Chapter 4: The Sister Who Signed My Name in Blood
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
I stared at the document in Thomas's hands, trying to make sense of the signature at the bottom.
Sloane Hayes.
My twin sister.
The girl who had shared my bedroom, my birthday, my childhood photographs, and almost every memory I had before everything fell apart.
She had signed a statement accusing me of deliberately starting the fire that nearly killed us.
And she had done it three days after I woke up in the hospital.
“That's a lie,” I whispered.
Thomas looked at me sadly.
“I wish it were.””
Sloane shook her head.
“I didn't write that.””
Thomas turned the document around.
“Would you like to explain why your signature is on every page?””
“I was scared!””
Dad stepped forward.
“Thomas, put those papers away.””
“No, Richard. Not this time.””
“This is confidential insurance information.””
“And this is a document that may have sent your daughter to prison.””
My stomach twisted.
Prison.
I had spent eight months wondering why my father refused to let me explain what happened.
Now I understood that he hadn't merely wanted me to stay quiet.
He had needed me to remain guilty.
I looked at Sloane.
“Why?””
She wouldn't meet my eyes.
“June, I was seventeen.””
“So was I.””
“You don't understand what was happening!””
“Then tell me.””
Her breathing became uneven.
Dad grabbed her shoulder.
“Don't say another word.””
I watched his hand tighten.
And something became painfully clear.
Even now, he wasn't trying to protect me.
He was protecting her.
Or perhaps he was protecting himself.
Thomas removed another sheet from the envelope.
“There's more.””
Dad's expression darkened.
“That's enough.””
Thomas ignored him.
“This is the original insurance statement. It was submitted with a supplemental report identifying the ignition source.””
Mark took the paper.
He read it twice.
Then he looked at Richard.
“Why does this document say the fire began in the utility room?””
Dad didn't answer.
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Mark explained carefully.
“According to the official investigation, the fire originated near the kitchen. But this supplemental statement claims a second ignition source.””
“Two fires?”” I asked.
“Possibly. We'd need the original evidence to establish that.””
Thomas pointed to a paragraph.
“The report also says June was seen carrying a container of fuel.””
I stared at him.
“I was carrying Caleb.””
Nobody spoke.
I remembered the night with terrible clarity.
My feet bleeding against broken glass.
Caleb coughing into my shoulder.
The heat pressing against my back.
I had not carried gasoline.
I had carried my brother.
Sloane wiped her cheeks.
“I didn't know what Dad was going to put in the statement.””
I looked at her.
“You signed it.””
“He said it was temporary.””
“What does that even mean?””
“He told me the insurance company needed someone to confirm the story.””
“What story?””
Her eyes flickered toward Dad.
“That you had been messing around with the fuel container.””
I felt cold.
“Why would I do that?””
“He said you were angry about the cottage.””
I stared at her.
“I loved that cottage.””
“I know.””
“No, you don't. Caleb and I used to catch fireflies behind it. You hated going there because there was no Wi-Fi.””
She began crying again.
“I know, June.””
“Then why did you sign?””
Dad interrupted.
“Because she was trying to protect this family!””
I turned toward him.
“From me?””
He rubbed his forehead.
“June, you're twisting everything.””
“I'm reading your paperwork.””
“You were unstable after the accident. You were angry, confused, and in pain. We needed to keep the situation under control.””
I stared at him.
“You told people I started the fire.””
He sighed.
“Someone had to take responsibility.””
The sentence was so casual that it took me a moment to understand it.
Someone had to take responsibility.
Not the person who started it.
Not the person who had lied.
Someone.
And I had been the easiest person to sacrifice.
Aunt Meredith moved beside me.
“Richard, listen to yourself.””
He turned on her.
“You have no idea what I was dealing with!””
“Then tell us.””
He laughed bitterly.
“I was trying to save everything. The business, the house, the family. Do you know how much money was tied up in that cottage?””
Thomas looked at him.
“Which is exactly why the insurance company needs to see these documents.””
Dad went silent.
Mark took out his phone.
“I'm contacting the authorities.””
Sloane suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Wait!””
Mark stepped away.
“What?””
She looked at the crowd.
“Please. Not here.””
I stared at her.
“You didn't care about that when you dragged me beside the pool.””
She flinched.
“June, I know I hurt you.””
“You humiliated me in front of two hundred people.””
“I was trying to make everyone laugh.””
“At my expense.””
She nodded.
Then she looked at my scars.
“I didn't think you'd actually take it off.””
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“You demanded it.””
“I know.””
“You called my body disgusting.””
“I know!””
Her voice cracked.
For a moment, I saw the little girl I had once shared a bedroom with.
The girl who used to climb into my bed during thunderstorms.
The girl who cried when our first dog died.
But that girl had grown into someone who could watch me suffer and still choose to make it worse.
“I want to explain,” she whispered.
“Then explain.””
She looked at Dad.
He shook his head.
That was when I understood something else.
Sloane wasn't afraid of losing me.
She was afraid of what would happen if she told the truth.
Thomas removed a final document from the envelope.
“This is the part I don't think either of you has seen.””
He handed it to Mark.
It was a bank transfer record.
The date was three days before the fire.
The amount was $85,000.
The account belonged to a company called Hayes Property Holdings.
The recipient was a private contractor.
Mark studied the page.
“Richard, what was this payment for?””
Dad didn't answer.
Thomas looked at me.
“The contractor was hired to perform unauthorized work at the lake cottage.””
“What kind of work?””
Thomas swallowed.
“Electrical work.””
My father's face had become completely expressionless.
Then Thomas said something that made Sloane take another step backward.
“The contractor was paid to disconnect the cottage's fire alarm system.””
Aunt Meredith covered her mouth.
Caleb gripped my hand.
And Dad finally shouted.
“THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FIRE!””
Every phone in the garden seemed to turn toward him.
Mark stared at the transfer record.
“Then why was the alarm disconnected?””
Dad looked around.
He seemed to realize, perhaps for the first time, that almost two hundred people had just heard him.
He straightened his jacket.
“I will not discuss business matters at a birthday party.””
Thomas nodded.
“Of course.””
Then he reached into the envelope and pulled out one last photograph.
“There's just one more thing, Richard.””
He placed it on the table.
It showed the cottage's utility room.
A few feet from the electrical panel stood the contractor.
And beside him was a woman holding a folder.
The woman was my mother.
I looked at her.
She closed her eyes.
“Mom?””
She began shaking her head.
“June, please.””
I felt Caleb move closer.
“What were you doing there?””
Mom covered her face.
And before she could answer, Thomas turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten note on the back.
Five words.
May you like
*Make sure the cameras are off.*
The handwriting belonged to my father.
