The Secret in the Safe

Mom had been in the hospital for a week. Dad and I went home to grab some of her things—her favorite robe, her skincare set, a few books. We were moving through her list like clockwork, nothing unusual.

That is, until I opened the safe.

I had only gone in to grab her jewelry box, but what I found made my stomach twist. Right on top, there was a note in her careful handwriting:

**”DON’T SHOW LUCY.”**

I stared at it, my pulse pounding. The thing is… I’m Lucy.

Beneath the note was an old VHS tape, its label worn and faded.

My hands trembled as I picked it up. What could be on it that I wasn’t supposed to see?

Glancing over my shoulder to make sure Dad was still downstairs, I slipped into the den. We still had an old VCR hooked up to the TV—Dad never got rid of it.

I slid the tape in.

The screen flickered. Static buzzed. Then, an image emerged.

It was my mom. She looked younger, maybe in her twenties, sitting in a dimly lit room. Her face was pale, her eyes darting nervously toward the camera.

Then she spoke.

*”If you’re watching this… it means the truth is coming out. And Lucy—sweetheart—if it’s you… I’m so sorry.”*

I swallowed hard. What truth?

*”There’s something you don’t know about your past. About… who you really are.”*

The room felt smaller, suffocating.

*”I wanted to tell you a hundred times, but I was too afraid. Afraid of what it would do to you. Afraid of what he would do to me.”*

My stomach churned. *He?* Who was *he*?

Suddenly, a shadow moved in the background of the tape. Mom gasped, and the screen went dark.

The tape cut off.

I sat frozen, my breath ragged.

What had I just seen? What was my mother hiding?

And more importantly…

Who was she afraid of?