Chapter 3: The Truth They Tried to Bury
The room felt suddenly smaller.
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
My mother’s eyes filled with something between guilt and fear.
“The night Hannah died… Carol was there before the police arrived,” she said. “She saw things she didn’t understand.”
My mind raced back to that night—the rain, the sirens, the chaos.
“Hannah slipped,” I said firmly. “It was an accident.”
“That’s what we all agreed to say,” my father replied.
Agreed.
The word echoed in my head.
“You’re telling me there’s more to the story?”
Neither of them answered immediately.
Finally, my mother spoke.
“Hannah had been arguing with Carol earlier that evening. It got heated. Carol accused her of… things that weren’t true.”
“Like what?”
“She said Hannah was planning to leave. That she wasn’t fit to raise Millie.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“That’s not true,” I said.
“I know,” my mother said quickly. “But Carol never let it go. When Hannah fell… Carol believed it wasn’t an accident. She thought there was more to it. And when Millie started reminding her of Hannah…”
I looked down at my daughter, who was quietly holding onto my shirt.
May you like
“She’s been taking it out on her,” I whispered.
No one denied it.
