PART 8: THE LAST PERSON THEY SUSPECTED
PART 8: THE LAST PERSON THEY SUSPECTED
The mansion erupted into chaos.
Someone screamed for help.
The police rushed inside.
Daniel grabbed Lily and pulled her away from the windows.
Marcus stayed frozen.
The old man lay on the floor.
Bleeding.
But still conscious.
And his final words kept repeating in Marcus’s mind.
The person you trust most.
Everyone looked at everyone.
Because after everything…
Trust had become dangerous.
The police secured the house.
The wounded old man was taken away by ambulance.
Before they carried him out, Marcus stepped closer.
“Who shot you?”
The old man looked at him.
His eyes were tired.
“You already know.”
Marcus frowned.
“No.”
The old man smiled weakly.
“Yes.”
“You just refuse to believe it.”
Then he lost consciousness.
And the ambulance doors closed.
Marcus stood outside.
Thinking.
Who?
Who could get close enough?
Who knew the location?
Who had access?
Then he looked back at the house.
At the people inside.
Daniel.
Sophie.
Lily.
Everyone he loved.
Everyone he was afraid to lose.
The police began questioning everyone.
One by one.
Daniel was first.
“I didn’t do it.”
The officer looked at him.
“You had the most reason.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“Maybe.”
“But I spent three years trying to keep my daughter alive.”
“And I just got her back.”
He looked toward Lily.
“I wouldn’t risk that.”
Sophie was next.
The officer asked:
“Where were you when the shot happened?”
Sophie answered immediately.
“With Marcus.”
The officer nodded.
Marcus confirmed it.
Then Maria.
Then the others.
But when they reached Marcus…
The room became quiet.
The officer looked at him.
“You said the old man chose you.”
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.”
“For the inheritance?”
“Yes.”
The officer’s expression changed.
“And now he is injured.”
Marcus understood.
The suspicion.
The timing.
Everything pointed at him.
“You think I shot him.”
The officer didn’t answer.
He didn’t have to.
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Because that was how this family worked.
Everyone believed the worst.
Until proven otherwise.
Then Sophie stepped forward.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
Sophie stood beside Marcus.
“He didn’t do it.”
The officer asked:
“How do you know?”
She looked at Marcus.
“Because he had a chance to take everything.”
A pause.
“And he never did.”
Marcus looked at her.
After all the secrets…
She still believed him.
The investigation continued.
Then a technician found something.
A hidden camera.
Not outside.
Inside the house.
Everyone froze.
The footage was played.
The room watched.
The old man entering.
The conversation.
The gunshot.
But the camera angle was strange.
It showed the shooter.
A person wearing black.
Face hidden.
Walking through the house.
Then…
The person removed the mask.
Everyone gasped.
Because the face appeared clearly.
Sophie.
Marcus turned.
“No.”
Sophie went pale.
“That’s not me.”
But the video showed her.
Her face.
Her clothes.
Everything.
Daniel stared.
“Sophie…”
She shook her head.
“I didn’t do this.”
Marcus looked at the screen.
Confused.
Because he believed her.
But the evidence was there.
The police officer stepped closer.
“Sophie, we need you to come with us.”
“No!”
Daniel stepped forward.
“She wouldn’t.”
The officer looked at him.
“You don’t know that.”
And that sentence hurt.
Because nobody knew anything anymore.
Sophie was taken away for questioning.
Marcus stayed behind.
Lily sat beside him.
Quiet.
Scared.
“Is Aunt Sophie bad?”
The question broke him.
Marcus looked at the little girl.
“No.”
“People can make mistakes.”
“But I don’t think she did this.”
Lily looked down.
Then whispered:
“She didn’t.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
The little girl looked up.
“She wasn’t there.”
Marcus stared.
“Lily, did you see something?”
The child nodded.
“Someone came before the noise.”
“Who?”
Lily’s hands started shaking.
“The person from before.”
Marcus felt cold.
“What person?”
The little girl whispered:
“The person who told Grandma where I was.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Who?”
Lily looked toward the hallway.
And said:
“Mommy.”
The world stopped.
Marcus felt his heart drop.
“Your mother?”
Lily nodded.
“She came to my room.”
“She said I had to be quiet.”
Daniel, standing nearby, heard.
His face turned white.
“My daughter’s mother is alive?”
Nobody answered.
Because they all knew.
There was one more impossible secret.
One more person who had been erased.
Then Marcus’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
He answered.
A woman’s voice came through.
Soft.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Marcus.”
His blood froze.
Because he knew that voice.
He had heard it before.
In old family videos.
In Daniel’s stories.
In Lily’s dreams.
The woman whispered:
“Thank you for protecting my daughter.”
Marcus couldn’t speak.
The woman continued:
“But now…”
“I need her back.”
The call ended.
Marcus looked at Daniel.
May you like
And said the words nobody wanted to hear.
“Lily’s mother is alive.”
