Chapter 6
1334 Words
By the time I reached her house, my legs ached.
Not from the distance, but from everything I had carried with me to get there.
The night air had turned colder, sharper, biting against my skin, but I barely noticed it. My mind was too loud, too full, replaying everything over and over again until it felt like I might lose myself in it.
Daniel’s voice.
Amelia’s laugh.
The words I couldn’t unhear.
I forced it all down as I stood in front of the house.
Nothing had changed.
The same soft light glowed through the windows, warm against the darkness outside. The same quiet stillness wrapped around the place like it always had. It looked exactly how I remembered it.
Safe.
The word settled in my chest, unfamiliar and fragile.
For the first time since I had walked out of that house, I hesitated.
My hand hovered just inches from the door, my chest tightening slightly.
What if she wasn’t here?
What if I had made a mistake?
What if—
I stopped myself.
I didn’t have anywhere else to go.
This was it.
I knocked.
The sound echoed louder than it should have in the quiet street, and for a moment, nothing happened.
Then I heard movement inside.
My heart started beating faster, not from fear this time, but from something else. Something I hadn’t felt all day.
Hope.
The door opened.
And there she was.
She looked almost exactly the same. Maybe a little older, maybe a little more tired, but her eyes hadn’t changed. They were still warm, still steady, still the only place I had ever felt seen.
They landed on me, taking everything in at once. My face. My bag. The way I stood there like I didn’t quite belong anywhere anymore.
Something shifted in her expression.
“Maisie.”
My name sounded different coming from her. Softer. Real.
And just like that, everything I had been holding together slipped.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” I said, my voice not as steady as I wanted it to be.
She didn’t look surprised.
That was the first thing that felt wrong.
There was no confusion. No shock. No questions.
Just something quiet.
Something knowing.
“I was wondering how long it would take,” she said.
I frowned slightly, my grip tightening on the strap of my bag.
“What do you mean?”
She stepped back, opening the door wider.
“Come inside.”
I didn’t move straight away. Her words lingered in the air, heavy and unsettling.
“How long what would take?” I asked again.
Her gaze met mine, steady and careful.
“For you to find out.”
A chill ran straight through me.
“What are you talking about?”
She didn’t answer. Not properly. Just stepped aside again.
“Come in, Maisie.”
There was something in her voice that made my chest tighten.
Not comfort.
Not reassurance.
Something more serious.
Something that told me whatever I was about to hear… was going to change everything.
I stepped inside.
The door closed behind me with a soft click, shutting out the world I had just left behind.
The house felt warm. Familiar. But different.
Like there were things hidden beneath the surface.
Things I had never noticed before.
Or maybe things I hadn’t been meant to.
I set my bag down slowly, my eyes drifting around the room without really focusing on anything.
“What do you mean… find out?” I asked again, quieter now.
She didn’t answer straight away.
Instead, she walked over to a small cabinet and opened one of the drawers.
I watched her, my heart starting to beat faster again.
She reached inside and pulled something out.
An envelope.
Old.
Sealed.
My name written across the front.
My breath caught.
I recognised the handwriting instantly.
Even after all these years.
“Your mother left this for you,” she said quietly.
The words didn’t make sense at first.
They just… sat there.
Unreal.
“She told me to give it to you when the time was right,” she continued.
My fingers trembled slightly as I stepped closer, my eyes fixed on the envelope.
“When you turned twenty-one.”
My chest tightened.
“That’s today,” I whispered.
“I know.”
I reached for it slowly, like it might disappear if I moved too fast.
The paper felt real.
Too real.
Everything else faded.
Daniel.
Amelia.
The house.
The wedding.
None of it mattered anymore.
Just this.
Just her.
“My mum is dead,” I said slowly, the words sounding hollow even as I said them.
Her expression didn’t change.
“No,” she said softly.
The word hit harder than anything else had.
“She isn’t.”
Everything inside me stilled.
My heart.
My thoughts.
My breath.
“What…?” I barely managed to say.
“She was never dead, Maisie.”
The room felt smaller suddenly.
Too quiet.
Too heavy.
“Then where is she?” I asked, my voice shaking now despite everything I had tried to hold together.
Her eyes held mine.
“Alive.”
The envelope in my hand felt heavier.
Like it carried more than just words.
“And everything you think you know about your life,” she added carefully, “isn’t the truth.”
My heart started pounding again.
Louder.
Relentless.
Because somehow—
I knew she wasn’t lying.
My fingers moved before I could stop them, breaking the seal.
The paper inside felt fragile as I pulled it out, unfolding it slowly.
My eyes scanned the first line.
And everything shifted again.
My dearest Maisie,
If you are reading this, then you are finally safe enough to know the truth.
Safe.
The word made my chest tighten.
I kept reading.
I am not dead.
And I never chose to leave you.
My vision blurred, but I forced myself to keep going.
Everything that happened was to protect you.
Because the people around you are not who you think they are.
My grip tightened on the letter.
Your father is not the man you believe him to be.
And the people he brought into your life were never there by accident.
Daniel.
Amelia.
My stomach dropped.
You were always meant to inherit everything I built.
And there are people who will do anything to take that from you.
A tear slipped down my cheek, but I didn’t stop reading.
That is why I had to disappear.
Because if they knew the truth, you would never have been safe.
Safe.
Again.
I have been watching from afar. Waiting for the right time.
And now, if you have found this letter, it means they have made their move.
My chest tightened painfully.
She knew.
She had known this would happen.
Do not trust anyone in that house.
Leave immediately.
And go to the person who gave you this letter.
I slowly lifted my eyes.
She was already watching me.
Waiting.
She will help you find me.
My hands shook as I read the final line.
And when you do… I will explain everything.
I love you. Always.
Mum.
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Overwhelming.
I lowered the letter slowly, my mind struggling to catch up with everything I had just read.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Everything had changed.
Daniel wasn’t just betrayal.
Amelia wasn’t just jealousy.
This was something bigger.
Something planned.
Something dangerous.
I looked up at her, my voice barely holding together.
“You knew.”
She didn’t deny it.
Her expression stayed calm.
Certain.
“Yes.”
My stomach dropped.
“How much do you know?” I asked.
Her eyes didn’t leave mine.
“Enough to know,” she said quietly, “that if you had stayed there… you wouldn’t have just lost your company.”
My chest tightened.
“Then what would I have lost?”
She held my gaze for a moment longer.
Then—
“Everything.”
- Writer
