Chapter 12
I never understood why, in the final moments before she died, my sister looked straight at my mom.
What was behind that look? What truth was I missing?
Now, I finally get it.N
It was disappointment. But also… a kind of redemption.
With everyone watching, their eyes full of confusion and tension, I continued speaking slowly.
“That note in my sister’s hand… it was written by my dad. His handwriting and mine are already pretty similar, so copying it perfectly wasn’t hard. And as for why my mom showed up on the livestream pretending to be the killer, she wasn’t trying to protect me. She was trying to protect my dad. Just like he once killed for her.”
If it weren’t for how often I’d catch my mom staring at my dad’s photo over the years… If it weren’t for that one day when I happened to flip that photo over and read the message he left behind… I might never have realized the truth had been right in front of me this whole time.
After my sister died, that final look she gave our mom stayed with me.}]
It haunted me and made me start questioning things.
One day, while my mom was at work, I searched her room.
That was when I found my dad’s photo with a single sentence written on the back.”
[I’ll make them pay for what they did to you.]
Back then, I didn’t understand what it meant.
But now, sitting in that holding cell, replaying everything that had happened, I finally pieced it all together.}]
Just as I finished speaking, my dad walked in.
His eyes were red as he stepped up to me and said, in a heavy voice, “Genevieve, I’m sorry. We failed your sister.“}
It was the first time I’d ever seen my dad in person.
The man from the photo was now finally standing in front of me, not to explain, not to justify, but to apologize for my sister’s death.” Something twisted inside my chest. It hurt more than I expected.}]
My mom, who’d stayed silent all this time, suddenly broke down.
Tears filled her eyes in an instant.M
“What are you doing here?! Do you want to get yourself killed?!”
Her voice cracked, thick with panic. Her hands shook as she tried to push him away, like somehow that would save him.”
ime
But my dad didn’t budge. He pulled her into his arms and choked out, “It’s time to face the truth. All of this needs to end. And getting to
do all this for you made me happy. Before it’s over, I just wanted to hold you one last time.”
At that, my mom completely broke down in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.
They held each other for a long, long time, crying together.}
It was a hug that had been held back for eighteen years.
And in the end, it became their final goodbye.
D
