A Game of Lies

Tricia sat at her desk, Maya's journal open in front of her, its words running circles in her mind. "I didn't run away. I was taken." The weight of those words pressed down on her, but one thought gnawed at her more than anything, if Maya had been in danger, if she had known something, then why had no one believed her? Why had no one looked deeper?

She had trusted the police, the investigators, even Maya's own family when they told her to move on. But now, with every passing hour, she was beginning to see the truth, someone had been manipulating her from the very beginning.

Her phone buzzed. A message from Daniel.

Daniel Carter. Her ex-boyfriend. The one person who had been by her side through the worst of it. He had comforted her when Maya disappeared, insisted she let it go when she started asking too many questions. "Maya had secrets," he had said. "Some people just leave."

But Maya hadn't just left. She had been afraid. She had been running from something. And Daniel, he had always been too quick to shut Tricia down whenever she got close to the truth.

She opened the message.

DANIEL: Tricia, we need to talk. It's important. Meet me at the café.

Tricia hesitated. Was he trying to help? Or was he trying to steer her away again?

Something about all of this felt wrong. The anonymous letter, the phone call warning her to stop, Maya's journal pointing her to something buried under the oak tree. And now, just when she was finally putting the pieces together, Daniel wanted to meet?

She grabbed her coat and stuffed the journal into her bag. She would meet him, but she wouldn't trust him. Not yet. Because now she knew she was playing a game. A game of lies. And she wasn't going to lose.

The Stranger in the Mirror

Tricia stepped into the café, her eyes scanning the crowd until they landed on Daniel. He sat in a corner booth, his hands wrapped around a mug of coffee, his posture tense. The moment he saw her, his expression shifted, relief mixed with something she couldn't quite place.

She slid into the seat across from him, her bag clutched tightly in her lap, the weight of Maya's journal pressing against her leg.

"You came," Daniel said, his voice low.

"You said it was important," she replied, her tone cautious. "So talk."

Daniel glanced around nervously before leaning closer. "Tricia, you need to stop digging into this. It's not safe."

Her jaw tightened. "Funny, that's exactly what the person on the phone said. Who's pulling your strings, Daniel?"

His eyes widened. "You got a call?"

She didn't answer, leaning back and crossing her arms. "What aren't you telling me?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "It's complicated."

"Then uncomplicate it."

Daniel hesitated, his gaze darting to the bag in her lap. "You've been looking into Maya's disappearance, haven't you? And now you've found something."

Tricia's heart raced. He knew. Somehow, he already knew about the journal. "What do you know about Maya, Daniel? And don't lie to me."

He hesitated for a moment too long. "Maya was… involved in things she shouldn't have been. She found something dangerous, and she tried to protect you by keeping you out of it."

Tricia's breath caught. "Protect me? From what?"

Daniel swallowed hard. "From the people who took her. The same people who are watching you now."

Her stomach churned. "And what do they want?"

Daniel's face darkened. "To keep their secrets buried. And you're getting too close."

Tricia pulled the journal from her bag and slapped it on the table. "Does this have anything to do with it? Because if it does, you're going to tell me everything right now."

Daniel's eyes widened at the sight of the journal. He reached for it, but Tricia snatched it back. "Not until you talk."

He leaned back, his expression grim. "Tricia, where do you think you come from?"

The question caught her off guard. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything," he said. "You've always wondered about your adoption, haven't you? Why it felt like your past was wiped clean?"

She froze, her mind flashing to the name she'd found in Maya's journal, Lana Hathaway.

Daniel saw the recognition in her eyes and sighed. "Maya figured it out. She found out who you really are."

Her chest tightened. "And who am I, Daniel?"

He hesitated, then spoke in a whisper. "You're not Tricia Davies. You're Lena Hathaway's daughter, the baby who disappeared twenty-three years ago."

The words hit her like a punch to the gut. She stared at him, her world spinning. "How do you know that?"

"I've known for a while," Daniel admitted, guilt flickering across his face. "The people who took you, they've been watching you ever since. They wanted to make sure you never found out the truth. That's why Maya disappeared. She got too close."

Tricia's hands trembled. Her life, her identity, her very existence, it was all a lie. And now she was standing on the edge of a dangerous truth.

She stood abruptly, clutching the journal. "If you're so afraid for me, why are you telling me this now?"

"Because," Daniel said, his voice heavy, "you're already in too deep. And once you start down this path, there's no going back."

Tricia stood and walked out of the café, her mind a whirlwind of questions. Who was she really? And what had Maya uncovered that was worth dying for?

The reflection in the window as she passed didn't feel like hers anymore. She was a stranger to herself, and the truth waiting for her was darker than she ever imagined.