The 365 Letters

Episode 9: The Sister Who Never Existed

Ariana stared at the message on her phone.

LETTER 204 IS WAITING.

IF YOU WANT TO FIND YOUR SISTER, COME ALONE.

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

For several seconds, she couldn't breathe.

Then she looked down at the photograph again.

Three children.

Her.

Leon.

And the girl.

Her sister.

“My sister,” Ariana whispered.

Leon stood silently beside her.

The underground room was still dark except for the light from Ariana's phone.

“You knew about her,” Ariana said.

Leon didn't answer.

Ariana looked up sharply.

“You knew.”

“Yes.”

The simple answer made her angrier.

“How long?”

Leon looked at the photograph.

“Since that night.”

“And you never told me?”

“I couldn't.”

“You couldn't?”

Her voice echoed through the darkness.

“You've been hiding things from me since the moment we met!”

“Ariana—”

“No!”

She stepped away from him.

“Everyone keeps deciding what I should know. My mother. My uncle. You.”

Leon lowered his eyes.

“You're right.”

Ariana wasn't expecting that answer.

“You should have told me.”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn't you?”

Leon remained silent.

Ariana laughed bitterly.

“Of course.”

“Ariana, it's complicated.”

“Everything is complicated with you.”

She looked at the message again.

COME ALONE.

Her heart was still racing.

She knew it could be a trap.

Everything was a trap now.

But somewhere out there was a girl who might be her sister.

Ariana turned toward the hidden passage.

“I’m going.”

Leon immediately stepped forward.

“No.”

She looked at him.

“You don't get to tell me what to do.”

“The person sending those messages knows exactly how to manipulate you.”

“They know where my sister is.”

“We don't know that.”

Ariana's eyes narrowed.

“You don't believe she's alive?”

Leon didn't answer.

Her stomach dropped.

“Leon.”

“I don't know.”

“You've seen her.”

His face changed.

Only slightly.

But Ariana noticed.

“You've seen her.”

Leon slowly looked away.

Ariana stepped closer.

“When?”

He remained silent.

“When did you see her?”

“Two years ago.”

Ariana froze.

Two years.

For two years, Leon had known her sister might be alive.

And he had said nothing.

Her eyes filled with tears.

“You knew.”

“I was trying to find out who she was working for.”

Ariana stared at him.

“Working for?”

Leon immediately regretted the words.

“What does that mean?”

“Ariana—”

“Tell me!”

He looked toward the dark hallway.

Then back at her.

“Your sister isn't a prisoner.”

Ariana felt cold.

“What?”

“She hasn't been missing all these years.”

Her heart pounded.

“Then where has she been?”

Leon swallowed.

“I don't know.”

“That is another lie.”

“I know where I've seen her.”

Ariana waited.

Leon finally answered.

“She was with Daniel.”

The underground room became silent.

Ariana felt as if the floor had disappeared beneath her.

“My uncle?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don't know.”

“Was she a child?”

“No.”

Ariana stared at him.

“She was already grown.”

Her thoughts became confused.

Her sister had lived somewhere.

Grown up somewhere.

Maybe knowing Ariana existed.

Maybe watching her.

Ariana looked at the photograph.

“What is her name?”

Leon became silent again.

Ariana closed her eyes.

“Leon.”

“I don't know what name she uses now.”

“What was her name?”

He finally answered.

“Lila.”

Ariana repeated it quietly.

“Lila.”

The name felt strange.

But something deep inside her reacted.

A memory.

A little hand holding hers.

A girl's laughter.

A voice saying—

Don't leave me.

Ariana suddenly grabbed her head.

Leon immediately moved toward her.

“Ariana?”

She stumbled backward.

Images flashed through her mind.

A dark room.

A broken window.

Leon crying.

A little girl sitting in the corner.

Then a man's voice.

Ariana gasped.

“I remember.”

Leon froze.

“What?”

“There were three of us.”

Ariana looked at him.

“I remember her.”

Her breathing became faster.

“She was crying.”

Leon grabbed her shoulders.

“Ariana, slow down.”

“She was younger than me.”

“Yes.”

“She kept calling someone.”

Leon went completely still.

“Who?”

Ariana tried to remember.

The memory was fading.

“She called…”

Her eyes widened.

“Mom.”

Leon released her.

Ariana stared at him.

“No.”

“She kept calling for Mom.”

The words echoed in her mind.

A little girl.

Crying.

Calling for their mother.

Ariana shook her head.

“No. That's impossible.”

Leon looked terrified.

“What else do you remember?”

Ariana stepped away.

“I remember a woman.”

Leon frowned.

“What woman?”

“I couldn't see her face.”

Ariana pressed her hands against her temples.

“She was standing outside the room.”

“What did she say?”

Ariana closed her eyes.

The voice returned.

Soft.

Familiar.

Take the older one first.

Ariana's eyes opened.

Her blood turned cold.

Leon noticed her expression.

“What?”

Ariana slowly looked at him.

“The woman told someone to take me first.”

Leon stared at her.

“What?”

“And leave Lila behind.”

Before Leon could respond, Ariana's phone vibrated.

Another message.

This time, there was an address.

OLD SAINT MARY'S TRAIN STATION.

Ariana immediately recognized the place.

The abandoned railway station.

The place where she and Leon had been found.

Below the address was another message.

11:00 P.M.

Then:

COME ALONE.

Leon took the phone from her.

“We're not going.”

Ariana grabbed it back.

“We?”

“I said you're not going.”

“She might be there.”

“And Daniel might be there too.”

“Then I'll find out.”

Leon stepped closer.

“Ariana, this is exactly what they want.”

“What if she's waiting for me?”

He didn't answer.

Ariana looked toward the photograph again.

For years, she had believed she was alone.

An only child.

A daughter who had lost her father.

But now everything was different.

She had a sister.

And maybe her mother had known all along.

Ariana suddenly remembered the phone call.

Her mother had said:

I made a mistake.

And:

I should have destroyed the letters.

Ariana looked at Leon.

“My mother knows.”

He frowned.

“What?”

“She knows about Lila.”

“You don't know that.”

“Yes, I do.”

Ariana remembered the voice in her memory.

Take the older one first.

Her hands began shaking.

“No.”

Leon saw it.

“What are you thinking?”

Ariana looked directly into his eyes.

“I think my mother was there the night we disappeared.”

By the time they escaped the underground room, it was already evening.

Leon had found another passage leading outside.

Ariana barely spoke during the drive.

She sat beside the window, staring at the city lights.

Her phone remained in her hand.

11:00 P.M.

There were still several hours.

Leon drove silently.

Finally, Ariana spoke.

“Take me home.”

Leon looked at her.

“I don't think that's safe.”

“I need to talk to my mother.”

“What if Daniel is there?”

“Then I'll find out.”

“Ariana—”

“Take me home.”

Leon sighed.

Then he changed direction.

Ariana's apartment building looked normal.

Too normal.

People walked outside.

Cars passed through the street.

Someone laughed near a small restaurant.

It was difficult to believe that her entire life had just changed.

Leon parked across the road.

“Stay here,” he said.

Ariana immediately looked at him.

“No.”

“I'll check the apartment first.”

“You're not leaving me in the car.”

“Ariana—”

“You've already hidden enough from me.”

Leon became quiet.

Then he nodded.

“Fine. Together.”

They entered the building.

Ariana's heartbeat grew faster with every step.

When they reached her apartment door, she stopped.

Something was wrong.

The door was unlocked.

She always locked it.

Leon noticed immediately.

He moved in front of her.

“Behind me.”

Ariana almost argued.

But this time, she didn't.

Leon slowly pushed the door open.

The apartment was dark.

“Ariana?” he whispered.

No answer.

They stepped inside.

Nothing looked damaged.

The furniture was in place.

The windows were closed.

Then Ariana noticed something on the dining table.

An envelope.

Her heart stopped.

Leon saw it too.

“Don't touch it.”

Ariana slowly walked forward.

The envelope had her name written on it.

But this handwriting was different.

She opened it.

Inside was a photograph.

Her mother.

Daniel.

And a little girl.

Ariana dropped into the nearest chair.

The girl was Lila.

But the photograph wasn't old.

It had been taken recently.

Ariana turned it over.

There was writing on the back.

YOUR FAMILY HAS BEEN LYING TO YOU.

Her phone vibrated.

Ariana looked down.

A video had been sent from the unknown number.

She pressed play.

The screen showed a dark room.

A woman was sitting in a chair.

Her hands were tied.

Ariana's heart stopped.

“Mom!”

Her mother looked directly at the camera.

Her face was terrified.

Then someone behind the camera spoke.

“Come to the railway station.”

Ariana stood immediately.

Leon grabbed her arm.

“It's a trap.”

“My mother is there!”

“Ariana, listen—”

The video continued.

A second person walked into the frame.

Ariana froze.

The person slowly turned toward the camera.

A young woman.

Dark hair.

Pale face.

The same girl from the photograph.

Ariana's sister.

Lila.

Lila looked directly into the camera.

Then she spoke.

“Don't come.”

Ariana stopped breathing.

But before the video ended, Lila whispered something else.

Something that made Ariana turn slowly toward Leon.

“He's the reason Dad died.”

The video went black.

Ariana stared at Leon.

Leon stared back.

And for the first time—

Ariana didn't know whether the man beside her was her protector...

Or the greatest danger she had ever brought into her life.

To be continued...