Chapter 2 - The CoffinEmergency lights flickered on.
People shouted.
Chairs scraped across the patio.
For three seconds I saw nothing but shadows.
Then someone grabbed my hand.
Megan.
“Run.”
We moved through the resort lobby as security guards rushed toward the pool.
Behind us, voices erupted.
I heard Evan shout my name.
Megan dragged me through a side door.
We spilled into a service corridor.
“Where are we going?”
“Parking garage.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel has done this before.”
We reached the garage.
Megan unlocked a rented SUV.
I climbed inside.
My hands were shaking so badly I could barely close the door.
“What did he mean?”
Megan started the engine.
“What did Evan mean?”
“He said I was supposed to disappear with him.”
Megan stared straight ahead.
“Because the original plan wasn't a fake death.”
I felt cold despite the Florida heat.
“What was it?”
“To fake both deaths.”
I turned toward her.
“Mine too?”
Megan nodded.
She pulled out of the garage.
“He planned to vanish with you, claim you both died in an accident, collect the insurance on your life, liquidate your assets, and disappear under new identities.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does when you understand the money.”
She handed me another folder.
Inside were copies of our mortgage documents.
Home equity records.
Insurance forms.
Then a page with my signature.
I stared at it.
“I never signed this.”
“I know.”
It was a life insurance policy.
Ten million dollars.
Beneficiary: Evan Whitaker.
I felt sick.
“When was this issued?”
“Five months before his death.”
“There was no medical exam.”
“There was.”
I looked at her.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
She showed me the report.
Blood pressure.
Height.
Weight.
Medical history.
Everything.
Except the medical signature was not mine.
Someone had impersonated me.
I remembered Evan insisting I visit a private clinic because our insurance benefits had changed.
I had thought nothing of it.
My throat tightened.
“He used my information.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t know how deep it went.”
Megan turned onto a highway.
“I started investigating after Evan supposedly died. Something about the funeral felt wrong.”
“What?”
“The coffin was sealed.”
I looked at her.
“Judith said that was normal.”
“It wasn’t.”
“She said the body was too damaged.”
“She lied.”
A terrible thought entered my mind.
“Then whose body did I bury?”
Megan said nothing.
I looked down at the floor.
“Whose body?”
Finally she answered.
“The coroner identified it as an unidentified male.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“They used fingerprints.”
“Evan's?”
“No.”
I turned toward her.
“Then how did they identify him?”
Megan's voice became quieter.
“Dental records.”
I laughed.
A tiny, hysterical sound.
“Evan never had dental records.”
“He did.”
“What?”
“Under another name.”
The SUV suddenly felt too small.
Megan pulled into a gas station.
“We need to understand something, Caroline.”
She turned off the engine.
“The man you married may not have been the man you thought he was.”
I stared at her.
Twenty years of memories rushed through my mind.
Our wedding.
Our first apartment.
Our vacations.
His favorite coffee.
His laugh.
His scar.
Every little thing.
“You're saying my husband was a stranger?”
“I’m saying I don’t know.”
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
STOP ASKING WHO WAS IN THE COFFIN.
A second message arrived immediately.
ASK WHO WAS IN THE BOAT.
I looked at Megan.
She read it over my shoulder.
Then her phone rang.
She answered.
A man's voice whispered through the speaker.
“Caroline is not the only Whitaker who was supposed to die.”
The call ended.
Megan slowly looked at me.
“What does that mean?”
May you like
Before I could answer, we heard a car door slam outside.
Someone had followed us.
