I hurt.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
She looked at me.
“There’s something you don’t know.””
My stomach tightened.
“What?””
Claire swallowed.
“The night Emily disappeared…”
I waited.
“She wasn’t alone.””
The room went cold.
“What?””
Claire continued.
“Someone else was there.””
“Who?””
She looked at the window.
And whispered:
“Your brother.””
I froze.
“My brother died before Emily.””
Claire shook her head.
“No.””
My heart pounded.
“What are you saying?””
She pushed a piece of paper across the table.
A name.
A signature.
A date.
I looked down.
And my hands started shaking.
Because the document proved something impossible.
My brother wasn’t dead.
May you like
He had been alive.
And he was the person who helped Claire hide Emily.