Chapter Two — The Secret Upstairs
641 Words
Dira stood frozen at the top of the stairs, her heart pounding loudly in her chest.
Downstairs, her parents continued arguing in low voices.
“You promised we would tell her when she got older,” Emily whispered.
“And ruin her life?” Jacob replied sharply. “She’s finally stable.”
“She deserves to know the truth.”
Dira’s stomach tightened.
Truth?
About what?
Before she could hear more, the kitchen suddenly went silent. Footsteps approached the stairs quickly.
Dira rushed back to her room and shut the door softly before anyone noticed her listening.
A few seconds later, there was a knock.
“Dira?” her mom called gently. “You awake?”
Dira stared at the door.
“Yeah.”
Emily opened it slightly and smiled nervously.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine.”
But she wasn’t.
Not even close.
That night, Dira barely slept. Questions filled her mind nonstop.
Was she adopted?
Was there something wrong with her?
Why did everyone always treat her differently?
The next morning at breakfast, everything felt awkward.
Mandy scrolled through her phone while eating pancakes.
Radi studied chemistry notes beside her cereal bowl.
Jacob drank coffee quietly.
And Dira couldn’t stop staring at her parents.
Emily noticed immediately.
“What?” she asked carefully.
“Nothing,” Dira lied.
But deep inside, she knew something had changed.
And she wasn’t going to stop until she discovered the truth.
At school, Dira couldn’t focus.
During photography club after classes, her best friend Liam noticed immediately.
“You’ve been quiet all day,” he said.
Dira adjusted her camera lens awkwardly.
“Do you ever feel like you don’t belong somewhere?”
Liam frowned.
“That’s random.”
“I’m serious.”
He leaned against the table.
“Honestly? Sometimes. But why are you asking?”
Dira hesitated before speaking.
“My parents are hiding something from me.”
Liam looked concerned.
“What kind of something?”
“I don’t know yet.”
For the first time in years, Dira said the words out loud.
“I think there’s a chance I’m not really their daughter.”
Liam stared at her for a moment before laughing softly.
“Dira, come on. You guys are triplets.”
“But look at me.”
Liam’s smile faded slightly.
Dira continued quietly.
“I don’t look anything like Mandy or Radi. And people have been pointing it out my whole life.”
Before Liam could respond, Mandy suddenly appeared outside the classroom doorway.
“There you are,” she said.
Dira grabbed her bag quickly.
“We should go.”
On the drive home, Mandy kept glancing at Dira suspiciously.
“You’ve been acting weird.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
Dira looked out the window.
“Do you ever think about why I look so different?”
Mandy shrugged.
“You just do.”
“That doesn’t bother you?”
“No.”
Dira finally turned toward her sister.
“It bothers me.”
Mandy’s expression softened slightly.
“You’re still my sister.”
“But what if I’m not?”
The car suddenly went silent.
Mandy gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“Why would you even say that?”
“Because Mom and Dad are hiding something.”
Mandy didn’t answer.
And that silence scared Dira more than anything.
Later that night, Dira couldn’t ignore her curiosity anymore.
While everyone slept, she quietly walked into her parents’ home office.
Her hands shook as she searched through drawers and cabinets.
Medical files.
Tax papers.
Old photographs.
Nothing.
Then finally, inside a locked drawer Jacob forgot to close properly, Dira found a brown envelope.
Across the front were the words:
CONFIDENTIAL ADOPTION RECORDS
Her breathing stopped.
Slowly, she opened it.
And the first name she saw was hers.
- Writer
