Chapter 12: The Last Secret
It was a recording. Her voice, clear and cold:
*I didn’t just cut the line. I watched them sleep. I waited until the smoke started. And when you ran out screaming… I smiled. You were always the mistake they should have fixed.*
I flinched. Elias reached for my hand and held it tight.
“That’s not true,” he said. “You were never a mistake.”
The detective nodded. “That’s enough to add attempted murder and premeditated manslaughter to the charges. She’s looking at life without parole.”
My aunt and uncle came in then—heads bowed, eyes red. “We were wrong,” my uncle said. “We were so scared of losing her… we lost you instead.”
I looked at them. Forgiveness wouldn’t come easy. But maybe… one day.
Then Elias stood up. “There’s one more thing we need to do.”
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