All Chapters of FRACTURED VOW : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The cassette continued to spin.A faint hiss filled the vault before Ava's father's voice came through the old speaker again.> "Ava... if you're hearing my voice, then I'm already running out of time."Ava stopped breathing.It was him.Not a recording she remembered.Not a voice from an old family video.This was her father's voice speaking directly to her.Her father was alive when he made this.And somehow, he had known she would eventually hear it.Ava moved closer to the cassette player."Please..." she whispered.The recording continued.> "I don't know how old you'll be when you hear this. I don't know whether you'll hate me for disappearing. I don't know whether you'll understand why I made the choices I did."His voice trembled slightly.> "But there is one thing I need you to understand."A pause.> "I never abandoned you."Ava's eyes filled with tears.She pressed a hand against her mouth.Ethan watched her silently.Daniel lowered his gaze.Victoria stood completely still

Ava couldn't move.Lucas's words hung in the vault like a sentence.> "I was there when he died."Her father's death had always been the one thing in her life she thought she understood.Now even that had become another lie."You knew my father?" she whispered.Lucas lowered his eyes."Yes.""Three years after I was told he died?""Yes."Ava's voice cracked."Then why didn't you tell me?"Lucas looked at her."Because I promised him I wouldn't."She shook her head."Everyone has a promise."Her eyes moved toward Ethan."Everyone has a secret."Then toward Daniel."Everyone has an excuse."Finally, she looked at Lucas."But somehow, I'm always the last person to know what is happening in my own life."Lucas's face tightened."I know.""No."Ava stepped toward him."You don't know."She pointed toward the photograph still lying on the floor."You knew my father.""You knew he was alive.""You knew what he was hiding.""And you watched him die."Lucas swallowed."Yes.""Did you kill him?

Ava stared at the phone in Ethan's hand.The words remained on the screen.I know what you did to my daughter.Her father's name was nowhere on the message.There was no signature.No explanation.Yet somehow, Ava knew.She could feel it.Her father was behind it.Or someone wanted her to believe he was.She slowly looked at Ethan."What did you do to me?"Ethan didn't answer.The silence was enough.Ava's chest tightened."Answer me.""I don't know what that message means.""Then why are you afraid?""I'm not afraid of the message.""Then what are you afraid of?"Ethan looked down at the phone."My past."Ava laughed bitterly."Your past?"She turned toward the window."Everyone keeps telling me they lied because they were protecting me.""Your father.""My mother.""Daniel.""Lucas.""And you."She looked at Ethan."But nobody seems to understand that every lie has made me less safe."Emily kept driving.Her eyes remained fixed on the road."Ava, there are things you need to know."

Ava couldn't move.The message remained on her screen.SHE IS YOUR SISTER.Her eyes moved from the phone to the woman standing in the distance.The woman who had once appeared in the Brooklyn apartment.The woman Ava had believed was Ethan's mistress.The woman who had become one of the ugliest pieces of her husband's secret life.Her sister.It couldn't be true.Ava shook her head."No."Ethan said nothing.That frightened her more than anything.She turned toward him."Tell me it's not true."Ethan's face was pale."Ava...""Tell me.""I don't know."Her eyes widened."You don't know?""I knew about the woman.""Then who is she?""I don't know."Ava laughed bitterly."Of course."She looked at her mother."Mom?"Emily's face had gone completely white.She looked at the woman in the distance.Then she closed her eyes.Ava's stomach dropped."You know her."Emily slowly opened her eyes."Yes."Ava's voice trembled."Who is she?"Emily looked at her daughter."Her name is Claire."Ava'

The forest went completely silent.Ava stared at Daniel.His gun was pointed directly at her.For several seconds, nobody moved.Nobody breathed.Nobody spoke.Then Ethan stepped in front of Ava."Daniel."Daniel's hand remained steady."Move."Ethan shook his head."No."Daniel's eyes hardened."I said move."Ava could barely hear her own heartbeat.Daniel had been the one person in the room she had never questioned.He had helped her.He had protected her.He had answered her questions when everyone else had refused.He had stood beside her when she discovered Ethan's secrets.And now—His gun was pointed at her heart."Daniel..." Ava whispered.His eyes flickered.For the first time, she saw something behind his expression.Pain.Not hatred.Not anger.Pain."You remember," he said quietly.Ava swallowed."Yes."Daniel's jaw tightened."Then you remember too much."Ethan stepped closer."You don't have to do this."Daniel laughed bitterly."Don't pretend you know what I have to do.