Chapter 10: The Question They Feared
1130 Words
Daisy…”
Her father's voice was barely above a whisper.
But she heard it clearly.
The guilt.
The fear.
The realization that everything they had spent years hiding was finally falling apart.
Daisy wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand.
“How long?” she asked quietly.
Her father looked toward her mother.
“Don't look at her,” Daisy said, her voice shaking.
“Look at me.”
He slowly lifted his eyes. They were filled with regret. “A long time,” he admitted.
A bitter laugh escaped Daisy.
“Sweetheart—”
“Don't
The single word echoed through the hallway.
“You don't get to call me that after lying to me for years.” Her father lowered his head.
“You watched me take those medications,” Daisy continued. “You watched me wonder why my body wasn't changing like everyone else's. You watched me cry because I thought something was wrong with me.” His lips trembled.
“And you knew.”
“We wanted to protect you,” he whispered.
“That isn't protection.”
Silence.
“It's betrayal.”
Her mother stepped forward carefully.
“Daisy... we thought we were doing the right thing.”
“You thought keeping me in the dark was the right thing.”
“You were only eight.”
“And now I'm eighteen.”
No one answered. Her mother reached for her. Daisy stepped away.
“Don't.”
The distance between them suddenly felt impossible to cross.
After a long silence, her father spoke again.
“The treatment you received... wasn't fully approved back then.” Daisy frowned.
“What does that mean?”
He struggled to find the words. It was still being evaluated. Her stomach tightened. You mean it was experimental. His silence answered for him.
Her breath caught.
“You let them use an experimental treatment on me?”
“They told us it was our only chance of keeping you,” her mother cried. “They said without it...”
“You weren't expected to survive.”
The world seemed to stop.
“What?”
“You became critically ill
Daisy shook her head.
“No...”
“You were unconscious for five days. You told me I was asleep because of the medication.”
“I lied.”
The confession landed harder than anything else.
Every childhood memory she had trusted suddenly felt uncertain.
“ darling we almost lost you,” she whispered.
“The treatment saved your life.”
For the first time that night, relief flickered inside Daisy.
Only for a second.
“…but I never knew it going.... to she started sobbing
The relief vanished.
“I tried giving you a future,” she whispered.
“but, not Just the one you deserved. Tears rolled silently down Daisy's cheeks. Not because she hadn't already guessed.But because hearing her own mother admit it made the truth impossible to escape.
She looked at both of her parents. People she had trusted without question. Now they felt like strangers. Then her phone vibrated.
The sound cut through the silence. She looked at the screen. It was another message from the same sender.
She opened it.
You keep asking what they did.
A second message appeared.
Ask them why they kept lying after they learned the truth.
Daisy slowly raised her eyes.
Her parents had gone completely still.
Neither of them looked confused.
Neither of them asked who had sent it.
They only stared at the phone...
...as if they had been dreading that question for years
Neither of her parents spoke.
She swallowed.
"What haven't I asked?"
Her father's expression hardened.
"Daisy..."
"No."
She took a step toward him.
"I want an answer."
"You've had enough for tonight."
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Enough?
"You're exhausted."
"I'm asking you one question."
Her father shook his head.
"And I'm not answering it."
The words hit harder than a slap.
"What?"
"There are things you don't need to know."
A bitter laugh escaped her.
"You've been deciding what I need to know for ten years."
"We're trying to protect you."
"No."
Her voice trembled.
"You're protecting yourselves."
Her mother burst into tears.
"Please don't say that."
"Then prove me wrong."
Silence.
Daisy waited. One second. Two. Three.
No one spoke.
She looked from her father...
to her mother...
searching desperately for someone—anyone—to deny it. Instead, her father said quietly,
"This conversation is over."
Daisy stared at him.
"No."
"It is."
"You don't get to end it."
"I already have."
He turned away.
Her mother hesitated for a moment,
"I'm sorry," she whispered. It's late already go to bed
Then she followed him.
"Dad!"
He didn't stop.
"Mom!"
She didn't look back.
Within seconds, they disappeared down the hallway, leaving Daisy standing alone.
Alone with a future she hadn't chosen...
A childhood she no longer understood...
And a truth her own parents would rather lose her than reveal.
The hallway was unbearably quiet.
Daisy stood there, staring at the empty space where her parents had disappeared.
She wanted to run after them.
To force them to answer.
To make them understand that they couldn't keep doing this.
But something inside her had changed.
For the first time in her life...
She didn't believe them anymore. Not a single word. Her phone vibrated in her hand. She glanced down, expecting another message from the anonymous sender. Instead, a familiar name appeared.
Sophia.
Her chest tightened. She almost ignored it. Almost.
Sophia: Hey, are you home?
Daisy frowned.
Another message came before she could reply.
Sophia: I've been calling you. Is everything okay?
Daisy looked at the missed calls.
Three.
All from Sophia.
She hadn't even heard her phone ring. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard. How was she supposed to answer that?
Was she okay?
No.
Nothing about tonight was okay.
She typed a reply.
Daisy: I'm home.
She stared at the message for a second before pressing send. It wasn't the truth. But it wasn't a lie either.
Sophia replied almost immediately.
Sophia: That's not what I asked.
Daisy closed her eyes.
She let out a slow breath and typed again.
Daisy: Can we talk tomorrow?
The typing bubble appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally—
Sophia: Of course.
A second message followed.
Sophia: But whatever happened... don't carry it alone.
Daisy read the words twice. A lump formed in her throat.
Tonight, the two people she trusted most had shattered her world.
Yet somehow...
The person checking on her wasn't family.
It was her friend.
Daisy locked her phone and slowly made her way upstairs.
She needed answers.
And if her parents refused to give them...
She would have to find another way.
- Writer
