Isabella’s POV

A gun was pointed at my head.

It was very close.

I could feel the cold metal on my skin.

I could not move.

I was scared and breathing became difficult.

The room was dark.

There was a small window behind the man.

I could not see his face well.

But I could see the gun.

I knew I was in trouble.

“Tell me the truth,” the man said.

His voice was deep.

“I don’t know,” I said.

He came closer.

“Liar.”

I shook my head.

“I am telling the truth.”

He raised the gun.

“You have one last chance.”

My heart beat very fast.

What did he want?

What was he asking me about?

I looked around.

There was no door I could use.

No one was coming to help me.

I closed my eyes.

Maybe if I told him something, he would let me go.

But I did not know what to say.

“Three…”

My hands shook.

“Two…”

I held my breath.

Then bang!

Six Years Earlier

I was fifteen years old.

It was raining that day.

I was walking home from school.

My school bag was on my back and my shoes were wet.

My clothes were wet too.

But I did not care.

I was thinking about my mum.

She promised to make my favorite food.

“Mum will make it today,” I said with a smile.

I was happy.

My mum was my best friend.

It was just me and her.

We did not have much money.

But we were happy.

My mum took good care of me.

She worked hard.

She made sure I had food, made sure I went to school and she always tried to make me happy.

Sometimes, I asked her about my father.

But she never told me much.

Whenever I asked, she would become quiet.

Then she would smile.

But it was a sad smile.

“Some people should stay in the past, Isabella.”

That was what she always said.

I did not understand.

Why did she not want to talk about my father?

I wanted to know.

But I stopped asking.

I thought she would tell me one day.

I did not know that day would not come.

When I was near my house, I saw something strange.

The front door was open.

I stopped.

My smile was gone.

“Mum?” I called.

No answer.

I looked at the door.

Maybe she forgot to close it.

Maybe she was in the kitchen.

Maybe she was making my food.

I walked inside.

“Mum?”

Still no answer.

The house was quiet.

Very quiet.

I looked around.

The chairs were on the floor.

The table was broken.

There was glass on the floor.

My heart beat faster.

“What happened?” I asked.

I took one more step.

Then I saw it.

Blood.

There was blood on the floor.

I stopped.

My hands began to shake.

“Mum?”

I ran to the living room.

Then I saw her.

My mum was lying on the floor.

She was not moving.

Her eyes were closed.

I stood there.

I could not move.

“No.”

My bag fell.

“Mum?”

I ran to her.

I sat beside her.

I held her hand.

It was cold.

“Mum, wake up.”

She did not move.

I held her hand tighter.

“Please wake up.”

Nothing happened.

“Please, Mum.”

My voice shook.

She still did not move.

Tears came down my face.

“No, no, no.”

I shook her hand.

“Mum!”

I screamed.

But she did not answer.

I could not believe it.

My mum cannot go.

She promised to make my favorite food.

She had promised.

I cried, until I was tired.

I wanted her to open her eyes.

But she did not move.

The neighbors heard me.

They came into the house.

One person stayed with me.

Another person called the police.

Soon, the police came.

They looked around the house.

They checked the doors.

They looked at the broken things.

They checked the rooms.

After some time, one police officer came to me.

“It looks like a robbery,” he said.

I looked at him.

“A robbery?”

He nodded.

“Yes.”

I looked around the room.

Then I shook my head.

“No.”

The officer looked at me.

“My mum was not killed because of a robbery.”

He looked at me.

I pointed at the drawer.

“The money is still there.”

The officer walked to the drawer.

He opened it.

The money was still there.

I pointed at my mum’s things.

“Her jewelry is still there too.”

He checked.

It was still there.

Nothing was gone.

I looked at him.

“If it was a robbery, why is everything still here?”

He did not answer.

I looked at my mum.

Then I knew.

The person did not come for money.

The person did not come to steal.

The person came to kill my mum.

“They killed her,” I said.

The officer looked at me.

“We will look into it.”

“You have to find them,” I said.

“We will try.”

But I did not believe him.

I saw my mum one last time.

The police covered her body.

I felt like my whole world was gone.

My mum was gone.

She was the only family I had.

Now I was alone.

That night, I sat by myself.

I could not sleep.

I kept thinking about my mum.

I kept asking myself the same question.

Why would anyone kill her?

She was not rich.

She was a quiet woman.

I did not know of anyone who hated her.

At least, I thought I did not.

Then I remembered my father.

I remembered asking my mum about him.

I remembered her sad face.

“Some people should stay in the past, Isabella.”

Why did she always say that?

What was she hiding?

Did my father have something to do with this?

I did not know.

But I felt that my mum had a secret.

Maybe it was a big secret.

Maybe that secret was the reason she was dead.

I wiped my tears.

I looked at the chair where my mum used to sit.

I missed everything about her.

“I don’t know who did this,” I said.

“But I will find out.”

“I will find the person who killed you.”

My voice was quiet.

But I meant it.

“I promise, Mum.”

“I will find the truth.”

That was the promise I made that night.

I was only fifteen.

I did not know it would take six years.

But I never forgot my promise.

Six years later, I was still looking.

I was still looking for the person who killed my mum.

I did not know that her death was not a simple robbery.

I did not know it was linked to a family I had never heard of.

A family with many secrets.

A family that many people feared.

A family that had been hiding the truth from me.

And I did not know that one day, I would meet the person at the center of it all.

Someone I would never expect.