Chapter 10: The Secret My Sister Carried
“Camille…”
My sister’s voice trembled through the phone.
I had known Maya my entire life.
I knew the sound of her laugh.
I knew the way she sighed when she was annoyed.
I knew when she was pretending to be okay.
And right now, she was not okay.
“What happened?”” I asked.
The room felt frozen.
Damon stood across from me, watching.
Waiting.
Almost like he knew the next words would change everything.
Maya took a breath.
“There’s something Damon never told you about me.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Why would Damon have something to tell me about you?””
Silence.
A terrible silence.
Then Maya whispered:
“Because he was there the night everything happened.””
My eyes moved toward Damon.
He looked down.
Not surprised.
Not confused.
Guilty.
“You knew?””
Damon didn’t answer.
That was enough.
I ended the call.
Not because I didn’t want to hear Maya.
Because I needed to hear Damon first.
“What happened?””
His face was pale.
“Camille…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I’m done finding out pieces of my own life from everyone except you.””
He nodded slowly.
“I understand.””
“Do you?””
My voice broke.
“Because I don’t.””
He sat down.
“I never wanted you to know this way.””
“Again?””
He looked away.
I laughed bitterly.
“That’s all you have. You never wanted me to know.””
The room became quiet.
Finally, Damon spoke.
“Before I met you…”
I waited.
“I met Maya.””
My stomach dropped.
“You knew my sister before me?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
He swallowed.
“Through Rachel.””
The name alone made me tense.
“Explain.””
“Rachel knew Maya from a support group.””
“What support group?””
“After Rachel’s diagnosis.””
I frowned.
“Maya was in a support group?””
Damon looked uncomfortable.
“She volunteered there.””
That surprised me.
Maya had always been private about helping others.
She never talked about it.
“What does this have to do with my diagnosis?””
Damon closed his eyes.
“Everything.””
I stepped back.
“Tell me.””
His voice became quiet.
“The night I got tested, I didn’t know who exposed me.””
“Right.””
“But Rachel did.””
I stared.
“What?””
“She discovered something after we separated.””
“What?””
Damon looked at me.
“She found out I had been lied to.””
My heart raced.
“By who?””
He didn’t answer.
“Damon.””
He looked toward the window.
“Maya.””
The room went silent.
I actually laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was impossible.
“My sister?””
“She didn’t do what you think.””
“Then what did she do?””
He looked broken.
“She knew Rachel was sick.””
I stared.
“She knew?””
“Yes.””
“And she knew about you?””
“Yes.””
The anger came instantly.
“She knew you had a diagnosis?””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“Not at first.””
I crossed my arms.
“Then explain.””
Damon took a deep breath.
“After Rachel and I separated, she contacted Maya.””
“Why?””
“Because Rachel was afraid.””
“Of what?””
“That I would hide.””
I looked away.
Because Rachel had been right.
“She asked Maya to make sure I told the truth to whoever I married next.””
My chest tightened.
“Maya knew about Rachel?””
“Yes.””
“And she never told me?””
“No.””
I felt betrayed in a completely different way.
My husband had lied.
But my sister?
The person I trusted most?
Why?
I grabbed my phone and called Maya.
She answered immediately.
“Camille.””
“Tell me the truth.””
Silence.
“Please.””
Maya exhaled.
“I knew.””
My eyes closed.
“You knew about Damon.””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
“Since before your wedding.””
The pain was immediate.
“Before my wedding?””
“Camille, listen—”
“No.””
My voice shook.
“No, I need you to listen.””
I turned away from Damon.
“You watched me marry someone while knowing he had secrets.””
“I thought he would tell you.””
“But he didn’t.””
“I know.””
“And you still said nothing.””
Maya started crying.
“I was wrong.””
The honesty hurt.
Because it came too late.
“Why?””
Her voice broke.
“Because Rachel asked me not to destroy your happiness without proof.””
I froze.
“Rachel asked you?””
“Yes.””
My grip loosened.
Maya continued.
“She said Damon had a pattern. She said he would make excuses and convince himself he was protecting people.””
I looked at Damon.
He looked away.
“She wanted proof before confronting him.””
“And then?””
“She died.””
The word was quiet.
Heavy.
“She died before she could finish.””
I sat down.
“So everyone knew something except me.””
Maya cried softly.
“I’m sorry.””
I wanted to be angry.
I wanted to scream.
But underneath everything was a deeper pain.
Everyone had decided what I could handle.
Everyone had decided what I deserved to know.
Everyone had taken my choice.
“I need space.””
“Camille—”
“I need space.””
I ended the call.
For a while, nobody spoke.
Then Damon whispered:
“I’m sorry.””
I looked at him.
“I believe you’re sorry.””
His eyes lifted.
“But I don’t know if that matters anymore.””
That hurt him.
I saw it.
But I couldn’t take care of his pain anymore.
Not before my own.
That night, I stayed at a hotel.
Alone.
For the first time in years, I had no one else’s version of the truth surrounding me.
No Damon.
No Maya.
No explanations.
Just silence.
I opened Rachel’s files again.
There was one folder I hadn’t opened.
The title:
“The Real Exposure.””
My heart started beating faster.
Inside was one document.
A timeline.
Dates.
Names.
Events.
I read the first line.
And my entire body went cold.
“Damon was not exposed by Vanessa, Rachel, or any romantic partner.””
I kept reading.
The next sentence changed everything.
“The person responsible was someone who had access to Damon’s private medical information.””
At the bottom was Rachel’s final note.
A warning.
A name.
A person I knew.
A person who had been close to me.
May you like
The note said:
“Camille needs to know the truth about who was protecting her…”