Chapter 12 - The House of Liars
Everyone in my home had a secret. One of them was a killer.
We returned just before dawn.
The penthouse was silent.
Too silent.
No guards.
No staff.
No lights.
I unlocked the front door.
Inside, everything looked normal.
That was the problem.
Nothing had been disturbed.
No broken glass.
No blood.
No signs of the attack.
Like the entire night had been erased.
Julian checked every room.
“Clear.”
I didn't believe him.
We reached the library.
The walnut desk was exactly where I'd left it.
Lily walked toward it.
She climbed into the chair.
Tapped the underside.
“Here.”
I looked underneath.
A hidden compartment.
Inside was a black notebook.
Not a ledger.
A diary.
Clara's diary.
Emma began to cry.
I opened it.
First page.
If my daughter is ever found, tell her the truth.
The next pages were filled with dates.
Names.
Locations.
Payments.
Then I found Marianne Bell.
My stomach turned.
Page after page described meetings between Marianne and my father.
Then one entry stopped me.
October 14.
Marianne told him the child must disappear.
Father agreed.
Clara refused.
Daniel helped her escape.
Then another.
October 16.
Clara died.
Lily survived.
Matteo knows nothing.
I kept reading.
November 1.
Julian found the child.
He refused to kill her.
November 3.
Lucian took Lily.
The diary ended there.
Emma covered her mouth.
“He saved her.”
I looked at Julian.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because every person who knew was hunted.”
“Clara was murdered.”
“Yes.”
“Daniel was murdered.”
“Yes.”
“My father manipulated me.”
“Yes.”
“Marianne is still alive.”
“Yes.”
I closed the diary.
“Then we're going to find her.”
A voice came from behind us.
“Too late.”
We turned.
Marianne stood in the doorway.
Holding a pistol.
She smiled.
Lily immediately hid behind me.
Marianne looked at her.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
I raised my weapon.
“Drop it.”
“You first.”
Julian moved.
Marianne fired.
The bullet struck his shoulder.
He fell.
Emma screamed.
I fired.
Marianne ducked behind the wall.
I chased her into the hallway.
She ran toward the elevator.
“Stop!”
She pressed the button.
Doors opened.
Before she could enter, I grabbed her.
We struggled.
She smiled in my face.
“You look just like your father.”
I slammed her against the wall.
“You killed Clara.”
“No.”
“You killed Daniel.”
“No.”
“You threatened Emma.”
“No.”
“Then what did you do?”
Marianne smiled.
“I taught your family how to lie.”
She headbutted me.
I staggered.
She slipped free.
The elevator doors began closing.
I reached inside.
She smiled through the narrowing gap.
Then she said something that stopped me.
“Ask Julian why the scar never healed.”
The doors closed.
I returned to the library.
Julian was bleeding.
Emma pressed a towel against his shoulder.
Lily sat beside him.
“Uncle Julian?”
He smiled weakly.
“I'm fine.”
I looked at the scar beneath his chin.
“Take off your shirt.”
Everyone stared.
“Now.”
Julian obeyed.
There was something beneath the scar.
A tiny metal plate.
I touched it.
He flinched.
“What is that?”
Julian looked at me.
“An implant.”
“Why?”
“So they can find me.”
“Who?”
He sighed.
“The people who owned me.”
I stared.
“You were never my bodyguard.”
“No.”
He met my eyes.
“I was their weapon.”
A sound came from the television.
It turned on by itself.
The screen showed Lily sleeping.
A camera feed.
From her bedroom.
Recorded thirty minutes earlier.
Someone had been inside.
And the timestamp showed the intruder leaving through my private office.
May you like
Before the screen went black, one message appeared.
HE KNOWS EVERYTHING NOW.
