Raka was still staring at his phone screen. The message from the unknown number kept replaying in his mind. The photo of Rina standing with Vera in front of the old house had filled his head with questions.
“Don’t trust Bima.”
The sentence Vera had spoken without a sound continued to haunt him.
Raka turned toward the window, but Vera was already gone. The road in front of the house was filled only with rainwater flowing between the yard’s stones.
“Did she leave?” Bima asked.
Raka slipped his phone into his pocket.
“She was there a moment ago.”
Damar immediately walked toward the window.
“That’s impossible.”
“I saw her, Dad.”
Damar fell silent. His face showed something difficult to explain. It wasn’t just fear. He looked like someone who had just seen the past come back to haunt him.
Bima rose from his chair.
“We have to talk before it’s too late.”
Raka stared at him.
“Now I want to hear everything.”
Bima drew a long breath.
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Start with the night Rina left.”
The room fell silent.
Sari sat there, clutching her hands together. She looked like she was trying to hold back her tears.
Bima finally spoke.
“That night, I got a call from Rina.”
“A call?”
“Yeah. She sounded panicked.”
“What did she say?”
Bima stared at the floor.
“She said she’d found something about her family.”
Raka frowned.
“Her own family?”
Bima nodded.
“Rina said someone in this house had been hiding something all this time.”
Everyone’s eyes immediately turned toward Damar and Sari.
Damar clenched his fists.
“Don’t go on.”
Bima looked at him.
“It’s been too long, Sir.”
“I said don’t.”
Raka stood.
“Dad, you know something?”
Damar didn’t answer.
Raka became even more certain that there was a major secret he had never known about.
“Dad.”
Raka’s voice grew firmer.
“I have the right to know.”
Damar stared at his son for a long time.
Finally, he let out a sigh.
“Rina really did find something.”
“What?”
Damar walked to the table and took a small box from the drawer.
“I never wanted to open this again.”
The box looked old. Its exterior was covered in scratches and dust.
Raka watched as his father opened it.
Inside were several letters, photographs, and a small key.
“What’s that key for?” Raka asked.
Damar didn’t answer.
Sari turned her face away.
Bima immediately stood.
“You’re still keeping it?”
Damar looked at him.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
Raka took one of the photographs from the box.
The photo left him speechless.
It showed Rina as a teenager. She was standing with Vera and a man whose face looked familiar.
Raka studied the photo.
“Who is he?”
No one answered right away.
“Who?” Raka repeated.
Bima spoke softly.
“His name is Arman.”
“Why have I never seen him?”
“Because he left before you were old enough to remember him.”
Raka looked at his father.
“Who is he?”
Damar lowered his head.
“He’s Vera’s brother.”
Raka grew even more confused.
“Then what does he have to do with Rina?”
Bima answered.
“Arman was the last person with Rina before the incident.”
“But you said Vera was the last person with Rina.”
Damar fell silent.
Raka saw the change in his father’s expression.
“You’re hiding something.”
Sari began to cry.
“Raka, enough.”
“No, Mom. I want to know why everyone seems to know something except me.”
No one answered.
Only the sound of rain filled the room.
Then something fell in the direction of the kitchen.
Everyone turned at once.
Damar stood.
“I’ll check.”
Raka followed him.
They headed carefully toward the kitchen.
There was no one there.
But a white envelope lay on the floor.
Damar picked it up.
His expression changed immediately.
“Who’s it from?” Raka asked.
Damar didn’t answer.
Raka snatched the envelope.
Only one name was written on the front.
For Rina’s Family.
His hands trembled as he opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The handwriting was neat.
Raka began to read.
“I know you’ll hide everything like you did before. But I can’t let Rina leave without the truth coming out. If this letter has reached your hands, it means I’ve returned.”
Raka stopped reading.
Bima stepped closer.
“Keep going.”
Raka read the next part.
“Rina didn’t die in an accident. That night, someone made her fall. That person is still alive.”
Sari immediately covered her mouth.
Damar took the letter from Raka’s hand.
“That’s enough.”
Raka stared at his father.
“Who?”
Damar didn’t answer.
“Who made Rina fall?”
Damar gripped the letter tightly.
“I don’t know.”
“But this letter says that person is still alive.”
Damar remained silent.
Bima looked toward the door.
“I think we should leave.”
“Where?” Raka asked.
“To the house in the photo.”
Damar immediately refused.
“No.”
“If we keep quiet, that person will keep winning.”
Raka grabbed his jacket.
“I’m coming.”
“No,” Damar said.
“I need to know.”
“Raka.”
“I’ve lived with a lie long enough.”
Damar fell silent.
Sari approached her son.
“Don’t do this.”
Raka looked at his mother.
“I just want to know what happened to Rina.”
Sari finally broke down crying.
“You look so much like your sister.”
Raka fell silent.
“Rina was just as stubborn as you are.”
That sentence changed the atmosphere.
For the first time that night, Raka realized his mother wasn’t only afraid of Vera.
She was afraid of the truth.
In the end, they decided to leave.
Bima drove them to the old house in the photo. The roads grew increasingly deserted. The rain began to stop, but fog descended and covered the road.
No one said much during the drive.
Raka sat in the back, holding Rina’s bracelet.
He still couldn’t understand how such a small object could hold such a huge secret.
After nearly forty minutes, the car stopped in front of an old house.
The house looked deserted.
The paint was peeling from its walls.
The yard was overgrown with weeds.
But one thing shocked Raka.
The light in front of the house was on.
“Why is there still electricity?” Raka asked.
Bima didn’t answer.
He only stared at the house.
“Someone’s waiting for us.”
They got out of the car.
Damar walked in front.
When they reached the door, it opened by itself.
Raka stopped immediately.
Footsteps sounded inside the house.
Slow.
But unmistakable.
Bima gripped his flashlight tighter.
“Who’s there?”
There was no answer.
Then a woman’s voice rang out.
“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
Raka recognized the voice.
Vera.
She emerged from behind the darkened room.
But this time, her face didn’t look like someone trying to scare them.
Her eyes were filled with sadness.
“I knew you’d come.”
Damar glared at her.
“Why did you bring us here?”
Vera looked at Raka.
“I didn’t bring you here.”
She pointed toward the stairs.
“He’s the one who called you.”
Raka looked up.
Someone was standing on the second floor.
A man’s silhouette.
His face wasn’t clearly visible.
But when lightning flashed, Raka saw it.
The same face as in the old photograph.
The face that had been crossed out with black ink all this time.
Bima whispered in a trembling voice.
“Arman.”
The man smiled.
“It’s time you learned who really destroyed Rina’s life.”