The next morning, we reported everything to the police.
But Daniel did not quietly disappear.
He called me seventeen times.
Then came the messages.
“Rebecca, she’s confused.”
“You are destroying our family.”
“Think about what people will say.”
I didn’t answer.
Two days later, Emily handed me her phone.
“Mom, there’s something else.
He opened a hidden folder containing screenshots of messages Daniel had sent him during the holidays.
One said:
“You promised you would never tell your mother.”
Another said:
“No one will believe you before me.”
I felt nauseous.
I delivered the messages to the investigators.
As the investigation progressed, Daniel denied absolutely everything. He told our relatives that Emily was making up stories because she was afraid to admit she had a teenage boyfriend.
Some family members believed him.
