Chapter 3
The police arrived within twenty minutes.
Two officers stood in my living room.
I showed them the footage.
They watched in silence.
When it ended, one officer shook his head.
"I've seen a lot," he said quietly. "But this..."
He didn't finish.
They asked me questions.
I told them everything.
How Celeste and Elena had been best friends.
How Celeste had been there for me after Elena disappeared.
How she had comforted me.
How she had manipulated her way into our lives.
How she had become my fiancée.
The more I spoke, the more disgusted I felt.
I had been so blind.
So desperate for someone to help me raise Ilaria.
So lonely without Elena.
I had let a monster into our home.
"Where is Ms. Celeste now?" the officer asked.
"I don't know," I said. "She left after... after I found her with Ilaria. She hasn't called or texted."
"We'll find her," he said.
They left to get warrants.
I went to check on Ilaria.
She was still asleep.
Her face was peaceful now.
But I knew the peace wouldn't last.
I sat beside her bed.
I watched her breathe.
My poor baby.
She had carried this secret for eight months.
Four years old.
And she had been so brave.
So strong.
I kissed her forehead.
"I'm going to make this right," I whispered. "I promise."
My phone rang.
It was my mother.
"Evren," she said. "Celeste just called me. She's crying. She says you broke off the engagement because Ilaria lied about something. She says the little girl has been acting out and—"
"Mom," I interrupted. "Celeste is not who you think she is."
I told her everything.
About the ice water.
About the footage.
About Elena.
My mother was silent for a long time.
Then she gasped.
"Oh my God," she whispered. "Oh my God, that poor baby."
"I need you," I said. "Can you come stay with Ilaria while I handle this?"
"I'm already putting my shoes on," she said.
Thirty minutes later, my mother arrived.
She held Ilaria while she slept.
She cried quietly.
"I should have seen it," she kept saying. "I should have known."
"It's not your fault," I told her. "She fooled all of us."
I grabbed my keys.
"Where are you going?" my mother asked.
"To the police station," I said. "I need to give a formal statement. And I need to find out if they've located Elena."
My mother nodded.
"Be careful," she said.
I drove to the station.
My mind raced.
Elena.
Was she alive?
The footage showed her unconscious.
But not dead.
May you like
There was still hope.
I clung to that hope like a lifeline.
