PART 3

The cabin door exploded open.

Sarah froze.

Henry immediately stepped in front of her, ready for whatever was coming.

But the person standing there wasn’t one of Richard Vale’s men.

It was a woman.

A woman with the same eyes.

The same smile.

The same small mark beneath her eyebrow.

Sarah couldn’t breathe.

“Lila…”

The woman’s expression changed.

“You know my name?”

Sarah stared at her.

Twenty-five years of questions.

Twenty-five years of missing pieces.

All standing in front of her.

“You’re my sister.”

Lila looked away.

“I always wondered if I’d ever meet you.”

Sarah felt anger rise through the shock.

“Why didn’t Mom tell me?”

Lila swallowed hard.

“Because she was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?”

“Of what would happen if people knew I was alive.”

Sarah shook her head.

“My whole life was a lie.”

“No,” Lila whispered.

“Your mother was trying to save our lives.”

Before Sarah could respond, Henry spoke.

“There is something else you need to know.”

Sarah looked at him.

“What?”

“Lila wasn’t the only one your mother protected.”

He pulled out another envelope.

Sarah opened it slowly.

Inside were photographs.

Matt.

With Lila.

Together.

Laughing.

Her knees almost gave out.

“Matt knew…”

Lila nodded.

“He found me three years ago.”

Sarah covered her mouth.

“He never told me.”

“He wanted to.”

A tear fell from Lila’s eyes.

“But your brother said you had already lost your parents. He couldn’t take away the only normal life you had left.”

Sarah remembered all the times Matt disappeared.

All the strange phone calls.

All the excuses.

She thought he was hiding something bad.

But he had been protecting their family.

“He visited me every month,” Lila said.

“He told me about you.”

Sarah whispered:

“He loved you.”

Lila smiled sadly.

“He loved both of us.”

Then she handed Sarah a small envelope.

“Before the accident, he gave me this.”

Sarah recognized the handwriting immediately.

Matt.

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

Sarah,

If you’re reading this, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth myself.

I spent my whole life watching you protect me. This time, I wanted to protect you.

Lila is our sister. She isn’t a danger. The danger is the people who want to control her.

Sarah couldn’t stop crying.

At the bottom of the letter was one final sentence:

Don’t let anyone convince you that family is something you have to hide.

Suddenly…

A car engine stopped outside.

Then another.

Henry looked through the window.

His face turned serious.

“They’re here.”

Sarah looked at Lila.

“Richard Vale?”

Lila nodded.

And for the first time…

Sarah saw something different in her sister’s eyes.

Not fear.

Determination.

“We stop running.”