You Are Worth It

E I G H T

‘Are these echoes
Real or mere illusions?’
A fragile mind,
In a grand confusion.
Fading in,
Fading out,
The boundaries unwind,
In the echoes of words,
Distant and near,
A soul seeks what's left behind.

•••

Max Hutter spoke, his tone grave.
"That night, your father wasn't alone in the study room. There was someone with him just before his murder."

Evanna's eyes widened, and as she spoke, her voice came out as a hollow whisper.
"Who?"

Max met Alan's gaze directly before delivering the shocking revelation,
"Your husband."

“What?”
Evanna scoffed at Max.
“That's not possible. Alan wasn't there with Dad before his murder. If he was, he would have told us, right, Alan?”

She turned to Alan, expecting a denial, but he guiltily avoided her gaze, not meeting her eyes.
“Alan?”

“The detective is telling the truth. I met Uncle that night... before his death,”
Alan admitted, and Evanna stared at him in disbelief.

“Why didn't you reveal this earlier, Mr. Flex?”
Max Hutter questioned, suspicion casting a shadow in his eyes. His long-standing doubts about Alan now seemed to gain sinister weight.

Before Alan could respond, Evanna's eyes blazed with rage as she demanded,
"Was it you? Did you murder my dad?"

“What? No! Of course not.”
Alan vehemently shook his head.
“I would never do that. I would never even think of harming Uncle, let alone taking his life.”

“I was—”
Alan paused, taking a breath before continuing,
“At first, I thought of speaking up, but you,”
He pointed at Max accusingly,
“from the very beginning, treated me as a suspect. I got afraid—afraid of being wrongfully blamed. So, I kept quiet.”

Max scrutinized Alan's eyes, searching for any hint of deception. "Afraid or not, Mr. Flex, withholding information can be just as damning. You understand the gravity of your silence."

Alan retorted defensively. His voice wavered with a mix of regret and frustration.
"I swear, Evanna, I didn't kill Uncle. I loved him like a father."

Max, determined to unravel the truth, continued his relentless questioning, "What happened that night, Mr. Flex?"

As Alan began recounting the events, the room seemed to warp, transporting them back to the haunting night in question. The air thickened with the weight of unspoken truths, casting shadows that danced in the flames of uncertainty.

Flashback starts

"Uncle, as you wanted, the wedding is done. Now, you need to tell Evanna. She deserves to know about your health condition,"
Alan urged, concern etching lines on his face.

Martin, stubborn and resolute, shook his head.
"No. I won't burden her with this."

"But keeping it from her isn't fair. She has a right to know."
Alan insisted.

Martin's gaze intensified.
"I won't have my illness overshadowing her happiness.”

"No more arguments on this topic."
He added sternly, shutting down any further discussion. Then, with a sudden shift in tone, he spoke affectionately, "You should go to your room now. Eva must be waiting there."