THE LIE THAT WORE A RING - Chapter 30: Chapter 30
You are reading THE LIE THAT WORE A RING, Chapter 30: Chapter 30. Read more chapters of THE LIE THAT WORE A RING.
Some ghosts don’t return. But they leave behind echoes strong enough to test what’s left standing.
The house was quieter than ever—but not in the lonely, haunted way it used to be. It was the kind of silence that came with comfort. Peace. Healing.
Still, the family was learning that peace didn’t mean the past had disappeared. Some things echoed.
Nicholas found one of those echoes late one Thursday evening, sorting through old files in his home office. He came across a sealed manila envelope buried under papers—postmarked just days before Alina’s arrest.
No return address.
He hesitated.
Opened it.
Inside were several photographs.
One showed Alina—years before they met—laughing in the arms of a man he didn’t recognize.
Another showed her standing outside a law office, handing over a file to someone wearing a trench coat.
The third… was of him.
Taken from a distance. Through the glass of his office window.
Nicholas’s throat tightened.
He turned the envelope upside down. A single note fluttered out.
“You were never the target. You were the weapon.”
The next morning, Nicholas stood at the kitchen window watching the sun rise.
He hadn't told the kids. Not yet.
They deserved peace, and after everything, he wouldn't let paranoia ruin what they had rebuilt.
Still… he couldn’t shake the feeling that something unfinished remained. Alina was gone, yes. But her reach? Maybe not.
Downstairs, Ava packed her bag for an art program she’d been accepted into—an intensive weekend retreat for gifted teens. It was the first time she’d be leaving home since everything fell apart.
“I’m not nervous,” she lied.
Ethan smirked. “Sure you’re not. That’s why you’ve repacked that bag three times.”
“I want to be prepared.”
“You want to be perfect.”
She paused. “Don’t we all?”
He softened. “You’ll kill it. Just don’t forget us normal people when you become famous.”
Ava smiled, but beneath it was a flicker of doubt. What if the world outside wasn’t ready for her? Or worse—what if she wasn’t ready for it?
Nicholas dropped her off later that day, Elise in the passenger seat. Ava hugged him quickly, but paused before walking away.
“Dad?”
He turned.
“Do you think… people can change? Even the worst ones?”
He hesitated, glancing at Elise, then back at his daughter.
“I think they can try,” he said. “But not everyone wants to. And not everyone should be allowed the chance to keep hurting people.”
Ava nodded slowly, as if storing the answer somewhere deep.
That night, the silence returned.
Nicholas sat on the porch with Elise, the sky clear above them.
“I found something,” he finally said. “From Alina. Photos. A message. I think… someone else might have been involved.”
Elise didn’t flinch. “Are you going to chase it?”
“I don’t know. I want to protect the kids. But I also don’t want to drag us backward.”
She reached out and touched his hand.
“Sometimes, protecting them means facing what’s behind us. Just… do it carefully. Not alone.”
Nicholas looked at her, grateful.
Maybe he hadn’t let her all the way in yet—but she was already becoming part of the foundation he was building on.
And this time, it felt real.
The house was quieter than ever—but not in the lonely, haunted way it used to be. It was the kind of silence that came with comfort. Peace. Healing.
Still, the family was learning that peace didn’t mean the past had disappeared. Some things echoed.
Nicholas found one of those echoes late one Thursday evening, sorting through old files in his home office. He came across a sealed manila envelope buried under papers—postmarked just days before Alina’s arrest.
No return address.
He hesitated.
Opened it.
Inside were several photographs.
One showed Alina—years before they met—laughing in the arms of a man he didn’t recognize.
Another showed her standing outside a law office, handing over a file to someone wearing a trench coat.
The third… was of him.
Taken from a distance. Through the glass of his office window.
Nicholas’s throat tightened.
He turned the envelope upside down. A single note fluttered out.
“You were never the target. You were the weapon.”
The next morning, Nicholas stood at the kitchen window watching the sun rise.
He hadn't told the kids. Not yet.
They deserved peace, and after everything, he wouldn't let paranoia ruin what they had rebuilt.
Still… he couldn’t shake the feeling that something unfinished remained. Alina was gone, yes. But her reach? Maybe not.
Downstairs, Ava packed her bag for an art program she’d been accepted into—an intensive weekend retreat for gifted teens. It was the first time she’d be leaving home since everything fell apart.
“I’m not nervous,” she lied.
Ethan smirked. “Sure you’re not. That’s why you’ve repacked that bag three times.”
“I want to be prepared.”
“You want to be perfect.”
She paused. “Don’t we all?”
He softened. “You’ll kill it. Just don’t forget us normal people when you become famous.”
Ava smiled, but beneath it was a flicker of doubt. What if the world outside wasn’t ready for her? Or worse—what if she wasn’t ready for it?
Nicholas dropped her off later that day, Elise in the passenger seat. Ava hugged him quickly, but paused before walking away.
“Dad?”
He turned.
“Do you think… people can change? Even the worst ones?”
He hesitated, glancing at Elise, then back at his daughter.
“I think they can try,” he said. “But not everyone wants to. And not everyone should be allowed the chance to keep hurting people.”
Ava nodded slowly, as if storing the answer somewhere deep.
That night, the silence returned.
Nicholas sat on the porch with Elise, the sky clear above them.
“I found something,” he finally said. “From Alina. Photos. A message. I think… someone else might have been involved.”
Elise didn’t flinch. “Are you going to chase it?”
“I don’t know. I want to protect the kids. But I also don’t want to drag us backward.”
She reached out and touched his hand.
“Sometimes, protecting them means facing what’s behind us. Just… do it carefully. Not alone.”
Nicholas looked at her, grateful.
Maybe he hadn’t let her all the way in yet—but she was already becoming part of the foundation he was building on.
And this time, it felt real.
End of THE LIE THAT WORE A RING Chapter 30. Continue reading Chapter 31 or return to THE LIE THAT WORE A RING book page.