"Bjei, don't trust your mother."
The voice crackled through the phone.
I froze.
My fingers tightened around it.
"Grandma?"
Silence.
"Grandma, is that you?"
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Christel moved closer.
"Who was it?"
I couldn't answer.
Angela was standing across the room, completely pale.
"Mom?"
She didn't move.
"Did Grandma just call me?"
Angela shook her head.
"That wasn't her."
"How do you know?"
"Because she's dead."
"But I heard her voice."
"Someone is pretending to be her."
I looked at the phone.
"Then why did she tell me not to trust you?"
Angela's eyes filled with tears.
"Because someone wants you to hate me."
"Maybe they have a reason."
Her face fell.
I immediately regretted saying it.
But I was tired of being lied to.
Christel looked between us.
"Maybe we should all calm down."
"No," I said. "I want answers."
I turned toward my mother.
"Who was the man in the photograph?"
Angela looked at Darius.
He was standing silently near the window.
Finally, he spoke.
"His name was Nathaniel."
I stared at him.
"Nathaniel?"
"Yes."
"Was he my father?"
Darius hesitated.
"He believed he was."
My stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Angela sat down slowly.
"Before you were born, there was a man who loved me."
I looked at her.
"Nathaniel."
She nodded.
"He wasn't from the sea."
"Then how was he connected to all of this?"
Angela looked toward the ocean through the window.
"Because he knew about it."
"How?"
"Your grandmother told him."
"Why?"
"Because she needed someone from the surface to help protect you."
I swallowed.
"So Nathaniel was supposed to be my father?"
"Yes."
"But he wasn't?"
Angela shook her head.
"No."
"Then who was?"
She looked at me.
"Azrael."
My heart dropped.
"Then why did Nathaniel think I was his daughter?"
"Because he didn't know the truth."
"And you let him believe it?"
"I had no choice."
"You always say that!"
My voice broke.
"What choice did you have?"
Angela stood.
"If Nathaniel had known who your real father was, he would have gone after him."
"Maybe he should have."
"No!"
Her sudden anger startled me.
"You don't understand what Azrael is capable of."
"I've met him."
Angela went silent.
I continued.
"He took the blue stone."
Her eyes widened.
"You saw him?"
"Yes."
She covered her mouth.
"Then it's already too late."
"For what?"
She looked at me.
"For the prophecy."
The room became silent.
Christel whispered,
"What prophecy?"
Angela looked at her.
Then at me.
"The prophecy says that when Bjei meets her true father, she will have to choose between the surface and the sea."
I frowned.
"And what happens if I choose the sea?"
Angela's eyes filled with fear.
"You won't be able to return."
I looked toward Shawshank.
He had been silent throughout the conversation.
"Would you let me go?"
He looked at me.
"No."
"Even if I chose the sea?"
"No."
His voice was firm.
"I would find another way."
I smiled faintly.
"You always say that."
"And I always mean it."
For a moment, we stared at each other.
Then Christel interrupted.
"Guys…"
She was holding my phone.
"There is another message."
I took it from her.
A video had arrived.
No number.
No name.
I pressed play.
The screen showed darkness.
Then my grandmother appeared.
I gasped.
She looked exactly as I remembered her.
But something was different.
She was standing underwater.
Alive.
"Bjei," she whispered.
Tears filled my eyes.
"Grandma…"
She looked directly into the camera.
"If you are seeing this, then they have already told you about Azrael."
I couldn't breathe.
"But they have not told you everything."
Angela covered her face.
Grandma continued.
"Your mother will tell you that she had no choice."
She paused.
"She is right."
I looked at Angela.
"But she will not tell you what she did to protect you."
My heart began racing.
Grandma's voice became softer.
"Bjei, your mother made a sacrifice."
"What sacrifice?" I whispered.
The video continued.
"She gave something precious to the sea."
The screen suddenly went black.
Then one final sentence appeared.
"Ask Angela what happened to Nathaniel."
I slowly lowered the phone.
Everyone was silent.
I looked at my mother.
"What happened to Nathaniel?"
Angela's lips trembled.
"I killed him."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"I didn't mean to."
Darius closed his eyes.
Angela began crying.
"The night you were born, Nathaniel tried to take you away from the sea."
"And you stopped him?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"He died."
The room seemed to spin.
I stepped backward.
"So you killed the man who thought he was my father?"
"It was an accident."
"You never told me!"
"I was trying to protect you."
"From the truth?"
"Yes."
Suddenly, something slammed against the window.
Everyone screamed.
I turned.
A hand pressed against the glass from outside.
A human hand.
Then another.
The window began cracking.
Shawshank grabbed me.
"Behind me!"
The glass shattered.
A cold wave flooded into the room.
And standing in the middle of the water was a man.
Tall.
Pale.
His clothes were soaked.
His eyes were completely black.
I couldn't breathe.
Angela screamed.
"Nathaniel…"
The dead man smiled.
Then he looked directly at me.
"Hello, daughter."