Chapter 03: The Masks We Wear
The air felt dense, as though it was alive with the weight of the secrets that hung in the room. Emily sat across from Rebecca Callahan, her mind whirling as the woman’s words echoed in her ears. Powerful people. People who wanted the truth buried. She could see the fear in Rebecca’s eyes, the deep, gnawing terror of a mother who had already lost her daughter and now feared losing something much worse—her own life.
The room was quiet for a long moment, save for the occasional creak of the old house settling. The faint sound of the wind rustling through the trees outside added an eerie undertone to the heavy silence that enveloped them. Rebecca’s hands were still clenched tightly in her lap, her knuckles white. She stared at the floor, as though trying to summon the courage to speak, to share more of the truth Emily so desperately needed.
Emily wasn’t about to push too hard—not yet. She needed Rebecca to trust her, to believe that she wasn’t here for the story but for the truth. That, in the end, was what mattered. The truth. No matter how dark it might be.
After a long, taut silence, Rebecca finally spoke, her voice low and steady, though it trembled with underlying fear.
“You think Grace’s case was just another missing person’s file? Another cold case?” she asked, her eyes flicking up to meet Emily’s.
Emily nodded slowly. “I thought it was. But now… I’m starting to think it was something else. Something much bigger.”
Rebecca inhaled deeply, her breath shaky. “Grace was involved with someone. Someone she shouldn’t have been.”
The revelation struck Emily like a punch to the gut. She had been expecting a lot of things, but not this.
“Who?” Emily asked, her voice steady despite the sudden rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins. “Who was she involved with?”
Rebecca’s lips tightened, and she looked away for a moment, as though struggling with a memory she wasn’t sure she wanted to relive. “A man named Robert Pierce. He was a politician. Big shot in the city. I… I didn’t know at first. I thought she was just seeing a boy her age. But as time went on, I realized it was more than that.”
Emily felt a jolt of recognition at the name. Robert Pierce. She had read about him in passing, a rising star in the city’s political scene. Charismatic, influential, and known for his philanthropic efforts—at least, that’s how the media painted him. But behind every well-polished image, there was always something lurking in the shadows.
“How did you find out?” Emily asked, her curiosity piqued. This was the first real lead—this could be the key to unlocking everything.
Rebecca’s hands trembled as she reached for the glass of water on the coffee table, her fingers brushing against the rim before she took a long sip. “I started noticing things. Small things. Grace would come home late, look over her shoulder when she thought no one was watching. She started being careful about what she said, who she talked to. I tried to ask her, but she brushed me off. She didn’t want me to know, but she was scared, I could tell.”
The silence between them deepened as the weight of the words settled in. Emily could see it now—Grace had been entangled in something dangerous, something she hadn’t fully understood. And now, six years later, it seemed that those same forces were determined to keep the truth buried.
Rebecca’s voice faltered as she continued, her eyes distant, as though lost in the memories. “I don’t know how far it went, but Grace was afraid. She didn’t want to talk about it, but I could see the fear in her eyes. Robert Pierce wasn’t just a politician. He was involved in things—things I didn’t understand. And when she tried to pull away from him…” She trailed off, her gaze fixed on a point in the distance, a haunted look clouding her face. “That’s when everything started going wrong.”
Emily leaned forward, sensing the gravity of what Rebecca was saying. “What do you mean? What happened when she tried to pull away?”
Rebecca’s expression hardened, her face contorting with a mix of anger and sorrow. “She started receiving threats. Strange phone calls. Someone had been watching her. I’m not sure who, but it wasn’t just Robert. There were others. Powerful people. People who were tied to him. And when Grace tried to tell the police, they dismissed it. Said she was paranoid, that it was nothing.”
Emily felt her stomach churn. The dots were connecting now, each one revealing a darker, more insidious picture. Powerful people, untouchable people, had been involved. And they had used the system, the very people who were supposed to protect Grace, to silence her.
“Did she say anything else?” Emily pressed. “Anything specific that might help me figure out what happened to her?”
Rebecca’s hands gripped the edge of the couch, her eyes filled with desperation. “She told me she had evidence. Something—something that could take down Robert Pierce and the people who were protecting him. She said she was going to the police with it, but I never got to see it. I never knew what it was. She told me to be careful, to stay away from it, that if anything happened to her, I needed to protect myself. I thought she was just scared, but now…” She trailed off, her eyes welling with tears. “Now, I’m afraid she knew something was coming.”
The finality in her voice hit Emily like a ton of bricks. Grace had known. She had been preparing for something terrible to happen. And whatever it was, it had come to pass. Emily could feel the pieces of the puzzle falling into place, each new revelation adding a layer of depth to the mystery. The political connections, the corruption, the powerful people trying to silence her—it was all part of something much bigger.
“I’m going to find out what happened to her,” Emily said, her voice resolute. “And I’m going to make sure the people responsible pay for what they did.”
Rebecca’s gaze softened, a fleeting glimmer of hope in her tired eyes. “Be careful, Emily. The more you dig, the more dangerous it becomes. These people… they’ll stop at nothing to protect themselves.”
Emily nodded, but the determination in her heart burned brighter than ever. She had already come too far to turn back now. The darkness that had claimed Grace’s life was the same darkness threatening to swallow everything Emily held dear. But she wasn’t afraid of the shadows. She was going to drag them into the light, no matter the cost.
As she left the Callahan house, the weight of Rebecca’s words pressed heavily on her chest. She knew that the path ahead would be fraught with danger, but she also knew one thing for certain: she couldn’t let Grace’s story be forgotten. Not now, not ever.
