Chapter 10: Cracks In The Truth
645 Words
Ava barely slept after the mysterious phone call.
The voice kept replaying in her mind.
"If you care about Ethan Carter, stay away from him."
Who would say something like that?
And what exactly had Ethan supposedly done?
By morning, she had convinced herself not to jump to conclusions.
Ethan had never given her a reason to doubt him.
Still, the warning lingered in the back of her mind.
---
At work, Ethan immediately noticed something was wrong.
"You seem distracted."
Ava hesitated.
Then she told him about the phone call.
As she spoke, Ethan's expression became serious.
"Did the caller identify himself?"
"No."
"What else did he say?"
"Only that I didn't know what you'd done."
Ethan looked away.
The reaction didn't escape Ava's notice.
"You know who it might be, don't you?"
For a moment, he remained silent.
Then he sighed.
"I have a few guesses."
"Daniel?"
Ethan nodded slowly.
"It's possible."
Ava's eyes widened.
"Why would your own brother warn me about you?"
"I don't know."
The answer sounded honest.
But it wasn't complete.
Ava could tell.
There was still something Ethan wasn't saying.
---
Later that afternoon, Sophia appeared once again.
This time she approached Ava directly.
"Can we talk?"
Ava instantly felt uneasy.
Nevertheless, she agreed.
They met at a nearby café.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Finally, Sophia broke the silence.
"You're wondering why I came back."
"A little."
Sophia smiled sadly.
"Because I never stopped loving him."
The honesty caught Ava off guard.
"I didn't expect that."
"Most people don't."
Sophia stared into her coffee.
"Before Daniel disappeared, Ethan wasn't the man you know now."
Ava frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Sophia hesitated.
Then she leaned forward.
"There was an accident."
Ava's pulse quickened.
"What kind of accident?"
Sophia opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen.
Immediately, her expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
Without another word, she stood.
"I have to go."
"Sophia—"
"Be careful, Ava."
Then she hurried out of the café.
Leaving Ava more confused than ever.
---
That evening, Ethan received a call from a private investigator he had hired years earlier.
The investigator rarely contacted him anymore.
Which meant something important had happened.
"Ethan," the investigator said.
"I found him."
Ethan's heart nearly stopped.
"What?"
"I found Daniel."
For several seconds, Ethan couldn't breathe.
"Where?"
"He's living under a different name."
Ethan stood so quickly that his chair fell over.
"Give me the address."
The investigator hesitated.
"There is something else."
"What?"
The silence lasted only a second.
But it felt much longer.
"Daniel isn't hiding from strangers."
Ethan frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
The investigator's voice became serious.
"He's hiding from someone he knows."
A chill ran down Ethan's spine.
"Who?"
The answer changed everything.
"He's hiding from you."
---
Across town, Daniel sat alone in a small apartment.
Newspapers covered the table.
Photographs were pinned to the wall.
Every photograph involved Ethan.
Some were recent.
Some were years old.
At the center was a picture taken shortly before Daniel vanished.
Daniel stared at it.
Pain filled his eyes.
"I wish I could tell you the truth," he whispered.
A knock sounded at the door.
Daniel instantly became alert.
He moved cautiously toward it.
"Who is it?"
A familiar female voice answered.
"It's me."
Daniel froze.
The last person he expected to see stood outside.
Sophia.
And judging by the look on her face when he opened the door, she was terrified.
"What happened?" Daniel asked.
Sophia stepped inside and locked the door.
Then she spoke the words both of them had feared for years.
"He knows you're alive."
Daniel's face went pale.
Because if Ethan found him now, the secret they had protected for three years might finally come out.
And once it did, nothing would ever be the same.
- Writer
