Chapter 1 - THE WOMAN AT THE ALTARI was three seconds away from becoming a married man when my seven-year-old daughter started crying.
I stood beneath the white flowers at St. Andrew’s Chapel, a gold wedding ring resting between my fingers.
Across from me stood Claire.
Or at least, the woman I believed was Claire.
Her ivory veil covered most of her face. Her hands trembled slightly, but I had assumed she was nervous.
The priest smiled.
“Mark, are you ready?”
I looked at the woman I had loved for fourteen months.
“Yes.”
Then Lily screamed.
“Daddy!”
Every head in the chapel turned.
My daughter rushed down the aisle.
Her little shoes struck the marble floor as she ran straight toward us.
“Lily!”
She reached the altar and grabbed the edge of Claire’s veil.
“Wait!”
Before I could stop her, Lily yanked it backward.
Claire’s face appeared.
She looked frightened.
Lily stared at her.
Then she began crying.
“Daddy, something’s wrong.”
A murmur moved through the chapel.
I crouched beside my daughter.
“What happened?”
She pointed at Claire.
“Look at her ear.”
Claire immediately lifted her hand to her left ear.
That movement froze me.
“Why did you cover it?” I asked.
“I didn’t.”
Her voice sounded strained.
“Move your hand.”
She hesitated.
The hesitation lasted less than two seconds.
But it was long enough.
She lowered her hand.
I stared.
There should have been a tiny V-shaped notch along the upper edge of her ear.
A scar.
Claire had told me she got it when she was six years old after falling from a bicycle.
I had kissed that scar more times than I could remember.
It wasn't there.
My throat tightened.
I looked closer.
The small freckle beneath her jaw was missing too.
Her chin seemed slightly narrower.
And then I heard something that made my stomach turn.
Her voice.
It was almost Claire's voice.
Almost.
But Claire had a soft little pause before certain words. This woman didn't.
I slowly lowered the ring.
“Who are you?”
The chapel went silent.
Claire's mother, Evelyn, suddenly stood.
“Mark, please.”
I turned toward her.
“Please what?”
“We need to discuss this privately.”
“How long have you known?”
Her face collapsed.
She didn't answer.
I took Lily's hand.
“We're stopping the wedding.”
I stepped away from the altar.
Then the woman wearing Claire's dress whispered my name.
“Mark…”
I looked back.
Her fingers moved to the veil.
She slowly removed it.
Tears had collected in the corners of her eyes.
“My name isn't Claire.”
Lily squeezed my hand.
The woman's next words seemed to drain the air from the chapel.
“My name is Rachel.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Rachel?”
She nodded.
“Rachel Vance.”
I stared at her.
The surname hit me like a punch.
“Vance?”
Claire had never mentioned anyone named Rachel.
Rachel looked at Lily.
Then at me.
And whispered:
“Claire is my twin sister.”
My heart hammered.
“Then where is Claire?”
Rachel's face went white.
“She has been missing for three days.”
A glass shattered somewhere behind us.
Nobody moved.
I looked at Evelyn.
She was crying now.
“You knew.”
“I knew Claire was gone,” she whispered.
“You let me stand here and marry her?”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
Rachel suddenly grabbed my arm.
“We didn't have a choice.”
I pulled away.
“What happened to her?”
Rachel looked toward the chapel doors.
“She discovered something.”
“What?”
Rachel swallowed.
“Something inside your house.”
That made no sense.
Claire had lived with me for six months.
“What did she discover?”
Rachel's eyes filled with fear.
“Your basement.”
My body went cold.
“We don't have a basement.”
Rachel stared at me.
“Yes, you do.”
She leaned closer.
“And Claire is not the only person who knew about it.”
Behind us, Lily suddenly whispered:
“Daddy…”
I turned.
She was staring at Claire's mother.
“Grandma knows.”
Evelyn looked at Lily.
Then toward the chapel exit.
And for the first time, I saw genuine terror on her face.
Because someone outside was watching us.
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A man standing behind the stained-glass window.
And when he realized I had seen him, he walked away.
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