Chapter 8: The Video That Exposed Everyone
Nobody moved.
The video kept playing.
A dark room.
A shaking camera.
Marlo’s voice.
“I should have helped you before it was too late.””
Those words repeated in my mind.
Because Marlo—the person who had spent hours telling me he was protecting Blu, the person who claimed he was the only one trying to uncover the truth—was sitting there admitting he failed someone.
Someone who died.
No one spoke.
Not even Eli.
And that was the strangest part.
For the first time since he walked into the diner, he looked as confused as the rest of us.
“Where did this come from?”” Blu whispered.
Nobody answered.
The video continued.
The camera moved slightly.
I could hear someone breathing.
Marlo.
“You were right about him,” his voice said.
A pause.
“You were right about everything.””
Noah.
He was talking to Noah.
My stomach tightened.
Then another voice came through.
A voice I didn’t recognize.
“You waited too long.””
The camera shook.
Marlo whispered something I couldn’t hear.
The unknown voice spoke again.
“You had one job.””
The video suddenly froze.
The screen went black.
Everyone stared at their phones.
Then all at once, everyone looked at Marlo.
But Marlo wasn’t looking at us.
He was looking at the door.
Like he was expecting someone.
“Marlo,” I said.
He didn’t respond.
“Marlo.””
Slowly, he turned.
His face was pale.
“I didn’t know that existed.””
Eli laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because he was angry.
“You expect us to believe that?””
Marlo looked at him.
“Yes.””
“No.””
Eli stepped closer.
“You knew exactly what you were doing.””
Marlo’s eyes narrowed.
“You don’t get to say that.””
“Why?””
“Because you’re the reason Noah died.””
The room went silent.
Blu gasped.
“Marlo.””
I looked between them.
“What?””
Nobody answered.
And then I realized something.
Everyone had been telling me pieces.
But nobody had been telling me the beginning.
“Enough.””
My voice cut through the silence.
Everyone stopped.
“I’m tired of hearing half-truths.””
I looked at each person.
“I want the entire story.””
No one spoke.
So I pointed at Marlo.
“You first.””
He looked shocked.
“Bree—”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You brought me into this.””
His face fell.
“Now finish it.””
For a moment, I thought he would refuse.
Then he sat down.
And he looked older than he had before.
“I met Noah before I met Blu.””
Eli’s expression changed.
“You knew him?””
Marlo nodded.
“We were friends.””
The words hit everyone.
“You never told anyone that,” Dre said.
Marlo looked at him.
“You never asked.””
Dre clenched his jaw.
“Why would I?””
“Because you were too busy pretending you didn’t know anything.””
The anger between them was immediate.
I stepped forward.
“Stop.””
They both looked at me.
“Marlo.””
He sighed.
“Noah was trying to get away from Eli.””
“Why?””
“Because he found out what Eli was doing.””
“What exactly?””
Marlo looked at Blu.
Then at Eli.
“He was hurting people.””
Eli shook his head.
“That’s vague.””
“Because you always made sure nobody could prove anything.””
A strange silence followed.
I looked at Eli.
He didn’t look innocent.
But he didn’t look guilty either.
He looked exhausted.
Like he had been fighting the same battle for years.
“Marlo,” I said.
He continued.
“Noah found documents.””
“What kind of documents?””
“Financial records. Messages. Evidence.””
“Evidence of what?””
Marlo looked down.
“Eli was blackmailing people.””
Everyone went quiet.
Dre whispered:
“What?””
Marlo nodded.
“He collected secrets.””
I remembered the photograph.
The message.
The feeling of being watched.
“He used those secrets against people?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Marlo looked at me.
“Control.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“So Blu wasn’t the only one.””
“No.””
Marlo’s voice became softer.
“She was just the person he cared about controlling the most.””
Blu closed her eyes.
Eli looked away.
I noticed.
And that bothered me.
Because he didn’t argue.
“Then what happened with Noah?””
Marlo swallowed.
“That night, Noah planned to expose him.””
“Publicly?””
“Yes.””
“But he never did.””
“No.””
“Why?””
Marlo’s eyes filled with guilt.
“Because I stopped him.””
Everyone stared.
“What?””
Marlo looked at the table.
“I told Noah to wait.””
“Why?””
“Because I thought I could handle it.””
He laughed bitterly.
“I thought I was smarter than Eli.””
A pause.
“I wasn’t.””
The diner was silent.
“What did you do?””
Marlo looked at me.
“I tried to get Eli to admit everything.””
My heart sank.
“And?””
“And he found out.””
Eli’s expression changed.
“You blamed me.””
Marlo looked at him.
“Because you did it.””
“No.””
The word came out sharper than expected.
“I didn’t kill my brother.””
Nobody moved.
Eli continued.
“I hurt people.””
That confession shocked everyone.
Even Blu.
“But I didn’t kill Noah.””
The room became painfully quiet.
I looked at Blu.
She was crying.
“Then who did?””
Nobody answered.
And then Dre spoke.
“I know.””
Everyone turned.
Dre looked terrified.
“What?””
He looked at me.
“I know who was there.””
My heart pounded.
“Who?””
Dre looked at Blu.
Then Marlo.
Then Eli.
“I saw someone else.””
“Someone else where?””
“That night.””
My mouth went dry.
“Who?””
Dre closed his eyes.
“The person who took Noah’s phone.””
Marlo stood.
“What?””
Dre looked at him.
“You know exactly who.””
“No.””
“You do.””
Eli stepped forward.
“Dre.””
His voice was quiet.
Dangerously quiet.
“Say the name.””
Dre looked like he was about to break.
“I can’t.””
“Why?””
“Because nobody will believe me.””
I stepped closer.
“Try me.””
Dre looked at me.
Then whispered:
“It was someone we all trusted.””
The words made everyone uncomfortable.
Because suddenly the danger wasn’t some stranger.
It was someone close.
“Who?””
Dre looked at the phones on the table.
Then at the video.
“Look at the first few seconds again.””
Marlo frowned.
“What?””
“The reflection.””
Nobody understood.
Dre grabbed his phone.
He replayed the video.
The dark room.
The shaking camera.
Marlo’s voice.
Then he paused.
“There.””
He zoomed in.
Behind Marlo.
A reflection in a glass window.
A person standing in the doorway.
I leaned closer.
The image was blurry.
But the shape.
The posture.
The jacket.
My breath stopped.
Because I knew that jacket.
I had seen it before.
Recently.
Very recently.
“No…”
Blu looked at me.
“What?””
I couldn’t answer.
Because the person in the reflection wasn’t Eli.
Wasn’t Marlo.
Wasn’t Dre.
It was someone I had trusted.
Someone who had sat beside me.
Someone who had looked me in the eyes and lied.
My hands started shaking.
“Bree?””
I looked at Blu.
Then slowly said the name.
“Your friend.””
Everyone went still.
“What friend?”” Dre asked.
I stared at the reflection.
The person was barely visible.
But the jacket was enough.
The same jacket.
The same one I had seen two days ago.
The same one worn by the person who brought me coffee after I had a bad day.
The same person who told me I was imagining things.
The same person who always said they were trying to protect me.
“Bree,” Marlo whispered.
“Who is it?””
I looked up.
And said the name that made Blu cover her mouth.
“Lena.””
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone knew exactly who I meant.
Blu’s closest friend.
The person who had helped her move to Baltimore.
The person who knew every secret.
The person who had been there from the beginning.
My phone buzzed.
A new message.
From Lena.
I opened it.
Only one sentence.
*“I was hoping you would figure it out sooner.””*
May you like
Then another message appeared.
*“Now you finally understand why Blu can never tell you the truth.””*
