Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT MY SISTER CAME BACK
Lauren appeared at my house at 11:43 p.m.
I knew the exact time because I had just finished checking the doors before going to bed.
The doorbell rang.
Once.
Then three more times.
I looked through the security camera.
My sister stood outside in a rain-soaked coat.
Her hair was tangled.
Her mascara had smeared.
She looked nothing like the woman who had stood beside Ryan at the altar.
I spoke through the camera.
"What do you want?"
She looked up.
"Annie, please."
I didn't unlock the door.
"It's late."
"I know."
"Then go home."
Her face crumpled.
"I can't."
I hesitated.
"What happened?"
She looked toward the street.
"Ryan found out I talked to Mom."
My stomach tightened.
"About what?"
"The clinic."
I closed my eyes.
"Lauren, I'm not doing this tonight."
She stepped closer.
"Annie, he has the original."
I froze.
"What original?"
She wiped her face.
"The document."
My heart began pounding.
"Where?"
"He keeps it in his office."
"Why are you telling me?"
She began crying.
"Because I think he's going to blame everything on me."
I stared at the camera.
"You helped him."
"I know."
"You lied about me."
"I know."
"You told my daughter I didn't want my baby."
Her face twisted.
"I know."
For the first time, she didn't offer an excuse.
She just cried.
I leaned against the door.
"What do you want, Lauren?"
"I want you to listen."
I looked toward the hallway.
The children were asleep.
I didn't want another confrontation in front of them.
"Tell me from there."
Lauren shook her head.
"Not on the camera."
I studied her expression.
She looked frightened.
But I had learned that fear didn't automatically make someone truthful.
"Then call my attorney tomorrow."
"Annie—"
"Goodnight."
I stepped away.
Then she shouted through the door.
"He was seeing someone else before he started seeing me!"
I stopped.
Her words hung in the silence.
I returned to the camera.
"What?"
Lauren stared directly into the lens.
"Ryan."
She swallowed.
"I wasn't the first."
For a moment, I felt the familiar pain of betrayal.
Then something different.
A cold, distant curiosity.
"Who?"
Lauren shook her head.
"I don't know her real name."
"Then how do you know?"
"Because I found messages."
"When?"
"After the wedding."
I frowned.
"He still talks to her?"
Lauren nodded.
"I think so."
I stared at her.
"What does that have to do with my medical records?"
Her face drained of color.
"Because she knew about the report."
I gripped the doorframe.
"What report?"
"The one Ryan showed us."
Lauren's voice shook.
"He told me she helped him get it."
I felt cold.
"Who is she?"
Lauren looked over her shoulder again.
Then whispered a name.
"Victoria."
The name meant nothing to me.
Not yet.
Lauren stepped closer.
"Annie, I think Ryan was using both of us."
May you like
I stared at my younger sister through the camera.
And for the first time, I wondered whether our family's betrayal had been only one part of a much larger deception.
