Chapter 6: The Missing Night
The darkness lasted only a few seconds.
But it felt like an hour.
Sophie grabbed my hand.
My father moved toward the window.
“Stay away from the door,” he said.
I hated that my first reaction was still to listen.
Even after everything.
Even after all the lies.
Some part of me still saw him as the man who checked under my bed for monsters when I was six.
The man who made pancakes every Sunday.
The man who carried me inside when I fell asleep in the car.
The problem was, monsters didn’t always look like monsters.
Sometimes they looked like family.
The emergency lights turned on.
A weak red glow filled the apartment.
My father looked outside.
“No car.””
“What does that mean?”” I asked.
“It means whoever did this didn’t want us trapped.””
Sophie frowned.
“Then what did they want?””
Dad looked at the message again.
“They wanted us scared.””
I looked at him.
“You’re saying Daniel did this?””
“Yes.””
“How sure are you?””
My father didn’t answer immediately.
That scared me.
Because Michael Carter was always sure.
Finally, he said, “I’m sure enough.””
Sophie walked closer.
“Tell me about the night I disappeared.””
My father froze.
I looked at him.
“You said Daniel erased footage.””
Dad swallowed.
“When you were four years old, you went missing for six hours.””
Sophie stared at him.
“What?””
“You were visiting your grandmother.””
“I never knew that.””
“Because Rachel never wanted you to remember.””
“Why?””
“Because she was afraid.””
The room became silent.
“What happened?”” I asked.
My father sat down slowly.
“I received a call saying Sophie had been found wandering near a highway.””
Sophie covered her mouth.
“I don’t remember.””
“You were too young.””
“Who found me?””
Dad looked at the floor.
“Daniel.””
That answer made Sophie step back.
“No.””
“He told me he found you.””
“You’re saying the man who helped me was the reason I disappeared?””
Dad nodded.
“I believe so.””
I felt sick.
The same man who sat at our dinner table.
The same man who smiled at me.
The same man my mother kissed.
He had been connected to my family for years.
“What did he want?”” Sophie asked.
Dad’s voice became quiet.
“Leverage.””
Again.
That word.
Leverage.
Everything about Daniel seemed to come back to control.
“He wanted me to know that he could reach anyone in my life.””
Sophie looked angry.
“So you stayed quiet.””
“Yes.””
“You let me believe you abandoned me.””
My father looked at her.
“I was wrong.””
That sentence shocked me.
Not because it was unexpected.
Because it was rare.
My father hated admitting mistakes.
But now he looked like a man who had finally run out of lies.
“I should have fought,” he said.
Sophie wiped her eyes.
“You should have.””
The words hurt him.
But he accepted them.
My phone buzzed again.
Another message.
This time, there was a video.
My hands shook as I opened it.
The footage showed my family’s house.
The living room camera.
The timestamp was from the night my father left for his business trip.
The camera showed my mother walking into the room.
Then Daniel entered.
They talked.
But there was no audio.
Then something happened.
Daniel looked directly at the camera.
Like he knew it was recording.
He walked toward it.
The screen went black.
Then a second video appeared.
Different date.
Different location.
A parking garage.
My mother was there.
With Daniel.
But they weren’t kissing.
They were arguing.
My mother looked terrified.
Daniel grabbed her arm.
I gasped.
My father stepped closer.
“Play the audio.””
I turned it on.
The recording crackled.
Then Daniel’s voice came through.
“You should have stayed out of Michael’s past.””
My mother responded.
“I know about Sophie.””
My heart stopped.
Daniel laughed.
“Then you know what happens if Michael finds out everything.””
“You can’t keep threatening us.””
“I already have.””
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
My father looked destroyed.
My mother had known.
She knew about Daniel.
She knew about Sophie.
She knew everything was connected.
But why?
Why would she still be with him?
A final message appeared.
This one wasn’t from the unknown number.
It was from my mother.
*Emily, please don’t trust your father. He’s showing you only the parts that make him look innocent. Come home. We need to talk before he tells you the rest.*
I looked at my father.
Then Sophie.
Everyone was asking me to choose.
Mother.
Father.
Sister.
The truth.
I was tired of choosing.
I wanted someone to stop lying.
My father suddenly looked at the video again.
His face changed.
“What?””
I asked.
He pointed at the screen.
“Go back.””
I replayed the final seconds.
The parking garage.
My mother and Daniel.
Dad leaned closer.
“Pause.””
I paused.
“What?””
He pointed at the reflection in the car window.
Someone else was there.
A person standing behind Daniel.
A person I recognized.
My breath disappeared.
Because it wasn’t my mother.
It wasn’t my father.
It wasn’t Sophie.
May you like
It was me.
Except the date on the video was from six months earlier.
