Chapter 8 - The Call
My mother had been dead to me for years. Apparently, she hadn't been dead at all.
I answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then her voice.
Soft.
Calm.
“Sweetheart.”
Sarah started sobbing.
“Mom?”
My grip tightened around the steering wheel.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you let everyone believe you were gone?”
She gave a quiet laugh.
“Because your father asked me to.”
I felt anger rise.
“Don't blame him.”
“I’m not.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Another pause.
“You're finally old enough.”
I almost laughed.
“I'm twenty-nine.”
“You were twenty-four when I left.”
“You abandoned me.”
“I protected you.”
“By disappearing?”
“Yes.”
Sarah leaned forward.
“What is happening?”
Mom's voice softened.
“Sarah, listen to your cousin.”
My aunt was apparently not the only person lying to us.
I asked,
“Why is Victor here?”
“He isn't.”
I looked at the black SUV.
“Then who is?”
“No one.”
“Mom.”
“He wants you to think he's close.”
“Why?”
“Because fear makes people careless.”
I stared through the windshield.
“What did Dad hide?”
“The truth about Nexus.”
“I watched the recording.”
Her breathing changed.
“You found it.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know.”
“No. I know fragments.”
“You know enough to be in danger.”
I clenched my jaw.
“Tell me everything.”
She sighed.
“The company was designed as a vault.”
“For what?”
“For evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“Financial fraud. Political payments. Offshore transfers. Bribes.”
I went still.
“Nexus was created to expose them?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did Dad say Victor funded it?”
“Because he did.”
“Then why build a company that would eventually destroy him?”
“Because Victor trusted us.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“He believed your father was loyal.”
“He wasn't.”
“No.”
She whispered,
“He was terrified.”
Mom explained that Dad had used Victor's money to build Nexus, then secretly redirected the company's core assets into an independent structure.
The goal was to preserve evidence.
Not make money.
Not build a technology empire.
Preserve evidence.
I whispered,
“Then why did I inherit it?”
“Because your father knew you would understand what to do with it.”
“What was he planning?”
She went quiet.
Then she said,
“He planned to destroy Nexus.”
I felt like the air had vanished from the car.
“What?”
“But he died before he could.”
“Who killed him?”
Silence.
“Mom?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I saw him the night he died.”
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell the police?”
“Because Victor was watching.”
I looked toward the SUV.
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Then how are you calling?”
“Because someone finally gave me back my life.”
“Who?”
She didn't answer.
The line clicked.
My mother was gone.
I looked at Liam.
He hadn't said a word.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
He looked at me.
“It's the hospital.”
My heart dropped.
“Who?”
“Gary.”
Sarah gasped.
“What happened?”
Liam ended the call.
“He collapsed.”
We drove.
Twenty-three minutes later, Gary was in intensive care.
The doctors said it looked like a stress-induced cardiac event.
But one thing was strange.
He had arrived alone.
No ambulance had been called from the house.
A stranger had driven him to the hospital and left.
The nurse handed me his belongings.
Wallet.
Watch.
Phone.
And a folded piece of paper.
I opened it.
Four words.
Ask Liam about November.
I looked at him.
His face went blank.
Sarah whispered,
“What happened in November?”
He didn't answer.
And that was when I realized something terrifying.
Everyone had a November.
Dad.
Victor.
My mother.
May you like
Gary.
And now Liam.
