My mother arrived at the lake house twenty minutes later.
She walked inside calmly.
Too calmly.
She looked at Daniel.
Then Ethan.
Then me.
“Mia,” she said.
I couldn't speak.
She sighed.
“I hoped you would never discover this.”
“You tried to kill Daniel.”
“No.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You sent someone to my wedding.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
She looked at Daniel.
“You were supposed to stay hidden.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You tried to have Mia married to Ethan.”
My mother nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel was no longer safe.”
I shook my head.
“You said Daniel disappeared.”
“He did.”
“You told me he was dead.”
“I needed everyone to believe it.”
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“Because someone was hunting you.”
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Your father.”
I stared at her.
“He's dead.”
“He isn't.”
The room went silent.
Daniel's face changed.
“What?”
My mother looked at him.
“Your father helped him fake his death.”
Daniel shook his head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does if you know what he was trying to hide.”
She opened her handbag.
Inside was a photograph.
An older man stood outside an airport.
My father.
Alive.
I felt the room spin.
“Where is he?”
“Somewhere in this city.”
My mother looked at Daniel.
“He has been watching Mia for years.”
Then she looked at Ethan.
“And that's why I needed you.”
Ethan frowned.
“Me?”
“You were the only person Daniel trusted who could protect her.”
“So the wedding…”
“Was never supposed to be a wedding.”
I looked at Ethan.
“You knew?”
He shook his head.
“Not everything.”
My mother sighed.
“Daniel asked Ethan to stand in his place if he disappeared.”
I remembered the note.
Trust Ethan.
Do not marry him because you love him.
Marry him because someone is trying to make you a widow.
I looked at Ethan.
“You were willing to marry a woman you barely knew?”
He smiled sadly.
“I knew you.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Daniel showed me your photographs.”
“That doesn't mean you knew me.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“But I knew how much he loved you.”
Daniel looked away.
There was something in his expression.
Something almost sad.
My mother suddenly looked toward the window.
“We have to leave.”
“Why?”
She pointed outside.
A black car had stopped on the road.
Two men stepped out.
Then another.
Daniel grabbed my hand.
“Run.”
But Ethan didn't move.
He looked at me.
“Stay with me.”
We ran through the back door.
Behind us, gunshots exploded through the house.
And as we reached the trees, I heard my mother scream.
Then everything went dark.