Chapter 8: Rebecca’s Final Message
Rebecca disappeared for forty-eight hours.
The police searched everywhere.
Her old apartment.
Her bank accounts.
Every place connected to her.
Nothing.
She vanished like she had practiced.
Because she had.
That was what scared Detective Harris the most.
“She planned this,” he told Dad.
“She always has a backup plan.””
I sat at the kitchen table, staring at the wall.
The repaired wall.
The one where my nightmare started.
Dad noticed.
He walked over.
“Lily.””
I looked up.
“Are you okay?””
I wanted to say yes.
But I was tired of pretending.
“I keep thinking about what would have happened if you didn’t hear me.””
Dad sat beside me.
“I would have found you.””
“But what if you didn’t?””
He didn’t answer.
Because he knew.
That question would haunt both of us forever.
Later that night, an envelope appeared at our front door.
No stamp.
No address.
Just my name.
LILY.
Dad called Detective Harris immediately.
Nobody touched it until he arrived.
Inside was a letter.
From Rebecca.
Detective Harris read it first.
Then he looked at Dad.
“She wants to meet.””
Dad laughed bitterly.
“Of course she does.””
But there was something else.
A flash drive.
We played it.
Rebecca appeared on the screen.
Her hair was messy.
Her face looked exhausted.
But her eyes were still cold.
“John.””
Dad stared at the screen.
“I know you hate me.””
I almost laughed.
Hate wasn’t enough.
“I know what you found.””
She smiled slightly.
“But you still don’t know everything.””
Dad stepped closer.
“What did you do?””
Rebecca ignored him.
“Lily, I want you to listen.””
I froze.
She was talking to me.
“You think I wanted you gone because I hated you.””
She paused.
“That’s not the whole truth.””
Nobody spoke.
Rebecca looked away.
“Your mother left something behind.””
I gripped the table.
“The trust was never the real prize.””
Detective Harris frowned.
“Then what was?””
Rebecca smiled.
“The account.””
Dad’s face changed.
“What account?””
Rebecca leaned closer.
“The one your wife created before she died.””
The room went silent.
“She knew someone would come after Lily.””
My heart stopped.
Rebecca continued.
“She created a private account that could only be accessed if Lily was in danger.””
Dad looked confused.
“How would you know that?””
Rebecca laughed.
“Because I helped create it.””
Everyone froze.
“You worked with my wife?””
“Yes.””
Dad’s face turned pale.
“But why?””
Rebecca looked at the camera.
“Because your wife trusted me.””
A pause.
“Until she found out who I really was.””
The video ended.
Nobody moved.
Then Detective Harris spoke quietly.
“She’s not the mastermind.””
Dad looked at him.
“No.””
The detective nodded.
“She’s trying to trade information for protection.””
The next morning, we found Rebecca.
She was waiting in an abandoned office building.
No weapon.
No escape plan.
Just a folder in her hands.
Dad walked toward her.
“You destroyed my family.””
Rebecca looked at him.
“Your family was already destroyed before I arrived.””
I wanted to hate her.
But something about her expression was different.
She looked afraid.
Not of us.
Of someone else.
Detective Harris took the folder.
Inside was a name.
A name that made Clara gasp.
The same name hidden in my mother’s old records.
The person who had been controlling Rebecca.
The person who helped her escape.
The person my mother had discovered before she died.
Rebecca whispered:
“You need to understand something.””
Dad stared.
“What?””
Her voice dropped.
“I was never the person your wife was afraid of.””
She looked at me.
“She was.””
My heart stopped.
Because Rebecca pointed behind us.
At someone standing in the doorway.
May you like
Someone we never expected to see.
Someone who had been dead for years.