Chapter 8: The Night Everyone Lied
Marcus didn’t speak after the call ended.
He simply stood there.
The phone remained pressed against his ear even though Claire was no longer on the line.
Vanessa watched him.
She knew.
She knew exactly what he had heard.
“Marcus…”
He lowered the phone slowly.
“Were you there?””
Vanessa’s face changed.
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
She knew there was no hiding anymore.
“Yes.””
The answer was quiet.
But it destroyed the last piece of trust he had been holding onto.
“You were there the night Lydia died.””
Vanessa looked down.
“Yes.””
“And you never told me.””
“I was afraid.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No.””
His voice was empty.
“You were afraid eight years ago.””
A pause.
“You were afraid when Caleb was born.””
Another pause.
“You were afraid when you lied about Ethan.””
He stepped closer.
“You have been afraid every time the truth got close.””
Vanessa’s eyes filled with tears.
“I wanted to tell you.””
“When?””
She didn’t answer.
“When, Vanessa?””
Her silence was the answer.
Marcus turned away.
Because looking at her was becoming harder.
“What happened that night?””
Vanessa wiped her face.
“I don’t know everything.””
“Don’t do that.””
“What?””
“Don’t give me half-truths.””
She closed her eyes.
“Okay.””
Her voice trembled.
“I’ll tell you what I remember.””
Eight years earlier.
Vanessa had still believed she could fix everything.
That was the part she hated most.
Not the affair.
Not the lies.
The fact that she had believed she was in control.
She met Ethan behind a restaurant after Lydia called her.
Lydia had found documents.
Evidence.
Proof that Ethan had been moving money.
Vanessa remembered her sister’s face that night.
Not angry.
Disappointed.
That hurt more.
“You need to end this,” Lydia had said.
Vanessa had cried.
“You don’t understand.””
“I understand perfectly.””
“You don’t know what Marcus is like.””
Lydia had stared at her.
“No. I know exactly what Marcus is like.””
Vanessa remembered that sentence.
Because Lydia had loved Marcus.
Not romantically.
Like family.
“He would forgive you,” Lydia said.
Vanessa shook her head.
“No, he wouldn’t.””
“Yes, he would.””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“He would leave.””
Lydia looked at her.
“Then maybe you’re afraid of losing him because you know you don’t deserve him.””
The words had hurt.
Because they were true.
Then Ethan arrived.
And everything changed.
Present day.
Marcus listened without interrupting.
Every detail felt like another piece of a puzzle he never wanted to solve.
“What happened after Ethan arrived?””
Vanessa looked down.
“He was angry.””
“Why?””
“Because Lydia had found out.””
“About the money?””
“Yes.””
“And the affair?””
Vanessa nodded.
“He told her she didn’t understand.””
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“And Lydia?””
“She told him she would go to you.””
Vanessa’s voice became smaller.
“She said she would tell you everything.””
Marcus looked at her.
“And then?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“Ethan asked me to talk to her.””
“Where?””
“Outside.””
“And you went?””
“Yes.””
Marcus stared.
“Why?””
“Because I thought I could calm things down.””
He laughed softly.
“You thought you could control Ethan.””
Vanessa looked away.
“Yes.””
“And you couldn’t.””
“No.””
The word barely came out.
“What happened?””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Lydia and Ethan argued.””
“About?””
“Everything.””
She wiped her tears.
“The money. The lies. Me.””
Marcus stayed silent.
“Then Lydia said she was calling you.””
“And?””
“Ethan took her phone.””
Marcus froze.
“He took her phone?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
Vanessa’s voice cracked.
“But he became angry.””
“Then what?””
“He told me to leave.””
Marcus frowned.
“You left?””
Vanessa nodded.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I was scared.””
Again.
The same word.
Marcus looked away.
“I left.””
She continued.
“I drove home.””
“And Lydia?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“I swear.””
Marcus looked at her.
“How can you not know?””
“Because I wasn’t there when it happened.””
The answer was immediate.
Too immediate.
Almost rehearsed.
Marcus noticed.
“Vanessa.””
She looked up.
“What?””
“Are you telling me everything?””
Her face broke.
“I’m trying.””
“That’s not an answer.””
She looked down.
Then whispered:
“No.””
Marcus felt his stomach sink.
“What aren’t you telling me?””
Vanessa didn’t respond.
A sound came from the hallway.
Caleb.
Again.
But this time, he wasn’t alone.
Nia stood beside him.
Both children had heard.
Marcus’s heart sank.
How much more pain could they carry?
“Go upstairs,” Marcus said gently.
Neither moved.
“Please.””
Nia looked at Vanessa.
“Did you hurt her?””
Vanessa froze.
“Nia…”
“Did you?””
The question wasn’t angry.
It was scared.
Because Nia had spent her life believing adults could be dangerous.
Vanessa started crying.
“No.””
“Then why did you hide it?””
Vanessa had no answer.
Caleb looked at Marcus.
“Are we ever going to know everything?””
Marcus swallowed.
“I hope so.””
The boy nodded.
“That means no.””
Then he walked upstairs.
Nia followed.
But before she disappeared, she looked back at Marcus.
“Don’t let them make you forget.””
The sentence stayed with him.
Because someone already had.
Later that night, Marcus met Claire.
She had brought the police report.
They sat in her car outside the station.
“I didn’t want to send this over the phone.””
Marcus opened the file.
The report was old.
Yellowed paper.
Official stamps.
But the details were clear.
At the bottom was a witness statement.
A name.
*Vanessa Cole.*
Marcus stared.
“She gave a statement?””
“Yes.””
“Then why was I never told?””
Claire looked at him.
“Because the statement disappeared.””
Marcus looked up.
“What?””
“The original report had more pages.””
“What happened to them?””
Claire shook her head.
“My mother’s lawyer found a copy before she died.””
She handed him another page.
Marcus read.
The witness statement.
Vanessa’s handwriting.
*“Ethan Reed was angry. He told Lydia nobody would believe her.””*
Marcus’s fingers tightened.
Then he read the next line.
*“I left after Ethan pushed Lydia’s car keys into his pocket.””*
Marcus looked at Claire.
“He took her keys?””
Claire nodded.
“Why?””
“I don’t know.””
Marcus kept reading.
The final sentence made his blood run cold.
*“When I looked back, Lydia was still alive.””*
He stared.
Still alive.
Meaning someone else had been there after Vanessa left.
Someone else.
“Claire.””
She looked at him.
“Did your mother know someone else was involved?””
Claire nodded.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Claire hesitated.
Then reached into her bag.
She pulled out a photograph.
Marcus took it.
It showed Ethan.
Standing beside another person.
Someone Marcus recognized.
His heart stopped.
Because it was impossible.
The person in the photograph was someone who had been in his life for years.
Someone who had comforted him.
Someone who had attended family dinners.
Someone who had always said Vanessa was lucky to have him.
Marcus looked at Claire.
“How long have you had this?””
“Since yesterday.””
“Why didn’t you show me sooner?””
“Because I needed to be sure.””
“Sure of what?””
Claire’s voice lowered.
“That Ethan wasn’t the only person who wanted Lydia silent.””
Marcus looked back at the photograph.
The person beside Ethan smiled at the camera.
A familiar smile.
A trusted smile.
Then his phone rang.
Vanessa.
He almost ignored it.
But he answered.
“Hello?””
Her voice was shaking.
“Marcus.””
“What?””
“Ethan is here.””
Marcus stood immediately.
“What?””
“He came to the house.””
“Why?””
A pause.
Then Vanessa whispered:
“He said he knows what Claire showed you.””
Marcus felt cold.
“How?””
Another pause.
Then:
“Because he said he has the original video.””
Marcus froze.
“What video?””
May you like
Vanessa’s voice broke.
“The video from the night Lydia died.””
