Chapter 1 - The Sentence That Changed EverythingThen Julian added the sentence that finally changed Dad's expression.
“You know Dad always said Serena was the only child he could trust.”
The room went silent.
Dad stared at the phone.
I stared at Dad.
For years, those words had been used against me.
Serena was responsible.
Serena was dependable.
Serena stayed.
I was the one who left.
But Dad had never said those things to me.
Not once.
And now, hearing Julian repeat them with such certainty, something about the entire conversation suddenly felt wrong.
Dad reached for the phone.
“Julian.”
Julian stopped laughing.
“Yes?”
“Who told you I said that?”
Silence.
“Dad, come on.”
“I asked you a question.”
“You've said it for years.”
“No.”
Dad's voice was quiet.
“I haven't.”
Julian didn't answer.
Serena came back onto the line.
“Dad, you're confused.”
“I am sitting at Clara's kitchen table.”
She went silent.
“I am wearing a navy robe.”
Another pause.
“And I'm eating bacon.”
Dad looked at my plate.
“Her bacon, unfortunately.”
I couldn't help smiling.
Serena whispered, “You're alive.”
“Very observant.”
“But Samuel said—”
“Samuel said what?”
“I…”
Dad stood.
The chair scraped against the floor.
“Serena, I want you to answer one question.”
“What?”
“Why did you tell my daughter I was dead?”
She began crying.
“I thought you were.”
“No.”
Dad's voice became colder.
“You wanted her to believe I was dead.”
Julian interrupted.
“This is ridiculous.”
Dad looked at the phone.
“Julian, do you know what happens when someone falsely reports a death?”
Julian went silent.
“People start investigating.”
Dad ended the call.
I stared at him.
“What are we doing?”
He looked toward the window.
“Going home.”
“You heard Serena. They're changing the locks.”
Dad smiled.
“Let them try.”
Twenty minutes later, we were driving toward his house.
The road was covered with thin sheets of ice.
Dad didn't speak.
He kept staring ahead.
Finally, he said, “Clara.”
“Yes?”
“If anything happens to me today, don't trust Serena.”
I tightened my hands around the steering wheel.
“Dad, don't say that.”
“I'm serious.”
“So am I. You're not going anywhere.”
He turned toward me.
“I hope you're right.”
When we reached his street, I saw three vehicles parked outside.
One belonged to Serena.
One belonged to Julian.
The third was unfamiliar.
Dad looked at it.
“That's not a family car.”
“No.”
He opened the door.
“Stay behind me.”
We entered through the front door.
The house was strangely quiet.
Then we heard voices from the study.
Serena.
Julian.
And a man we didn't recognize.
Dad walked into the room.
The stranger turned.
His face went white.
Serena dropped the folder in her hands.
Julian actually stumbled backward.
Dad looked at all three of them.
“Good morning.”
Nobody answered.
Then the stranger whispered:
“This is impossible.”
Dad smiled.
“No.”
He walked toward the desk.
“This is inconvenient.”
The man grabbed his briefcase.
Dad pointed at it.
“Leave it.”
The man stopped.
“Who are you?”
Dad looked at him.
“That depends.”
May you like
He picked up the document lying on the desk.
“Who are you pretending to be?”
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