Chapter 37 No More Secrets
The silence after Lilibeth spoke felt heavier than anything that had come before.
Not loud.
Not chaotic.
Just… dangerous.
She stood there like she had already won.
Like everything was already falling exactly the way she wanted.
I didn’t move.
Didn’t react.
Not this time.
Because something inside me had finally shifted.
“You really don’t know when to stop, do you?” I said calmly.
That seemed to surprise her.
Just slightly.
Her lips curved. “Why would I? It’s working.”
Kylen stepped forward immediately.
“Give me the phone.”
His voice wasn’t just angry now.
It was controlled.
Too controlled.
Lilibeth raised a brow. “Or what?”
Adrian let out a quiet breath beside me.
“Oh, this is getting good,” he muttered under his breath.
“Stay out of it,” Kylen snapped without looking at him.
Adrian didn’t move.
Didn’t respond.
But I could feel the tension in him.
Ready. Watching.
I stepped forward before this turned into something worse.
“What do you want, Lilibeth?”
Her eyes snapped to mine.
Sharp. Focused.
“Finally,” she said softly. “The right question.”
My chest tightened.
“This isn’t about the video anymore,” she continued.
“I figured,” I replied.
She tilted her head slightly, studying me.
“You’re not reacting the way I expected.”
“I’m done reacting,” I said simply.
That… hit.
I saw it.
For a second, her control slipped.
Then she smiled again.
Slower this time.
More dangerous.
“Good,” she said. “Because what comes next isn’t something you can just react to.”
My stomach dropped.
Kylen moved closer.
“Lilibeth, stop.”
But she ignored him.
Of course she did.
Her eyes stayed locked on me.
“You think this is about him choosing between us?” she asked quietly.
I didn’t answer.
Because I already knew.
“No,” she continued. “That’s just the surface.”
Adrian shifted slightly beside me.
I felt it.
The tension rising.
“Then say it,” I said.
Kylen turned to me sharply.
“Lenora—”
“No,” I cut him off.
My voice didn’t shake this time.
“I’m done being the last one to know.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Final.
Lilibeth exhaled slowly.
Like she had been waiting for this moment.
“You really want to know?” she asked.
“Yes.”
Kylen stepped in front of me.
“No.”
My heart slammed.
“Move,” I said.
His eyes locked with mine.
Pleading now.
“You don’t understand what this will do,” he said.
“Then let it do it,” I replied.
That broke something in him.
I saw it.
Felt it.
But he didn’t move.
So I stepped around him.
Straight toward her.
“I’m listening.”
The hallway felt like it was holding its breath.
Lilibeth smiled slowly.
Then—
“Your family isn’t what you think it is.”
My chest tightened.
“That’s vague,” I said.
“Oh, I know,” she replied lightly. “But it’s a start.”
Kylen ran a hand through his hair, pacing once.
“Stop dragging this out.”
She ignored him again.
“Tell me something,” she said, looking at me. “How much do you actually know about your father?”
That hit unexpectedly.
“What does he have to do with this?” I asked.
Her smile didn’t fade.
“Everything.”
My heart started racing.
Kylen stepped forward again.
“Enough.”
But this time…
His voice wasn’t strong.
It cracked.
And that terrified me more than anything she was saying.
“What about my father?” I asked, slower now.
She leaned in slightly.
Just enough to make it feel personal.
“You really think your step family just… happened?”
My breath caught.
“What are you talking about?”
Her eyes softened.
Not kindly.
Knowingly.
“Ask him,” she said, nodding toward Kylen.
I turned.
Slowly.
He was already looking at me.
And for the first time…
He didn’t try to hide it.
That look.
Guilt.
My stomach dropped.
“Kylen?”
He didn’t speak.
Didn’t deny it.
Didn’t fix it.
And that silence?
That silence told me everything.
“You knew,” I whispered.
His jaw tightened.
“I found out recently,” he said quietly.
“But you still knew.”
Silence.
Again.
Something inside me twisted painfully.
“You’ve been standing here,” I said, my voice shaking now, “letting her play games with me… while you knew something about my own life that I didn’t?”
“Lenora—”
“No,” I snapped.
My chest was rising too fast now.
Breathing uneven.
“This isn’t just about us anymore, is it?”
He didn’t answer.
“Is it?”
“…No.”
That was it.
The final crack.
I let out a slow breath.
Trying to steady myself.
Trying not to fall apart in front of all of them.
Lilibeth watched quietly.
Satisfied.
“See?” she said softly. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
I turned back to her.
“What do you want?”
Her smile faded slightly.
“The truth to come out,” she said.
I narrowed my eyes.
“No. That’s not it.”
She paused.
And that hesitation?
That was the first real one.
“You want control,” I said.
Silence.
Then she smiled again.
But this time…
It wasn’t victorious.
It was personal.
“Maybe,” she admitted.
I nodded slowly.
“Then you’re not the only one who gets to play.”
Kylen looked at me sharply.
“Lenora…”
But I was already stepping back.
Already deciding.
No more waiting.
No more confusion.
No more being the last one to know.
“If none of you are going to tell me the truth,” I said, voice steady again, “then I’ll find it myself.”
Adrian’s gaze sharpened beside me.
Interested.
Kylen stepped forward.
“You don’t understand what you’re stepping into.”
I met his eyes.
“Then maybe it’s time I do.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Final.
Because something had just changed.
Not just between us.
But in me.
I wasn’t chasing answers anymore.
I was going to take them.
And whatever secret they were all so desperate to hide…
I was going to uncover it.
Even if it destroyed everything.