Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Should Have DiedMarcus couldn't move.
The woman stepped from behind the curtains.
Older.
Thinner.
Her hair streaked with gray.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
His mother's eyes.
He had seen them in photographs every day for twenty-three years.
“No.”
The woman looked at him.
“Marcus.”
He stumbled backward.
Arthur closed the nursery door.
Susan lowered the gun.
Vincent appeared behind Arthur.
Nobody spoke.
Eli stared at the woman.
“Are you Grandma?”
The woman smiled faintly.
“I suppose I am.”
Marcus shook his head.
“You died.”
“I was supposed to.”
“You were buried.”
“Yes.”
“I saw your coffin.”
“You saw a coffin.”
Marcus's breathing became ragged.
His entire childhood had been built on one fact.
His mother was dead.
The woman took a cautious step toward him.
“I couldn't come home.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had to.”
Arthur interrupted.
“She saved your life.”
Marcus turned.
“She saved my life by disappearing?”
Arthur's face collapsed.
“She disappeared because the people behind Calder House were watching us.”
The woman looked at Eli.
“What's your name?”
“Eli.”
She smiled.
“He has your eyes.”
Marcus ignored her.
“Who are you?”
She answered softly.
“Clara.”
The name struck him.
Not because it was his mother's name.
Because it wasn't.
His mother's name had been Margaret.
Marcus looked at Arthur.
“What is this?”
Arthur nodded toward the woman.
“Your mother is dead.”
Marcus stared.
The woman whispered:
“I was her sister.”
Marcus froze.
His mother's sister.
His aunt.
He had never known she existed.
Susan suddenly looked sick.
Marcus turned toward her.
“You knew?”
Susan said nothing.
“Of course you knew.”
“I found out years ago.”
“And you said nothing.”
“You wouldn't have believed me.”
“Try me.”
Susan looked at the woman.
“She changed her identity.”
The woman stepped closer.
“I had to.”
Marcus's voice broke.
“Why?”
She reached into her coat and pulled out an old photograph.
It showed Margaret Carrow.
Pregnant.
Standing beside Arthur.
And beside her stood the woman.
The back had been dated.
Three days before the crash.
Marcus took it.
He turned it over.
Someone had written four words.
HE KNOWS ABOUT SEVENTEEN.
Arthur saw the message.
His face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“From Margaret.”
“You said she was dead.”
“She died after giving it to me.”
Marcus looked up.
“Then who was in the coffin?”
The woman looked at Susan.
Susan whispered:
“A substitute.”
Marcus stared.
No one moved.
The entire house suddenly seemed to tilt.
His mother's death had been staged.
Her sister had hidden.
Arthur had lied.
Susan had known.
Vincent was involved.
And the secret room marked seventeen wasn't merely a hiding place.
It was part of something much larger.
Marcus opened the ledger again.
“Who are these names?”
Clara approached.
“People who helped them.”
“And the people who died?”
“People who tried to expose them.”
Marcus pointed to the final page.
“My name is here.”
Clara nodded.
“I know.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“Who wrote it?”
Clara looked toward Arthur.
Arthur looked at Susan.
Susan looked at Vincent.
Vincent backed away.
Then he smiled.
Not nervously.
Calmly.
Too calmly.
He reached inside his coat.
Marcus grabbed Eli.
Vincent pulled out a phone.
“No need to panic.”
He held it up.
A live video was playing.
Marcus saw the Calder House driveway.
Then the gates.
Then several black vehicles outside.
Police cars.
Ambulances.
Men in dark suits.
Vincent smiled.
“They arrived early.”
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
Vincent turned the phone.
On the screen, a police officer was walking toward the house.
Then the officer stopped.
His radio crackled.
A voice came through.
“Target confirmed.”
Marcus felt cold.
Vincent looked at the others.
“Marcus Carrow is inside.”
Susan stared at him.
“You called them.”
Vincent shook his head.
“No.”
He smiled.
“They called me.”
Arthur whispered:
“Run.”
A gunshot exploded downstairs.
Glass shattered.
Eli screamed.
The police outside began shouting.
Vincent smiled.
“Now we find out who controls Calder House.”
The nursery lights went out.
May you like
And in the darkness, someone whispered directly beside Marcus's ear:
“Your mother never escaped.”
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