Three Tracker Alerts Led Me To Uncover My Whole Family’s Secret Betrayal Chapter 04

Three Tracker Alerts Led Me To Uncover My Whole Family’s Secret Betrayal Chapter 04

I laughed. The smile stretched my lips, but it felt more like a sob.

“That’s harsh? I haven’t even said the worst of it yet.”

I kept pointing at Piper, my teeth grinding together.

“I sponsored her for three years. I brought her out of that dead-end town the day she graduated high school. I introduced her to my family, my friends, my boyfriend.”

“And what does she do? She goes and—”

The slap cut off everything I hadn’t said.

My head whipped to the side. The sting crawled up my cheek and into my ear.

The whole world went silent.

I turned slowly.

My father’s face was flushed. His hand was still raised.

He was breathing hard.

And I remembered the time I fell off my bike as a kid—he cried, holding me.

I dropped my eyes. His hand was shaking too, but his voice was ice.

“Mara, open your eyes. Chase and Piper are in love. The only reason they’ve kept it from you is because of your condition. They’re being kind.”

I looked at Chase.

I wanted to hear it from him.

But all I saw was him cradling Piper, covering her ears with gentle hands.

My brother Trent sighed.

“Sis, just stop. Chase will still treat you the same—for your own good.”

Sasha stepped toward me, her tone softer.

“Mara, just pretend you didn’t see any of this. Let me take you home, okay?”

Their words hit me one after another—weightless, but they smashed my heart to pulp.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

That voice crept back into my head.

My eyes landed on the knife on the table.

The same one they’d just used to cut Chase and Piper’s wedding cake.

I grabbed it.

The blade pointed at Piper.

Everyone’s faces changed again.

This time, it was fear.

“Mara—put the knife down! What are you doing?”

Before I could react, something slammed into my arm.

The pain was blinding.

I hit the floor. My wrist bent at an angle it wasn’t supposed to.

Sasha’s voice went shrill. “Mara’s getting worse! She pointed a knife at Piper. She’s not just a danger to herself anymore—she’s a danger to other people!”

She yanked me backward by my collar.

My wrist scraped across the concrete. Cold sweat broke out all over me.

Chase’s voice dropped to ice.

“Tie her up. Before she has another episode.”

He used to never call it an “episode.” He used to say it was his fault—that he’d made me feel unsafe.

Now he looked at me the same way you’d look at a stranger in a hospital gown.

Trent came over to help Sasha hold me down.

Rough nylon zip ties bit into my wrists, loop after loop.

I thrashed, my eyes burning red.

Sasha ran inside and came back with a bowl of ice water—she threw it in my face.

“Mara, snap out of it! Be rational!”

The wind cut through my soaked clothes. I shivered.

Piper walked toward me with a blanket, her face full of pity.

I stared at her blankly.

I saw her lips curl.

I saw her foot twist, and she fell.

Screaming. Cursing. Chaos.

Someone shoved me hard.

The chair tipped. My forehead cracked against a jagged stone in the yard.

Warm liquid dripped into my eyes.

The last thing I saw—them carrying Piper out of the yard.

No one noticed the chair had knocked over the candle.

The flame caught the tablecloth.

And the spilled wine turned it into a river of fire.

Two hours later, they came back from the hospital.

The moment they stepped out of the car, they saw the sky lit up—black smoke rolling, flames climbing high.

A security guard ran toward them, breathless.

“The townhouse you rented—number 6—it caught fire! You need to go see!”

Then they remembered Mara. Tied up in that yard.

Every face went white.