Chapter 7 - The Woman I Thought I KnewMy wife had been dead for eleven years.

Her name was Claire.

She died peacefully after a long illness.

At least, that was what I had believed.

Now I was staring at a document claiming she had given birth to Noah twenty-eight years ago.

“That’s impossible.”

Marcus didn't answer.

“Claire was pregnant once.”

“With Lily?”

“Yes.”

“Then explain this.”

He showed me another record.

A hospital admission.

Twenty-eight years earlier.

Claire Carter.

Labor and delivery.

Male child.

Name withheld.

I sat down.

“There was never another child.”

Marcus looked at me carefully.

“Are you sure?”

“I was there.”

“Was Claire?”

I looked up.

“What kind of question is that?”

“You said she died eleven years ago.”

“Yes.”

“Did she ever tell you about the first year of your marriage?”

I remembered.

Small details.

A period when she traveled to another state.

Her family called it a medical treatment.

She had been gone for nearly four months.

I had believed it was a pregnancy complication.

When she returned, she refused to talk about it.

I had respected her privacy.

Marcus pushed another photograph across the table.

Claire.

Holding a newborn baby.

I couldn't breathe.

Behind her stood Victor Vance.

My wife's face showed fear.

Victor looked directly into the camera.

On the back of the photograph was one line.

The Carter child remains useful.

I stood so quickly the chair fell.

“No.”

Marcus caught my arm.

“Thomas.”

“No.”

I took a step back.

“This is a lie.”

“Then we'll prove it's a lie.”

“What if it isn't?”

Marcus said nothing.

I stared at Claire's photograph.

Suddenly memories returned.

She had always been secretive about one period of her life.

I had never questioned it.

Not because I didn't care.

Because I trusted her.

Maybe too much.

We returned to my old house.

The place felt different now.

Every memory had become suspicious.

Marcus searched Claire's old belongings.

At the bottom of a storage trunk, hidden beneath blankets, he found a metal box.

Inside was a letter.

My name was written on it.

I opened it.

Thomas,

If you're reading this, then they have probably found Noah.

Please don't hate me.

I didn't leave you because I wanted to.

Victor said if I told you the truth, Lily would die.

I believed him.

My hands trembled.

The letter continued.

Claire had given birth to a boy.

Victor had arranged for the baby to disappear.

He promised Claire he would be protected.

She never saw him again.

Until years later.

Then she discovered the boy was alive.

His name was Noah.

She tried to expose the Vances.

They threatened Lily.

So Claire stayed silent.

I stopped reading.

“Why didn't she tell me before she died?”

Marcus answered softly.

“Maybe she thought silence was still protecting Lily.”

I looked at the final line.

Thomas, Noah is not the weapon they think he is. He is the witness.

Below it was another sentence.

And if Daniel discovers the blue ledger, everyone connected to the Vances will come for you.

Marcus's eyes narrowed.

“What blue ledger?”

I shook my head.

“I don't know.”

Then my phone rang.

An unknown number.

I answered.

“Hello?”

A child's voice whispered.

“Mr. Carter?”

“Yes.”

“I'm Noah.”

Every muscle in my body went still.

“How did you get this number?”

“They took me downstairs.”

“Where are you?”

“I don't know.”

“What do you see?”

“It's dark.”

His breathing became shaky.

Then he whispered something that made my blood run cold.

“There's a woman here.”

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“Who?”

“She looks like your wife.”