Chapter 3: The Cake on Her Face
“Who is Marcus?””
The question escaped Evelyn before she could stop it.
Her brother stared at the notebook as if the words had been carved into his skin.
Monica was the first to move.
She snatched the notebook from Evelyn's hands and slammed it shut.
“That's enough.””
Evelyn lunged for it.
“Give it back!””
Monica held it above her head.
“You have no idea what you're reading.””
“Then explain it!””
“Your mother was sick. She wrote things when she was confused.””
Marcus's eyes snapped toward her.
“Don't.””
Monica lowered the notebook slightly.
“Don't what?””
“Don't use her illness to explain something you clearly don't understand.””
For a moment, Evelyn thought her brother might finally be seeing what she had seen for months.
Then Monica's expression softened. She stepped toward Marcus and touched his arm.
“I'm only trying to protect you.””
“From what?”” Evelyn demanded.
“A notebook?””
“From your sister.””
Evelyn laughed once, sharply.
“I'm standing right here.””
“And that's the problem,” Monica replied.
“You always have to be at the center of everything.””
She tossed the notebook onto the desk.
Evelyn grabbed it and tucked it beneath her arm.
“I'm taking this to a lawyer.””
Marcus turned to her.
“Wait.””
“No. I've waited long enough.””
“Evelyn, we don't know what this means.””
“Then we'll find out. But I'm not letting anyone touch Mom's things until we do.””
Monica crossed her arms.
“You can't simply take estate records because you're upset.””
“It's her personal notebook.””
“Some of those documents belong to the estate.””
“Then we'll make copies.””
“Over my dead body.””
The words rang through the study.
Marcus stared at his wife.
“Monica.””
She lifted her chin.
“What? You want me to pretend everything is fine? Your sister is accusing me of stealing, threatening to drag lawyers into the house, and waving around a notebook written by a dying woman.””
“I didn't accuse you of stealing,” Evelyn said.
“I asked a question.””
“You looked at me as though I were a criminal.””
“Then stop acting like you have something to hide.””
Monica's face flushed.
She took a step toward Evelyn, but Marcus moved between them.
“Both of you need to calm down.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No. One of us has been calm for months while the other has been taking over this house.””
Monica laughed bitterly.
“Taking over? I am the person who keeps this family functioning while you sit in your childhood bedroom mourning a woman who would be horrified by your behavior.””
Evelyn's grip tightened around the notebook.
“You didn't know her.””
“I knew enough.””
“You knew her for less than two years.””
“And in that time, I learned something you apparently never did. Your mother wasn't the saint you imagine.””
The room fell silent.
Marcus's face hardened.
“Take that back.””
Monica looked at him in surprise.
“What?””
“Take it back.””
For a brief moment, she seemed to consider obeying.
Then she looked at Evelyn and smiled.
“Ask your brother what happened the night your mother called him from the hospital.””
Evelyn turned toward Marcus.
“What is she talking about?””
Marcus didn't answer.
“Marcus?””
He rubbed his jaw.
“It's not relevant.””
“Why did Mom call you?””
“Evelyn, not now.””
“What happened that night?””
Monica's eyes gleamed.
“Oh, he hasn't told you?””
Marcus stepped toward her.
“Stop talking.””
But Monica had found a new weapon, and she was enjoying the weight of it.
“Your mother asked him to come alone. She said she had something important to tell him. He never went.””
Evelyn looked at her brother.
“Is that true?””
Marcus's jaw worked.
“I was dealing with a family emergency.””
“What emergency?””
He looked away.
Monica answered for him.
“He was with me.””
Evelyn's breath caught.
“You were dating?””
“Not yet,” Monica said.
“We were getting to know each other.””
“Mom was in the hospital.””
“I know.””
“She was frightened.””
“I know.””
“She wanted her son.””
Monica's smile vanished.
“And Marcus had his own life.””
Evelyn stared at her brother, struggling to reconcile the man in front of her with the brother who had once slept in a hospital chair for three nights when Evelyn was recovering from surgery.
“Why didn't you go?”” she whispered.
Marcus looked at her at last.
“Because I thought I had more time.””
His voice cracked on the final word.
For one moment, Evelyn's anger faltered.
She remembered the funeral, the way Marcus had stood apart from everyone, staring at the closed casket with his hands buried in his pockets. She had assumed grief had made him distant.
Perhaps guilt had done it.
But before she could speak, Monica stepped between them.
“This is exactly why I didn't want you reading that notebook. She always knows how to make Marcus feel responsible for everything.””
Evelyn turned on her.
“Don't you dare tell me what my brother feels.””
“Then stop using your mother to control him.””
Evelyn raised the notebook.
“You want to talk about control? Fine. Let's start with the bracelet you're wearing.””
Monica's hand flew to her wrist.
Marcus noticed.
“What's wrong with the bracelet?””
“Nothing,” Monica said.
“Evelyn says it belonged to Mom.””
“It did.””
“Then why are you wearing it?””
“Because your mother gave it to me.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No, she didn't.””
Monica's eyes narrowed.
“You weren't there every minute of her life.””
“No. But I was there when she told me that bracelet was meant to be passed down to her first granddaughter.””
Marcus frowned.
“Mom never had a granddaughter.””
“Exactly.””
Monica's hand closed over the bracelet.
Evelyn looked from her wrist to the notebook, then back again.
“Where did you get it?””
Monica pulled at the clasp.
“Fine. You want it? Take it.””
She ripped the bracelet from her wrist and flung it onto the desk. It struck the wood, bounced once, and landed beside the notebook.
“There. Happy?””
“No,” Evelyn said.
“Not even close.””
Monica's face twisted.
“You ungrateful little—”
The study door opened.
A man stood in the doorway holding a large white bakery box tied with a gold ribbon.
Marcus turned.
“Why are you here?””
The man was tall, broad-shouldered, and dressed in a navy suit that fit him almost perfectly. His dark hair was brushed back, revealing a small scar near his left eyebrow. His expression was unreadable as he looked from Marcus to Monica, then to Evelyn.
It was their uncle, Daniel.
He had been estranged from the family for nearly a decade, after a bitter dispute over their father's will. Evelyn had not seen him since their mother's funeral, when he had stood at the back of the church and left before the service ended.
Daniel lifted the bakery box.
“I brought dessert.””
Nobody moved.
Monica recovered first.
“Daniel. What a surprise.””
“Is it?””
He walked into the study and set the box on the desk, directly beside the notebook.
“Marcus said there was a family gathering.””
Marcus looked confused.
“I didn't call you.””
Daniel's gaze flicked toward Monica.
“Then someone has a very interesting memory.””
Monica forced a laugh.
“This is hardly the time for games.””
“Agreed.””
Daniel untied the ribbon.
Inside sat a tall chocolate cake covered in glossy ganache and delicate bronze-colored decorations. A small white plaque rested against the frosting.
FOR THE FAMILY.
Evelyn looked at the cake, then at Daniel.
“What is this supposed to be?””
“A peace offering.””
“Between whom?””
Daniel looked directly at Monica.
“That's what I'm here to find out.””
Monica's face tightened.
She moved toward the door.
“I have things to do.””
Daniel stepped aside, but as she passed, he spoke quietly.
“Before you leave, perhaps you should explain why you asked me to find something your sister-in-law's mother hid.””
Monica stopped.
Marcus turned slowly.
“You spoke to Daniel?””
Monica's lips parted, but no answer came.
Evelyn felt a strange coldness settle over her.
“What did you ask him to find?””
Daniel closed the cake box halfway.
“A bronze capsule.””
Nobody breathed.
Evelyn looked at the notebook beneath her arm.
Marcus stared at his wife.
Monica's expression changed from anger to something raw and desperate.
“You had no right to come here,” she whispered.
Daniel shrugged.
“You said the family needed closure.””
“I never said that.””
“You said you were running out of time.””
Marcus took a step toward her.
“Monica, what is he talking about?””
She shook her head rapidly.
“Nothing. He's twisting everything.””
Daniel reached into his jacket and removed a folded piece of paper.
“I have the messages.””
Monica lunged for it.
Daniel pulled his hand back.
“Careful. You might want to keep your hands to yourself today.””
Marcus caught Monica by the shoulders.
“Stop!””
She jerked away from him.
“Don't touch me!””
Evelyn stood near the desk, clutching the notebook, as the room erupted into overlapping accusations.
Then Monica's eyes landed on the cake.
Something in her expression went frighteningly still.
She grabbed the box with both hands.
“Enough of this!””
Marcus reached for her.
“Put it down.””
But Monica had already lifted the cake from its cardboard base.
Daniel stepped backward.
Evelyn barely had time to react.
Monica spun toward her and drove the cake straight into her face.
The impact knocked Evelyn against the desk.
Chocolate frosting smeared across her cheeks, filled her nostrils, and slid beneath the collar of her dress. The cake collapsed between her face and the wooden edge, its heavy layers crumbling over her shoulders and falling in wet chunks onto the floor.
For a second, Evelyn couldn't see.
Then she heard Monica laughing.
“Maybe now you'll finally shut up!””
Marcus seized Monica's arm and pulled her away.
“What is wrong with you?””
Monica struggled against him.
“She thinks she can destroy my marriage!””
“I didn't touch your marriage!”” Evelyn cried, wiping frosting from her eyes.
Daniel grabbed a clean towel from the nearby bathroom and hurried toward her.
“Evelyn, don't move. There's something on the desk.””
She blinked through the chocolate.
Beneath the collapsed cake, a small cylindrical object had rolled against the edge of the notebook.
Bronze.
Old.
Sealed at both ends.
Evelyn reached for it with trembling fingers.
Daniel caught her wrist.
“Wait.””
“Let go.””
“Look at the inscription first.””
She turned the object carefully.
Chocolate slid from the metal, revealing engraved letters beneath the grime.
FOR EVELYN.
Evelyn stopped breathing.
Marcus released Monica.
Daniel stepped closer, his face suddenly grave.
“That capsule was supposed to stay hidden until your mother was gone.””
Evelyn stared at the inscription.
“My mother left this for me?””
Daniel nodded.
“And what's inside it?””
He looked toward Monica.
“Proof of what she did before she married Marcus.””
Monica backed away, shaking her head.
“No. That's impossible.””
Marcus turned toward her.
“What did you do?””
Monica's eyes darted to the capsule.
Then to the study door.
Then back to Marcus.
“You have to believe me,” she whispered.
Evelyn gripped the bronze cylinder with both hands.
“Believe you about what?””
Monica's voice broke.
“Your mother wasn't the only person who knew the truth about Marcus.””
Daniel reached for the capsule.
Evelyn pulled it against her chest.
“No one touches it until we know what's inside.””
Her thumb brushed the sealed edge.
Something clicked.
A narrow seam appeared around the bronze lid.
And from inside the capsule came the faint, unmistakable sound of a tiny object shifting against metal.
Marcus stared at it.
Monica covered her mouth.
Daniel whispered, “Your mother knew you'd find it.””
Evelyn looked at her brother.
“Marcus, before I open this, I need you to answer one question.””
He swallowed.
“What?””
She held the capsule between them.
“Why did Mom write that the truth about you would die with her?””
May you like
Marcus's face crumpled.
And before he could answer, Monica lunged for the capsule.
