I stared at the message.
Now find out who your mother killed.
My hands began to shake.
I looked at my mother.
She was crying silently.
"Mom?"
She didn't answer.
"Did you kill someone?"
She closed her eyes.
My heart sank.
"Tell me the truth."
My father stepped forward.
"Leave her alone."
I turned toward him.
"No. Everyone has protected her long enough."
My mother finally looked at me.
"I didn't want you to know."
"That's what everyone says."
My voice cracked.
"But I'm tired of secrets."
She wiped her tears.
"Ten years ago, after the fire, I went back into the warehouse."
"Why?"
"To find Lily."
I remembered what she had told me.
"You found her?"
She nodded.
"She was alive."
My breathing stopped.
"But there was someone else."
"Who?"
My mother looked at my father.
"A man was coming toward the baby."
My uncle suddenly spoke.
"Who?"
My mother whispered,
"Richard."
Adrian froze.
"My father?"
She nodded.
"He wanted to take Lily."
"Why?"
"Because she was his daughter."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Then what happened?"
My mother began trembling.
"I tried to stop him."
"How?"
"I had a gun."
The room became silent.
"I warned him to stay away from the baby."
My mother's voice broke.
"He wouldn't listen."
"And you shot him?"
She shook her head.
"No."
I exhaled.
Then she continued.
"I fired into the ceiling."
Everyone stared at her.
"Richard turned around and ran."
"Then who did you kill?"
My mother looked at me.
"I didn't."
My heart pounded.
"Then why would someone say you did?"
She shook her head.
"Because someone else died that night."
"Who?"
My uncle suddenly looked terrified.
"Samuel."
Daniel turned toward him.
"What?"
My uncle stared at my mother.
"You knew?"
She nodded.
"I found Samuel after the fire."
"Was he dead?"
"No."
My heart raced.
"He was badly injured. I tried to save him."
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"Then how did he survive?"
My mother looked at him.
"Someone came."
"Who?"
She hesitated.
"Victor."
Silence.
My mother continued.
"He took Samuel away."
I looked at Adrian.
"So Victor lied."
"Yes."
"Why?"
My mother shook her head.
"I don't know."
Then my father spoke.
"I do."
Everyone turned.
He looked exhausted.
"Victor was working for your uncle."
My uncle immediately shouted, "That's a lie!"
My father stared at him.
"No."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out an old photograph.
"This was taken the night of the fire."
He handed it to me.
I looked at it.
My uncle was standing beside Victor.
Both were outside the warehouse.
And between them was a large metal container.
I looked up.
"What is that?"
My father answered:
"The money."
My heart stopped.
The fortune.
The fire.
The missing child.
The betrayal.
Everything had been connected from the beginning.
Then my phone vibrated.
Another message.
You're getting close.
I stared at the screen.
Then another appeared.
But you still don't know why Adrian was chosen to die.
I looked at Adrian.
His face had gone pale.
"What does that mean?" I whispered.
He didn't answer.
Because apparently…
even Adrian had been keeping a secret from me.