I answered.
“Harper?”
For several seconds, I heard only breathing.
Then she said, “Don't tell Mom.”
“Where are you?”
“I can't say.”
“Are you safe?”
A pause.
“No.”
Chloe moved closer.
I put the call on speaker.
“What happened?”
Harper whispered, “Lucas knows I have the original.”
“The original what?”
“The photograph.”
I looked at Chloe.
“What photograph?”
“The one from the hospital.”
My stomach tightened.
“Where is it?”
“With me.”
“Why?”
“Because I stole it.”
Chloe closed her eyes.
Harper continued.
“I stole the laptop too.”
Madison was right.
But there was something else in her voice.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Why did you steal them?”
“I thought I could use them.”
“For what?”
“To make Mom stop.”
I frowned.
“Stop what?”
“Punishing Chloe.”
Chloe looked at me.
Harper's voice cracked.
“Mom hated her.”
“I know.”
“No. You don't.”
Silence.
“Mom believed Chloe was responsible for everything changing.”
“What does that mean?”
“She blamed Elaine.”
“For what?”
“For making Dad different.”
I didn't understand.
Harper continued.
“When Elaine got sick, Dad started helping her. He paid bills. He drove her to appointments. He protected her.”
“That doesn't explain Chloe.”
“Mom thought Elaine was manipulating him.”
Chloe whispered, “She wasn't.”
“I know that now.”
“Then why did you help Mom?”
Harper started crying.
“Because I was stupid.”
Nobody spoke.
“I thought Mom wanted me to get information so she could prove Elaine was lying.”
“And Evan?”
“He came later.”
“Did you steal money?”
“Yes.”
Chloe looked shocked.
“How much?”
“I don't know.”
“Harper.”
“More than eighty thousand.”
My stomach dropped.
“Where did it go?”
“Lucas took most of it.”
I stared at the hospital floor.
“So you knew.”
“I knew some.”
“And the photographs?”
“I took them because Mom told me they were evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“That Elaine was trying to make Dad leave our family.”
Chloe's face hardened.
“She was dying.”
“I know.”
“You knew she was dying.”
“Yes.”
“And you still helped?”
Harper sobbed.
“I thought I was protecting Mom.”
There was a long silence.
Then I asked the question that mattered most.
“Who threatened Elaine?”
Harper stopped crying.
“Mom.”
Chloe looked at me.
Harper whispered:
“She told Elaine to disappear.”
“When?”
“The night she came to our house.”
I remembered Dad's confession.
“But Dad said he didn't know.”
“He found out later.”
“What did Mom threaten her with?”
“I don't know.”
“Harper.”
“I heard them arguing.”
“Where?”
“In the hallway.”
“What did Mom say?”
Harper's breathing became uneven.
“She said if Elaine told anyone about the account, she would make sure Daniel never knew his mother was the reason his life fell apart.”
I stared at Chloe.
“What does that mean?”
“I don't know.”
Harper continued.
“Then Elaine said she wasn't afraid anymore.”
“What happened after?”
“Mom slapped her.”
Chloe covered her mouth.
“I saw it.”
“Why didn't you tell anyone?”
“Because Mom looked at me and said if I talked, Dad would go to prison.”
I froze.
“Why would Dad go to prison?”
“Because Mom said the missing money was his fault.”
That was the lie.
The lie that had kept everyone silent.
I asked Harper where she was.
She refused.
Instead, she said:
“You need to find Evan.”
“Why?”
“He has the account.”
“What account?”
“The original account Elaine was investigating.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“I swear I don't.”
Then her voice dropped.
“But I know who does.”
“Who?”
Harper said one name.
“Mom.”
The call ended.
I immediately tried calling back.
The number was disconnected.
Chloe looked at me.
“We need to go home.”
“No.”
“To your parents' house.”
“No.”
“To Mom.”
I shook my head.
“She'll know we're coming.”
“Exactly.”
We left the hospital.
Dad insisted he was well enough to come with us.
I wanted him to stay.
He refused.
“She has lied to you for years,” he said. “You deserve to hear her admit it.”
We returned to the house just before dawn.
Mom was sitting at the kitchen table.
She looked at Dad.
Then me.
Then Chloe.
Her expression told me she already knew.
“You found Harper.”
I stopped.
“How did you know?”
Mom smiled sadly.
“Because she always runs to you when she's frightened.”
Dad stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Mom looked at him.
“You kept the recordings.”
“Yes.”
“You betrayed me.”
Dad's voice broke.
“You betrayed all of us.”
Mom's eyes moved to Chloe.
“I never wanted you hurt.”
Chloe answered quietly.
“But you hurt me anyway.”
Mom lowered her head.
“I know.”
I placed the hospital photograph on the table.
Then the financial records.
Then the two recordings.
Finally, I put Elaine's letter in front of her.
“Tell us the truth.”
Mom looked at the papers.
“You don't understand what will happen.”
“I don't care.”
“You will lose your family.”
I shook my head.
“We already did.”
She closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, something had changed.
“I did threaten Elaine.”
Chloe's breath caught.
“But I never stole the money.”
“You covered it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Harper was involved.”
“You knew?”
“I knew she was helping Evan.”
“And Lucas?”
Mom nodded.
“Lucas manipulated her.”
“Why didn't you tell Dad?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Lucas?”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“Of losing you.”
I stared at her.
“That doesn't justify anything.”
“I know.”
“Why did you have the photographs?”
“Elaine gave them to me.”
“Why?”
“Because she believed I would protect Chloe.”
Chloe looked stunned.
“Then why did you use them against me?”
Mom began crying.
“Because Lucas forced me.”
The room went silent.
“He had proof of the money transfers. He threatened to expose Harper.”
“So you obeyed him.”
“Yes.”
“And the Facebook post?”
“I didn't know Harper was going to publish it.”
“But she got the photograph from your files.”
Mom nodded.
“I gave it to her years ago.”
Chloe closed her eyes.
The truth had finally arrived.
It was ugly.
It was complicated.
And nobody stood cleanly on one side of it.
Then Dad said:
“There's one thing you haven't told him.”
Mom looked at him.
“What?”
“The real account.”
Her face went completely white.
I stared at her.
“What real account?”
She didn't answer.
Dad looked at me.
“The account Elaine was investigating wasn't Lucas's.”
I felt the room go cold.
“Whose was it?”
Mom whispered:
“Yours.”
I couldn't speak.
She continued.
“Your father opened it when you were born.”
“For what?”
“To protect your future.”
“Then why was money missing?”
Mom looked at Chloe.
“Because someone had been withdrawing from it for years.”
“Who?”
She swallowed.
“Harper.”
Chloe stared at her.
But Mom shook her head.
“Not alone.”
She looked toward the hallway.
And before she could say another word, the front door opened.
Lucas walked inside.
He wasn't carrying a weapon.
He wasn't angry.
He simply looked at all of us and said:
“You finally found the account.”
Then he closed the door behind him.
Click here to continue reading: PART 9: Lucas Walked Into the House With the Missing Account Number, and the Truth About My Future Had Been Hidden Since I Was Born
Five Days Before the Wedding, One Cruel Joke Turned a Family Celebration Into Something None of Us Could Take Back
Part 8 of 20
One Comment on “PART 8 – Harper Finally Called Me From an Unknown Number, and Her First Confession Made Me Question Whether She Had Been the Villain at All”