Chapter 83 A Big Revelation

Chapter 83 A Big Revelation
Anna’s POV

The car lurched to an abrupt stop.
The sudden silence after the engine cut felt deafening, like the world had inhaled and forgotten how to breathe. My body pitched forward slightly, the seatbelt biting into my shoulder. Courtney let out a small gasp beside me.
“Liam—” I started.
He was already out of the car.

The driver’s door slammed shut with a sharp crack that echoed down the empty road. Gravel crunched under his shoes as he paced back and forth in front of the hood, dragging his hands through his hair, muttering to himself. His movements were frantic, jerky, like his skin no longer fit right.
My heart hammered so hard it felt like it was trying to escape my ribs.
“Court,” I whispered, keeping my voice low. “Stay close.”
She nodded, her face pale but determined.
Liam suddenly spun around and yanked open the back door.
“Get out,” he said breathlessly. “Both of you. Now.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?” Courtney said. “Liam, what are you doing?”
“I said get out,” he repeated, louder this time, his eyes wild. “I can’t—this is already—just get out of the car.”
I moved first, stepping out slowly, deliberately placing myself between him and Courtney the moment my feet hit the gravel. The air was cold and damp, the smell of pine thick around us. Trees hemmed us in on both sides, tall and skeletal, blocking out whatever road we’d just left.
“Okay,” I said carefully, holding my hands out in a calming gesture. “We’re out. We’re not going anywhere.”
Courtney shuffled behind me, one hand clutching the sleeve of my jacket.
Liam continued pacing, words tumbling out of him now in a disjointed rush.
“I didn’t want this,” he said, shaking his head. “I swear I didn’t. This was never supposed to go like this. I was just supposed to drive. That’s it. Just drive you around for a bit.”
“Liam,” I said softly, “who told you to?”
He let out a broken laugh. “You already know who.”
My phone buzzed weakly in my hand—one bar, then none. I tried anyway, thumbs flying over the screen.
Marcus. Damian. Peter.
Anyone.

Each call dropped almost instantly. Messages failed to send. Bleak, mocking No Service glared back at me.
Behind me, Courtney whispered, “Nothing’s going through.”
“I know,” I murmured, not taking my eyes off Liam.
He kept talking, voice rising and falling, spiraling faster the longer he went.
“Ramsey cornered me,” he said. “You don’t say no to him. Not when your dad’s business is tied up with his. Not when he reminds you how easy it would be to ruin everything.”
“That doesn’t mean you kidnap people,” Courtney snapped, fear sharpening her words.
“I didn’t kidnap you!” Liam shot back. “I didn’t touch you. I didn’t hurt you. I just—did what I was told.”
My jaw tightened. “And what exactly were you told to do?”
“Keep you busy,” he said, rubbing his face with both hands. “Distract you. Make sure you weren’t where you were supposed to be.”
“Why?” I demanded.
He hesitated.
“Because of Marcus,” he said quietly.
My chest constricted painfully.
“Ramsey hates him,” Liam continued, his voice trembling now. “Always has. Ever since—” He cut himself off, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” I said firmly.
He laughed again, a hollow, almost hysterical sound. “Of course it does. Everything always comes back to him, doesn’t it?”

I took a careful step forward. “Liam, listen to me. Whatever Ramsey promised you, whatever he threatened—this isn’t going to end the way you think it will.”
“You don’t know that,” he said sharply. “You don’t know him.”
“I know enough,” I replied. “And I know Marcus. He will not let this go.”
That made him flinch.
“He didn’t mean for you to get scared,” Liam said suddenly, words spilling out faster. “Ramsey, I mean. He just wanted leverage. He always wants leverage.”
Courtney’s grip tightened on my jacket. “Anna…”
I felt it too—that cold prickle crawling up my spine.
“Leverage for what?” I asked.
Liam opened his mouth, then closed it again, eyes darting to the trees like they might be listening.
“He thinks the past still has power,” he said slowly. “He thinks if he digs deep enough, he can break Marcus.”
My heart pounded. “The past how?”
Liam swallowed hard. “Like Lake Fenway,” he said.

The name sliced through me. Camp at Lake Fenway.
Marcus and I hadn't spoken about Lake Fenway or his mom in a while. The last time she was mentioned was when his father asked me to meet him at the hospital.
My breath caught. “What did you say?”
Liam froze. His pacing stopped abruptly, like someone had pulled a plug. He looked at me then—really looked at me—and something in his expression shifted. Fear, yes. But also something darker. Guilt. Recognition.
“You know about the camp,” he said quietly.
I forced myself to stay calm. “I know it. I went there as a kid.”
Courtney tightened her grip on my sleeve.

Liam’s lips twitched into a strange, unsettling smile. It didn’t reach his eyes.
“I was there,” he said.
The words barely registered at first.
“There?” I echoed. “There how?”
He tilted his head, that ghost of a smile still on his face. “I was there the night Marcus’s mom died.”
The forest seemed to close in around us.
My heart slammed so hard it made me dizzy. “That’s not funny,” I said, my voice trembling despite my effort to keep it steady.
“I’m not joking,” he replied softly.
Courtney stepped forward despite my instinct to shield her. “You expect us to believe that?”
Liam let out a shaky breath. “I don’t care what you believe.”
“Then why tell us?” I demanded.
“Because Ramsey won’t shut up about it,” he said, voice cracking. “Because he keeps reminding me. Because he says the truth always comes back around.”

My mind raced, piecing together fragments—Ramsey’s obsession with Marcus, the way he spoke about the past like it was unfinished business.
“What do you mean you were there?” I asked carefully. “As a camper?”
“A camper,” he said. “Same age as Marcus. Different cabin.”
My hands curled into fists. “And you never said anything?”
“I was a kid,” he snapped. “So was Marcus. So was everyone. We were told it was an accident. We were told not to talk about it.”
“Who told you?” Courtney pressed.
Liam hesitated.
“Ramsey,” he said.
The name hung heavy between us.
“He was already powerful then,” Liam continued, voice low. “Already pulling strings. He was involved with the camp. Sponsors. Funding. My dad worked with him. Still does.”

My stomach churned. “What happened that night?”
Liam’s breathing quickened. “There was yelling. I heard it from across the lake. Then—sirens. Adults talking. I saw them pull you out of the water and then Marcus's mother.”
“You saw all that?” I whispered.
“But Ramsey said some stories are safer if they stay simple,” Liam said. “And that people who complicate them get hurt.”
Courtney looked at me, eyes wide with horror.
“You’re saying he covered something up,” she said.
“I’m saying,” Liam replied, voice breaking, “that he’s been holding this over my family for years. And now Marcus is back in his way.”

Anger flared through me, hot and fierce, cutting through the fear.
“You think helping him hurt Marcus is going to save you?” I asked.
Liam looked down at his hands, shaking. “I don’t know what else to do.”
I took a step closer, lowering my voice. “Then do the right thing now. Let us go. Tell the police everything you just told us.”
His head snapped up. “You think Ramsey won’t destroy us?”
“I think he already is,” I said. “And Marcus won’t stop until the truth comes out.”
For a moment, it looked like he might agree. His shoulders sagged, his resolve cracking.
Then his phone rang. The sound was sharp and piercing in the quiet forest.
Liam looked at the screen. His face drained of color.

Courtney whispered, “Is it him?”
Liam didn’t answer. He turned the phone face down, hands trembling, and took a step back from us.
“I shouldn’t have said any of that,” he muttered. “I shouldn’t have—”
My heart dropped. “Liam.”
“I messed up,” he said, panic surging again. “I really messed up.”
“Listen to me,” I said urgently. “Whatever Ramsey told you, whatever you think he can do—Marcus is already fighting him. You don’t have to do this alone.”
For a split second, I saw it—the conflict tearing him apart. Then, from somewhere down the road, the faint wail of sirens carried through the trees. Liam’s head snapped up.
And in that moment, I knew—
Everything was about to change