His chuckle stalled. “What video?”
“The one Elena asked me to bring. It shows Lucy’s cheek and a whisper.”
He exhaled sharply. “Fine. I’ll send it. But you’ll regret this.”
When the screen flickered to life, the camera fo
cused on Lucy’s cheek, the birthmark stark against her skin. A soft voice, barely audible, whispered, “Mara.”
My heart hammered. The name hit like a flash of lightning—the name I’d written about in my mother’s journal, the name I thought was dead.
Section 6 – The Twist
Elena stared at the screen, her eyes widening. “That’s… that’s my sister’s name.”
“Mara,” I repeated, the word tasting like ash. My mind raced back to the night my mother vanished, the torn photograph, the promise she made to “protect the child at all costs.”
“Caleb, there’s a truth you never knew.” Elena’s voice trembled. “Mara was never dead. She disappeared to hide from the Brooks clan—dangerous people who would have killed Lucy if they learned she was blood.”
