Chapter 9 — The Truth Beneath the Silence
920 Words
The moon was still hanging above the trees when Hailey finally opened her eyes.
For several seconds, she didn’t move.
She remembered everything.
The strange sound outside.
The old photograph.
The words she had discovered.
And most importantly, Luna’s reaction.
You weren’t supposed to find that.
Those words kept repeating inside Hailey’s head.
She slowly sat up in bed and looked towards the window. The moonlight spilled across the floor, but the strange feeling from the night before remained.
Something was wrong.
And Luna knew exactly what it was.
Hailey reached for her phone.
There was one message.
From Luna.
We need to talk before Mum wakes up. Please don’t tell anyone what you saw.
Hailey stared at the screen.
She hated secrets.
Especially secrets that seemed to involve her.
She quickly got dressed and slipped out of her room.
Luna was waiting downstairs.
The moment Hailey saw her, she knew something had changed.
Luna looked exhausted.
“Tell me the truth,” Hailey said.
Luna looked away.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Start with the photograph.”
Luna’s eyes immediately filled with fear.
Hailey noticed.
“Who is that woman?”
Luna swallowed.
“Her name was Elena.”
“Was?”
“She died years ago.”
Hailey stared at her.
“And why is there a photograph of her with my mother?”
Luna didn’t answer.
Hailey stepped closer.
“Luna.”
“She wasn’t just Mum’s friend.”
Hailey’s heart began pounding.
“What was she?”
Luna looked towards the staircase before lowering her voice.
“She was your mother’s sister.”
Hailey froze.
“What?”
“Your aunt.”
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
Hailey shook her head.
“My mother doesn’t have a sister.”
“That’s what you’ve always been told.”
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Hailey sat down.
“Why would Mum lie about having a sister?”
Luna hesitated.
“Because Elena disappeared.”
Hailey looked up.
“Disappeared?”
“Everyone believed she was dead. But she wasn’t.”
A cold sensation travelled through Hailey.
“What are you saying?”
Luna reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
“I found this hidden inside the old box.”
Hailey opened it.
There was handwriting across the page.
Her mother’s handwriting.
If Hailey ever discovers the truth, tell her I did everything to protect her.
Hailey’s hands began shaking.
“Protect me from what?”
Luna’s face tightened.
“I don’t know.”
“You know more than you’re telling me.”
“I swear I don’t.”
Hailey stood.
“Then why were you so scared last night?”
Luna looked at her.
“Because I saw someone outside.”
Hailey stopped.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Luna.”
“I couldn’t see their face.”
Hailey’s heart raced.
“Did they leave?”
Luna shook her head.
“No.”
Silence filled the room.
“What do you mean, no?”
“They’re still here.”
A noise suddenly came from upstairs.
Both girls froze.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
Someone was walking across the hallway.
Hailey looked at Luna.
“Is your mother awake?”
Luna shook her head.
The footsteps stopped.
Then came three soft knocks against the floor above them.
Hailey’s breathing became shallow.
Luna grabbed her wrist.
“Don’t go upstairs.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s where I found the box.”
Hailey stared at her.
Before she could respond, something slid beneath the bedroom door upstairs.
A photograph.
Hailey’s heart nearly stopped.
They climbed the stairs together.
Luna picked up the photograph.
Hailey looked at it.
It was Elena.
But she wasn’t alone.
Standing beside her was a little girl.
Hailey.
She recognised herself immediately.
But there was something impossible about the picture.
Hailey was wearing a necklace she had never seen before.
On the back of the photograph were four words.
Ask your mother why.
Hailey stared at them.
Then she heard a voice behind her.
“Hailey.”
She turned.
Her mother stood at the end of the hallway.
Her face had gone completely pale.
And for the first time in Hailey’s life, she saw something she had never seen before in her mother’s eyes.
Fear.
“Where did you get that?” her mother whispered.
Hailey held up the photograph.
“You tell me.”
Her mother said nothing.
“Who is Elena?”
Still nothing.
“Why am I in this photograph?”
Her mother’s eyes filled with tears.
Luna stepped forward.
“Tell her.”
Her mother looked at Luna.
“You promised me.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because she deserves to know.”
Hailey’s chest tightened.
Her mother finally looked at her.
“Elena wasn’t your aunt.”
Hailey frowned.
“Then who was she?”
Her mother closed her eyes.
“She was your biological mother.”
The world stopped.
Hailey couldn’t breathe.
“What?”
Her mother’s voice broke.
“I’m sorry.”
Hailey stepped backwards.
“No.”
“Hailey—”
“No!”
She ran.
She didn’t know where she was going.
She only knew she needed to get away from the woman she had spent her entire life calling Mum.
Behind her, Luna shouted her name.
But Hailey kept running.
Because suddenly, the secret beneath the full moon wasn’t a secret anymore.
It was her entire life.
- Writer
