Chapter 8: The Message I Never Sent
I stared at the screen until the letters blurred.
Not because I couldn't read them.
Because I understood them.
Someone had used my phone.
Someone had sent a message pretending to be me.
Three hours before I ran from the Bannon estate.
Three hours before I knew anything was wrong.
Three hours before I even discovered the file in Patrick's study.
My hands began to shake.
"No.""
The word came out quietly.
Then louder.
"No.""
Emmett stepped closer.
"Jillian.""
I pulled the phone away from him.
"Someone sent this from my phone.""
Nobody responded.
Because everyone already knew.
I looked at the screen again.
The picture of Cody.
My son.
Standing beside Patrick.
He looked tired.
But alive.
That was the only thing that mattered.
For a few seconds, everything else disappeared.
The lies.
The secrets.
The betrayal.
My child was alive.
Then reality returned.
Because someone wanted me to see this.
Someone wanted me afraid.
"How did they get my phone?""
Emmett looked toward Adrian.
"Can you trace it?""
Adrian was already moving.
He took out his own device and connected something to the phone.
"Maybe.""
"Maybe?""
He glanced at me.
"Whoever did this knew what they were doing.""
That wasn't comforting.
"Can you find them?""
He didn't answer immediately.
Which meant the answer was no.
My mother sat down slowly.
Her face had lost all color.
"I should have known.""
I looked at her.
"Known what?""
She stared at the necklace in my hand.
"That they would use you.""
"Who?""
She closed her eyes.
"The same people who have been controlling everything from the beginning.""
I was tired of vague answers.
"TELL ME.""
My voice echoed through the lake house.
Everyone went silent.
"I am done being protected.""
I looked at each person.
"My father protected me. You protected me. Emmett protected me. Patrick's family controlled me.""
My throat tightened.
"But nobody trusted me with the truth.""
My mother started crying.
And this time, I didn't soften.
Because love did not erase what people did.
"I deserve to know.""
She nodded.
"You do.""
Finally.
The words I had waited years to hear.
"You do.""
She looked at the floor.
"Your father and I discovered something about the Bannon family before you were born.""
"What?""
"Their wealth.""
She swallowed.
"It wasn't built the way everyone believed.""
I looked at Malcolm.
He didn't deny it.
"My father knew?""
"Yes.""
"Then why stay?""
Malcolm answered.
"Because leaving was not always an option.""
I turned toward him.
"You expect me to believe that?""
"No.""
His voice was quiet.
"You should not believe anything I say.""
That honesty was becoming more frightening than lies.
My mother continued.
"Your father wanted to expose them.""
"And Patrick?""
Her silence answered before she did.
"Patrick was involved.""
My chest tightened.
"How?""
"He was young.""
"That doesn't answer the question.""
"No.""
She looked at me.
"It doesn't.""
A painful silence followed.
Then Emmett spoke.
"Patrick was trained from childhood.""
I looked at him.
"Trained?""
"To protect the family.""
"To protect secrets.""
He didn't deny it.
"Yes.""
I thought about the man I married.
The way he listened.
The way he always seemed to know what I needed.
The way he remembered every little detail about me.
Was any of it real?
Or was I just someone he had studied?
My phone buzzed again.
Everyone froze.
A new message.
This time, no picture.
Only words.
*Come to the place where your father died. Alone.*
I felt cold.
"The lake house.""
Emmett shook his head.
"No.""
I looked at him.
"That's where they want me.""
"Exactly.""
"They have Cody.""
"And they want you angry.""
I stared at him.
"What would you do?""
He didn't answer.
Because he knew.
He would go.
So would I.
Adrian looked up from the phone.
"I found something.""
Everyone turned.
"The message didn't come from your phone.""
"What?""
He turned the screen toward us.
"Someone cloned your device.""
My stomach dropped.
"Can they do that?""
"Yes.""
"Who has the ability?""
Nobody answered.
Then Malcolm said:
"The person who taught Patrick everything.""
Patrick's mother.
The name felt heavier now.
I looked at Emmett.
"Where is she?""
He looked at me.
"Jillian.""
"Where?""
A long pause.
Then:
"At the Bannon estate.""
My heart sank.
"The same estate I escaped from.""
"Yes.""
"And you didn't tell me?""
"I didn't know she was there.""
"Everyone knows something.""
My voice broke.
"Everyone except me.""
Emmett looked away.
That hurt more than if he had argued.
Because maybe he knew it was true.
Adrian suddenly stood.
"Wait.""
He stared at the computer.
"What?""
"The clone.""
"What about it?""
He looked confused.
"It wasn't created tonight.""
My blood ran cold.
"What do you mean?""
"The clone has been active for months.""
Silence.
Months.
Not hours.
Not days.
Months.
Someone had access to my phone long before tonight.
My mind raced.
"What did they see?""
Adrian didn't answer.
"What did they see?""
He looked at me.
"Everything.""
The word hit like a punch.
Messages.
Photos.
Locations.
Conversations.
Cody.
My private life.
My entire existence.
I felt violated.
Then something worse came to me.
"Patrick.""
Everyone looked at me.
"He had access.""
Emmett's expression changed.
"Jillian.""
"No.""
I shook my head.
"Think about it.""
The realization came piece by piece.
"Patrick always knew where I was.""
A pause.
"He always knew when Cody was sick.""
Another.
"He always knew when I called my father.""
My hands trembled.
"Because he wasn't just my husband.""
Nobody spoke.
"He was watching me.""
The silence confirmed it.
I felt something inside me break.
Not heartbreak.
Something colder.
Understanding.
My phone rang.
This time, I answered immediately.
"Patrick.""
A quiet laugh.
"You're getting better at this.""
My blood froze.
"Where is Cody?""
"Safe.""
"Let me talk to him.""
"Not yet.""
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"What do you want?""
"I want the box.""
"You think I have it.""
"I know you have it.""
"I don't.""
"You do.""
His voice became softer.
"Jillian, your father was clever. But he made one mistake.""
"What?""
"He underestimated how much you loved him.""
I frowned.
"What does that mean?""
"He knew you would protect the necklace.""
A pause.
"But he also knew you would never destroy a memory of him.""
My breath caught.
The necklace.
"Open the pendant.""
I looked down.
Patrick continued.
"The second compartment.""
My heart stopped.
"There is no second compartment.""
"Are you sure?""
I turned the pendant over.
My fingers searched the edges.
Then I felt it.
A tiny groove.
Almost invisible.
My hands went cold.
Everyone watched.
I pressed.
A second piece opened.
Inside was something so small I almost missed it.
A tiny black chip.
Adrian whispered:
"A storage device.""
Patrick laughed quietly.
"There she is.""
I looked at the phone.
"You knew.""
"Of course I knew.""
"How?""
"Because I helped your father build it.""
The words made no sense.
"What?""
"I was never searching for the box, Jillian.""
Silence.
"I was searching for the person who carried it.""
My breathing stopped.
"You.""
The room became completely still.
Patrick's voice lowered.
"Your father didn't hide the truth from the world.""
A pause.
"He hid it inside you.""
I looked at Emmett.
Then my mother.
Neither of them spoke.
Because they knew.
Or maybe they suspected.
"Why?""
Patrick answered.
"Because your father knew the only person he could trust was the person who loved him enough to keep a secret without knowing she had one.""
I looked at the tiny chip.
A lifetime of questions.
A lifetime of lies.
All hidden around my neck.
"Patrick.""
"Yes?""
"If you hurt Cody—"
"I won't.""
"Then why are you doing this?""
The line went quiet.
For a moment, he sounded almost human.
Almost like the man I married.
Then he said:
"Because I found out the truth too late.""
My heart tightened.
"What truth?""
A pause.
Then:
"Jillian, your father wasn't protecting you from my family.""
The words made my blood run cold.
"He was protecting you from yours.""
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
No one moved.
Then the tiny chip in my hand began blinking.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
And a file appeared.
The title was simple.
*THE ORIGINAL BANNON RECORDS*
I opened it.
The first page loaded.
And the name at the top made everyone in the room go silent.
Because it wasn't Patrick.
It wasn't Malcolm.
It wasn't Emmett.
May you like
It was mine.
*Jillian Bannon.*
