THE LIE THAT WORE A RING - Chapter 16: Chapter 16

The house had become quieter—not peaceful, but strained. Like a song stuck between verses, waiting for the next note to fall.
Ethan stood outside his sister's room, holding a plate of toast he had buttered himself. It was cold now, but that didn’t matter. Ava hadn’t eaten properly since the night of the fight—the one where their father had stormed out, and Alina had cried so perfectly in the hallway.
But Ethan remembered something else. The way Alina’s tears had stopped the second his father disappeared down the driveway. The way her eyes, red-rimmed and glistening, suddenly looked... calculating.
He knocked gently.
“Ava? It’s me.”
Silence.
He nudged the door open. She was curled under her blanket, earphones in, staring at the ceiling.
He sat down on the edge of her bed and set the plate beside her. “You need to eat.”
Ava didn’t move. Then, without looking at him, she said, “She told me you were spying on her.”
Ethan blinked. “What?”
“She said you’ve been sneaking around. Digging through her drawers. That you were trying to find ways to turn Dad against her.”
“I—” He sat up straighter. “That’s not true.”
“She showed me a message on your phone.”
Ethan’s heart dropped. He had texted their old nanny, asking about something Alina had said—about their mom’s things being thrown out “accidentally.” But that message had been deleted. Or so he thought.
“I just wanted to understand,” he whispered. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
Ava finally turned toward him. Her eyes were hollow. “Dad barely looks at me anymore. Alina says it’s because I’ve changed. She says we’ve made him hate this family.”
Ethan swallowed hard. “She’s lying, Ava.”
A long pause.
“She told me Mom’s jewelry was stolen. But then I found her wearing Mom’s pendant last week.”
Ethan's breath hitched.
Now it was Ava’s turn to sit up. “She said it was hers. But it was the one Mom wore the day she left us for the last time. I remember because it had that little star-shaped diamond Dad bought in Prague.”
They stared at each other, the unspoken truth slowly settling between them.
“She’s been turning us against him,” Ethan said quietly.
“And against each other,” Ava added, her voice almost broken. “I called Dad a monster, Ethan. I told him I hated him.”
Ethan looked down. “I told him to leave.”
The silence was thick. Regret soaked every breath.
Ava reached out, her fingers trembling, and grabbed his hand.
“What do we do?” she asked.
For the first time in weeks, Ethan didn’t feel alone. “We find out the truth. About her. Everything.”
Later that evening, while Alina was out at her “philanthropy board meeting,” the siblings crept into her bedroom. The master suite smelled of rose oil and sharp perfume. Immaculate. Clinical.
Ethan pulled open the top drawer of her vanity. Inside: a leather-bound journal, a gold lipstick case, and a sleek phone—not her usual one. Hidden under a silk scarf.
He powered it on.
“Password protected,” he muttered.
“Try Ava’s birthday,” she whispered.
Nothing.
“Yours?”
Nothing.
He frowned. “Try Dad’s?”
He typed in their father’s birthdate.
Unlocked.
They exchanged a stunned glance.
Messages poured in. Dozens. Hundreds. Most from unfamiliar numbers. One caught Ava’s eye—it was labeled "Vera - Family Cleanup".
She tapped it.
Alina’s voice came through, a voice note, clear as crystal:
> “He’s almost ready to sign. The kids are fully on my side. After the summer fundraiser, we move the assets. Make sure the lawyer files quietly. I want nothing traced to him once this is done.”
Ethan’s hand shook as he held the phone.
“She’s planning to leave,” he whispered. “Take everything.”
Ava stared at the screen, then back at her brother.
“No,” she said. “She’s planning to destroy him.”