Chapter 12 - The Coffin Under the CoffinVictoria screamed her name.
“ROSIE!”
No answer.
Daniel ran toward the corridor.
Charles followed.
Victoria grabbed Rosalind.
“Stay with me.”
Rosalind was shaking.
“He took her.”
“Who?”
“Evan.”
“Why?”
“He thinks she knows where the key is.”
“What key?”
Rosalind looked at the pendant.
“The second one.”
Victoria stared.
“What second key?”
Rosalind reached beneath her collar.
A tiny scar marked her neck.
Then she said:
“Mama told me never to let anyone see it.”
Victoria touched the scar.
“What is inside?”
Rosalind whispered:
“A key.”
They returned to the cemetery.
The storm had started again.
Rain hammered against the gravestones.
Daniel brought equipment.
They opened Rosalind’s old grave.
The coffin beneath the dirt had never been moved.
Victoria stared at it.
Her hands trembled.
Daniel opened the lid.
Inside was not a body.
There was a smaller wooden box.
Victoria's heart stopped.
They opened it.
Inside were dozens of documents.
Birth certificates.
Photographs.
Bank transfers.
Names.
Children.
Parents.
Dates.
Locations.
A network spanning states.
Victoria looked at the bottom of the box.
A small leather pouch.
Inside was a second key.
Rosalind whispered:
“That is Mama's.”
Daniel found a lock beneath the coffin.
A hidden compartment.
The key fit.
Inside was a videotape.
And a letter.
Victoria opened the letter.
Claire’s handwriting.
Victoria,
If you're reading this, Rosalind survived.
Victoria began crying.
I need you to understand what happened. I was not your enemy. I was the shield between your daughter and your father.
When Charles came to me, he offered to protect Rosalind. I knew he was lying, but I also knew he was the only person with enough access to get her out.
So I made a choice.
I let the world believe Rosalind was dead.
But there was another child. My daughter. Rosie.
I used her identity to hide Rosalind.
Victoria looked up.
Rosie was Claire's daughter.
But Rosie had lived under Rosalind's name.
Claire continued:
I knew one day the truth would surface.
When it did, I wanted both girls to have a mother.
Victoria pressed the letter to her chest.
Then came the final line.
The person you should fear is not Charles.
It is the person who taught him how to lie.
Victoria looked at Daniel.
“Who?”
He shook his head.
The videotape was already playing.
Claire appeared.
She looked terrified.
“Victoria, there isn't much time.”
A door slammed in the background.
Claire looked over her shoulder.
“Your father didn't act alone.”
Victoria froze.
“He had help from someone in your own family.”
A shadow appeared behind her.
Claire whispered:
“Someone you loved.”
The screen went dark.
A gunshot echoed on the tape.
Then another voice spoke.
A woman's voice.
Victoria recognized it.
Her mother.
“My daughter must never know.”
Victoria dropped the tape.
Her mother had been dead for twelve years.
But the evidence said otherwise.
Daniel stared.
“Your mother knew.”
Victoria whispered:
“She was part of it.”
Charles appeared behind them.
“We need to leave.”
Victoria turned.
“No.”
“We're exposed.”
“No.”
She stepped toward him.
“You knew my mother was involved.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Evan existed.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Rosalind was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
Charles looked at Victoria.
“I was afraid you'd get yourself killed.”
Victoria's eyes hardened.
“You don't get to decide that anymore.”
A phone rang.
Daniel answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at Victoria.
“Police found Evan.”
“Where?”
Daniel said quietly:
“At the Hale mansion.”
Victoria stared.
“What is he doing there?”
Daniel swallowed.
“He has Rosie.”
Then Victoria heard something through the phone.
A little girl crying.
Rosie.
May you like
“Mom…”
The call ended.
