Episode 3: The Question I Shouldn't Ask
1428 Words
Ariana watched her mother walk into the living room.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Rainwater dripped from her mother's coat onto the floor.
“You look nervous,” Ariana said.
Her mother forced a smile.
“I was worried about you.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you?”
Ariana crossed her arms. “Why wouldn't I be?”
Her mother looked around the apartment again.
Ariana noticed it immediately.
Her eyes moved across the room slowly.
The table.
The sofa.
The kitchen drawer.
Ariana's stomach tightened.
Her father’s letter was inside that drawer.
“Mom,” Ariana said quietly. “What are you looking for?”
Her mother's eyes returned to her.
“I told you. Nothing.”
“You're lying.”
The smile disappeared.
Ariana had expected her mother to get angry.
Instead, she looked afraid.
“Did something happen?” her mother asked.
The question was too quick.
Too direct.
Ariana studied her face.
“Why would something happen?”
Her mother stepped closer.
“Because I've been trying to reach you for almost an hour.”
“There are no missed calls.”
Her mother took out her phone.
“Then look.”
She showed Ariana the screen.
There were seven outgoing calls.
All to Ariana.
Ariana checked her own phone again.
Nothing.
Not a single missed call.
Her blood ran cold.
“That's impossible.”
“I know.”
Her mother lowered her phone.
“Has anyone been here?”
Ariana hesitated.
That was enough.
Her mother's expression changed.
“Ariana.”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Her mother stared at her.
“You're a terrible liar.”
Ariana looked away.
Her phone suddenly vibrated.
Both of them froze.
A message.
Ariana picked up the phone.
Her mother reached for it.
“Who is that?”
Ariana pulled the phone away.
“Just a friend.”
Her mother’s eyes narrowed.
Ariana looked at the message.
DO NOT LET HER SEE THE PHONE.
Ariana's breath caught.
Her mother was watching her.
“Who are you texting?” she asked.
“No one important.”
“Show me.”
“What?”
“Your phone.”
Ariana laughed nervously.
“Why would I show you my phone?”
“Because I'm your mother.”
“That doesn't mean you can read my messages.”
Her mother became silent.
For a moment, Ariana almost felt guilty.
Then she remembered the warning.
Do not trust anyone in our family.
Her mother looked toward the kitchen.
Ariana's heart skipped a beat.
“Do you want tea?” Ariana asked quickly.
Her mother didn't answer.
She walked toward the kitchen.
Ariana followed.
“Mom?”
Her mother stopped beside the counter.
She looked at the drawer.
The exact drawer.
Ariana's pulse began pounding in her ears.
“Are you hungry?” Ariana asked.
Her mother slowly turned around.
“No.”
Ariana swallowed.
“Then why are you staring at the drawer?”
Her mother's face went pale.
For the first time, Ariana knew she had said something wrong.
Something she wasn't supposed to know.
“I wasn't,” her mother whispered.
“Yes, you were.”
Her mother stepped back.
“Ariana, if you have something to tell me, tell me now.”
Ariana stared at her.
Then she remembered the message.
Ask your mother why she burned the blue file.
Her mouth became dry.
She had planned to wait.
She had planned to investigate first.
But now, standing in front of her mother, Ariana couldn't stop herself.
“Why did you burn the blue file?”
Silence.
The room seemed to become colder.
Her mother didn't move.
Her mother didn't breathe.
Then slowly, she whispered—
“Who told you about that?”
Ariana felt her heart sink.
So it was real.
The blue file.
Her mother had burned it.
And it mattered.
“No one,” Ariana said.
“Don't lie to me.”
“You're lying too.”
Her mother looked away.
Ariana stepped closer.
“What was inside that file?”
“It was nothing.”
“That’s not true.”
“It was old paperwork.”
“Then why did you burn it?”
Her mother's eyes filled with tears.
“Ariana, please.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“I can't.”
The words hit Ariana harder than she expected.
“You can't?”
Her mother covered her face.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she whispered, “Some things are better left in the past.”
Ariana stared at her.
“My father is in the past too.”
Her mother's hand dropped.
Ariana saw the pain in her eyes.
But now, there was something else.
Fear.
“Don't do this,” her mother said.
“Did you know something about Dad's death?”
Her mother immediately looked at the front door.
Ariana noticed.
“Why did you look there?”
Her mother didn't answer.
“Mom.”
“Ariana, stop.”
“Did you know?”
“I said stop!”
Her voice echoed through the apartment.
Both of them froze.
Her mother had never shouted at her like that.
Ariana stepped back.
Her mother closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, she looked exhausted.
“I need to go.”
“What?”
“I shouldn't have come.”
Ariana laughed bitterly.
“You came here because you were worried.”
“No.”
Her mother looked toward the door again.
“I came here because I received a message.”
Ariana stopped breathing.
“What message?”
Her mother reached into her bag.
She took out her phone.
Then handed it to Ariana.
There was a message from an unknown number.
Ariana read it.
YOUR DAUGHTER HAS RECEIVED THE FIRST LETTER.
Her hands began shaking.
The phone almost slipped from her fingers.
“Who sent this?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
Her mother looked at her sadly.
“Because I hoped it was a mistake.”
Ariana looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
Her mother said nothing.
“Mom, what does that mean?”
Before she could answer, Ariana's own phone rang.
Unknown Number.
This time, Ariana answered immediately.
“Who are you?”
Silence.
“Answer me!”
Then a man's voice spoke.
Ariana froze.
It was low.
Calm.
And strangely familiar.
“You asked your mother about the blue file.”
Ariana's mother grabbed the phone from her hand.
“Who is this?” she shouted.
The man laughed softly.
Ariana watched all the color disappear from her mother's face.
“No,” her mother whispered.
Then she dropped the phone.
The call ended.
Ariana stared at her.
“Mom?”
Her mother looked terrified.
More terrified than Ariana had ever seen her.
She grabbed Ariana's shoulders.
“Listen to me carefully.”
Ariana didn't move.
“Tomorrow, you're going to the old house.”
Ariana's eyes widened.
Her mother knew.
“You know about the house?”
“Take the key.”
“Why?”
“Because your father wanted you to find it.”
Ariana stared at her mother.
“What is inside?”
Her mother slowly shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying again.”
“Maybe.”
Ariana felt anger rise inside her.
“Why should I trust you?”
Her mother's eyes filled with tears.
“You shouldn't.”
Ariana froze.
Her mother stepped away.
Then she walked toward the door.
“Wait!”
Her mother stopped.
“Who was the man on the phone?”
Her mother's hand tightened around the doorknob.
For several seconds, she didn't answer.
Then she looked over her shoulder.
And whispered—
“Someone who was supposed to die with your father.”
The door closed.
Ariana stood alone.
The rain continued outside.
Her phone lay on the floor.
Her mother's words echoed in her mind.
Someone who was supposed to die with your father.
Ariana slowly looked toward her bedroom.
The silver key was hidden inside the black box beneath her bed.
Tomorrow, she would go to the old house.
Tomorrow, she would finally begin searching for the truth.
Her phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
Ariana looked at the screen.
TOMORROW, DO NOT GO ALONE.
Then, a second message appeared.
FIND LEON.
Ariana stared at the name.
She had never heard it before.
Then the final message arrived.
HE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR YOU.
To be continued...
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD