Chapter 6: The Truth Emily Buried
I stood frozen in the bridal suite, phone pressed against my ear, while every instinct inside me screamed that my entire life had been built on missing pieces.
A few hours ago, I thought my biggest problem was a wedding that had fallen apart.
Now I wasn’t even sure I understood the people closest to me.
“Claire?”” I said.
My voice sounded distant.
Like I was hearing someone else speak.
“Yes.””
The woman on the other end sounded nervous.
“I know this is a terrible time to call you.””
“You’re right.””
There was a pause.
Then I looked at Vanessa.
She was watching me carefully.
Not confused.
Not surprised.
Almost like she knew exactly who was calling.
That made my stomach tighten.
“How do you know about Vanessa?”” I asked.
Claire hesitated.
“Because Emily told me.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“What did she tell you?””
“Daniel, I need you to leave that room.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“Don’t let Vanessa hear this.””
My eyes immediately moved toward Vanessa.
She noticed.
And her expression changed.
“What is it?”” she asked.
I ignored her.
“Claire, where are you?””
“I’m outside the church.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“Outside?””
“Yes.””
The silence that followed felt impossible.
“You’re here?””
“I came because I saw the wedding announcement online this morning.””
My heart sank.
“You knew?””
“I knew Vanessa was going to marry you.””
I stared at the woman in front of me.
“You knew about this and didn’t stop me?””
Claire’s voice broke.
“I tried.””
The answer hit harder than I expected.
“What?””
“I tried to warn you.””
“When?””
“Several times.””
My mind raced.
No.
That couldn’t be true.
Nobody had warned me.
Nobody had told me anything.
“I never got any messages.””
“I know.””
“Then how—”
“Because Vanessa made sure you didn’t.””
The room suddenly felt smaller.
I looked at Vanessa.
She was still standing there.
Silent.
Listening.
“You need to leave,” Claire said again.
“I’m not leaving my daughter.””
“Bring Sophie.””
My heart skipped.
“How do you know Sophie is involved?””
Claire was quiet.
Then she said:
“Because Emily’s last words to me were about her.””
Everything inside me stopped.
“What?””
“She wasn’t worried about herself, Daniel.””
Claire’s voice became softer.
“She was worried about Sophie.””
I looked down.
The image of my daughter hiding behind me flashed through my mind.
Her shaking hands.
Her terrified eyes.
The way she whispered she already had a mommy.
“What happened?””
“I can’t explain everything over the phone.””
“Then explain enough.””
Another pause.
Then Claire said:
“Emily didn’t believe she was going to die naturally.””
The words didn’t make sense.
“What?””
“Daniel…”
Her voice trembled.
“Emily thought someone was trying to hurt her.””
The room went silent.
Even Vanessa looked different.
For the first time, I saw something close to fear.
Real fear.
“Who?””
Claire didn’t answer.
And that scared me more.
“Who did she think was hurting her?””
“Vanessa.””
The name landed like a gunshot.
I looked at my fiancée.
Vanessa shook her head slowly.
“No.””
For once, she didn’t sound angry.
She sounded afraid.
I walked away from her.
“I need to know everything.””
Claire took a breath.
“Three weeks before Emily passed away, she came to my apartment.””
I closed my eyes.
Listening.
“She was carrying a notebook.””
“A notebook?””
“Yes. She had been writing down things she noticed.””
“What things?””
“Things about Vanessa.””
My heartbeat increased.
Claire continued.
“She said Vanessa was asking strange questions.””
“What kind of questions?””
“Questions about your life insurance.””
My entire body went cold.
“Excuse me?””
“She wanted to know if you had updated your beneficiaries after Emily’s death.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She looked away.
That was enough.
“What else?””
“She asked how much money you had saved for Sophie.””
My hands curled into fists.
Claire continued.
“She also asked Emily if she had a will.””
The air left my lungs.
A person doesn’t ask questions like that casually.
Not about a dying woman.
Not about a family.
Not about a child.
“Why didn’t Emily tell me?””
Claire was silent.
Then:
“Because she was scared you would confront Vanessa.””
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“It does if Emily believed Vanessa would retaliate.””
My eyes moved toward the hallway.
Toward where Sophie was waiting.
Suddenly, every moment I dismissed came rushing back.
Sophie becoming quiet when Vanessa entered.
Sophie stopping asking Vanessa for bedtime stories.
Sophie refusing to be alone with her.
I had called it adjustment.
I had called it grief.
I had called it a child struggling with change.
But maybe my daughter had been trying to warn me.
And I hadn’t listened.
“I need to see you,” I said.
“I’m coming inside.””
“No.””
I looked at Vanessa.
“Not here.””
Claire understood immediately.
“There’s a small café across the street.””
“I’ll meet you there.””
I hung up.
For several seconds, I didn’t move.
Vanessa spoke first.
“You believe her?””
I turned around.
“I don’t know what I believe anymore.””
“That woman hated me.””
“Why?””
Vanessa looked away.
“Because she blamed me for things I didn’t do.””
“Like what?””
Silence.
“Vanessa.””
She finally looked at me.
“Emily was sick.””
“Yes.””
“She was scared.””
“Yes.””
“She started seeing danger everywhere.””
My eyes narrowed.
“Are you saying my wife imagined this?””
“I’m saying she wasn’t thinking clearly.””
The anger that rose inside me was immediate.
“Careful.””
“Daniel—”
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“You don’t get to use her illness to explain away everything.””
Vanessa’s expression changed.
“I loved Emily.””
I almost laughed.
“You don’t even sound like you believe that.””
“I did.””
“Then why did you hate her?””
“I didn’t.””
“You said she was a ghost.””
Her face tightened.
“That’s different.””
“How?””
“Because she was still between us.””
The honesty of that statement stunned me.
There it was.
The truth hiding beneath everything.
Vanessa didn’t hate Emily because she was gone.
She hated Emily because she was still here.
In every memory.
Every photograph.
Every part of Sophie.
“You wanted her erased.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
She shook her head.
“You don’t understand.””
“Then explain.””
Her eyes filled with frustration.
“Do you know what it feels like to love someone who will never choose you completely?””
I stared.
“What are you talking about?””
“You were always halfway gone.””
“That’s not true.””
“It was.””
Her voice broke.
“You loved me, but there was always a part of you standing beside Emily’s grave.””
I said nothing.
Because maybe that was the one thing Vanessa understood.
She understood that Emily was impossible to replace.
But instead of accepting that…
she tried to remove every reminder.
“You hurt my daughter because she reminded you of Emily.””
“No.””
“You stole her necklace because it belonged to Emily.””
“No.””
“You wanted her to call you Mom because you wanted to erase the person who already had that place.””
Vanessa’s face hardened.
“You’re making me sound like a monster.””
“I didn’t make you anything.””
The words hung between us.
Then Vanessa whispered:
“You’re really going to leave me.””
It wasn’t a question.
It was a realization.
“Yes.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
But this time, I didn’t move.
I didn’t comfort her.
Because I had done that before.
I had comforted everyone.
Except the one person who needed me most.
My daughter.
I turned toward the door.
Then Vanessa spoke.
“Before you go…”
I stopped.
“Ask Claire about the night Emily died.””
My stomach tightened.
“What about it?””
Vanessa’s voice dropped.
“She wasn’t there.””
I looked back.
“What?””
“Claire wasn’t there when Emily died.””
“So?””
“So why would Emily trust her with secrets she never told you?””
I stared.
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Because Claire knows something.””
The room went quiet.
“She knows what happened that night.””
I didn’t know if Vanessa was telling the truth.
I didn’t know if she was trying to distract me.
But I knew one thing.
I needed answers.
I left the room.
Mark stood in the hallway with Sophie.
The second she saw me, she ran over.
“Daddy?””
I picked her up.
“I’m here.””
She looked over my shoulder.
“Is Vanessa coming?””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Her face relaxed slightly.
Then she whispered:
“Daddy?””
“Yes?””
“There’s something else I didn’t tell you.””
My heart sank.
“What?””
Sophie looked at the floor.
“The night Mommy died…”
I held my breath.
“She wasn’t alone.””
I froze.
“What do you mean?””
Sophie’s fingers tightened around my shirt.
“I saw someone in the hospital room.””
The hallway disappeared.
“What someone?””
She looked up at me.
May you like
And whispered:
“Vanessa.””
