Chapter 13: The Truth My Sister Buried
I stared at the name on the screen.
Maya Carter.
My sister.
The person who held me when I cried.
The person who knew my favorite food, my biggest fears, my childhood dreams.
The person I trusted more than anyone.
And now her name was attached to a recording that might explain everything.
My finger hovered over the play button.
Part of me wanted to throw the phone across the room.
Part of me wanted to hear it immediately.
Because I had spent too long living inside other people’s decisions.
I pressed play.
The video opened.
The quality was poor.
The lighting was dim.
But I recognized the voices.
Maya.
And Damon.
They were sitting at a table.
Neither of them looked comfortable.
Maya spoke first.
“You need to tell her.””
Damon sighed.
“I know.””
“No, Damon. You don’t know. If you knew, you wouldn’t still be waiting.””
“I’m trying to figure out how.””
Maya leaned closer.
“There is no perfect way to tell someone they were betrayed.””
The words hit me.
Betrayed.
Not hurt.
Not confused.
Betrayed.
Damon looked down.
“I love Camille.””
Maya’s expression changed.
“Then love her enough to let her make her own choice.””
The video paused.
I stared at the screen.
My sister had told him.
She had told him exactly what I had been screaming for days.
The truth was my choice.
I pressed play again.
Damon’s voice came through.
“What if she leaves?””
Maya answered immediately.
“Then you accept that.””
Silence.
Then Damon whispered:
“I can’t lose her.””
Maya shook her head.
“You already risked losing her when you hid this.””
I closed my eyes.
Because my sister had known.
She had fought for me.
At least at first.
The video continued.
Then Damon said something that made my entire body go cold.
“There’s something else.””
Maya looked at him.
“What?””
“I never told Camille about the second exposure.””
The room went silent.
I stopped breathing.
Second exposure.
Maya’s face changed.
“What are you talking about?””
Damon looked terrified.
“After the diagnosis.””
I gripped my phone.
“What?””
Maya’s voice shook.
“Damon, you said everything was before.””
“I thought it was.””
“You thought?””
He covered his face.
“I made another mistake.””
The video ended.
I sat frozen.
Another exposure.
Another secret.
Another thing I had never known.
I immediately called Lauren.
She answered.
“You saw it.””
“Yes.””
“What did you find?””
I could barely speak.
“The second exposure.””
There was silence.
Then Lauren whispered:
“Rachel suspected that.””
My heart dropped.
“She knew?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?””
“Because Rachel was trying to confirm it.””
I stood.
“Confirm what?””
“That Damon’s timeline wasn’t true.””
I looked toward the window.
The city outside blurred.
“So all of this…”
My voice cracked.
“All of this was bigger than Vanessa.””
“Yes.””
I ended the call.
Then I did something I never thought I would do.
I called Damon.
He answered immediately.
“Camille?””
“Come to the hotel.””
A pause.
“Why?””
“Because I know about the second exposure.””
Silence.
Then his voice changed.
“Who told you?””
I closed my eyes.
“That’s your first question?””
“Camille…”
“Come here.””
He arrived forty minutes later.
The second he walked in, he knew.
He saw my face.
He saw the phone in my hand.
“You watched it.””
“Yes.””
He sat down.
“I was going to tell you.””
I laughed softly.
“No.””
His eyes filled.
“I was.””
“You were going to tell me after what?””
He had no answer.
“After I found out from someone else?””
“No.””
“After another four years?””
His face collapsed.
“I don’t know.””
That honesty hurt more than another lie.
“What happened?””
He looked at the floor.
“After I was diagnosed, I thought my life was over.””
I said nothing.
“I was angry. Scared. I made choices I regret.””
“Choices?””
He nodded.
“I was with Vanessa again.””
I felt my stomach twist.
“After your diagnosis?””
“Yes.””
“And you knew?””
“I knew there was risk.””
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“You knew.””
He started crying.
“Yes.””
“You knew there was risk and you still…”
“I was selfish.””
The word came from him.
Finally.
“I was selfish.””
I turned away.
“How long?””
“Three weeks.””
“Three weeks?””
“Yes.””
“And then?””
“I stopped.””
“Why?””
He looked at me.
“Because I realized I was becoming someone I hated.””
I almost believed him.
Almost.
But then I remembered everything.
The lies.
The secrets.
The choices.
“Damon, you didn’t just become someone you hated.””
I looked at him.
“You became someone who needed other people to suffer so you didn’t have to face yourself.””
He cried silently.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Lauren.
A new file.
A document.
I opened it.
Rachel’s final notes.
The first line read:
“The second exposure was not the last secret.””
I froze.
Below it was a name.
The person Rachel believed had manipulated everything.
The person who had altered records.
The person who had protected Damon.
I read the name.
And my blood ran cold.
Because it wasn’t Damon.
It wasn’t Vanessa.
It wasn’t Maya.
May you like
It was someone I had trusted from the beginning.
Dr. Ellis.