Chapter 9 - The Woman Who Looked Like My MotherI stared at the photograph until my eyes hurt.
“That's not possible.”
Evelyn said nothing.
Vanessa backed away from the screen.
“I told you.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“My mother is dead.”
“We need proof,” Evelyn said.
The police officer took the evidence folder.
“We'll verify the identity.”
I looked at the date.
Six months ago.
The same month my father died.
That could not be coincidence.
Unless someone had planned this for years.
I spent that night in a state between anger and disbelief.
At 3:02 a.m., Evelyn woke me.
“We found the passport application.”
I sat up.
“What does it say?”
“The applicant used your mother's social history.”
“Meaning?”
“Addresses. Marriage date. Tax information. Family records.”
I frowned.
“Someone had access.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
She placed the file on the bed.
Daniel.
Richard.
And someone else.
My hands shook.
“Who?”
My father.
Not his signature.
His access code.
The file had been approved using an internal company security system created by my father.
“Why would my father help someone impersonate my mother?”
“We don't know.”
I closed my eyes.
Then remembered his video.
He said Daniel was being used.
Maybe Richard was being used too.
Maybe everyone was.
The investigator called at sunrise.
“We found the woman.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
“A private residence outside the city.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Her name?”
The investigator paused.
“She's calling herself Helen Carter.”
We drove there.
The house stood behind iron gates.
When the door opened, I saw her.
My knees almost gave out.
She looked exactly like my mother.
Same eyes.
Same mouth.
Same tiny scar beneath her chin.
Except my mother had died twelve years ago.
The woman stared at me.
“Claire.”
I couldn't speak.
She smiled sadly.
“You grew up.”
Evelyn stepped between us.
“Who are you?”
The woman looked at her.
“You know.”
“No.”
“Yes, I think you do.”
Then she looked at me.
“Your father told you never to trust anyone who seemed too helpful.”
My breath caught.
Those were his words.
How could she know them?
“Who are you?”
She hesitated.
Then:
“My name is Helen.”
“That isn't an answer.”
She looked at me.
“It's the only answer you're ready for.”
I felt anger surge.
“My mother died when I was eight.”
“I know.”
“You are not her.”
She didn't argue.
Instead, she reached into a drawer.
She pulled out a photograph.
My mother.
My father.
Me.
And a fourth person.
A man I had never seen.
On the back of the photograph was a date.
The year before I was born.
“Who is he?”
She looked at me.
“Your mother's brother.”
“My mother was an only child.”
She smiled faintly.
“That is what your father told you.”
Everything I knew about my family was collapsing.
“Why are you helping Daniel?”
“I never helped Daniel.”
“Then why were you at the airport?”
“To stop him from leaving.”
“Where was he going?”
“Belmont.”
“What is in Belmont?”
She looked at Evelyn.
Then back at me.
“The original ledger.”
My heart raced.
“The real one?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
She said:
“Under your father's old office.”
I froze.
“That building was demolished.”
“Not all of it.”
She pulled out another key.
“This opens the basement.”
Evelyn stared.
“You had this?”
“For twelve years.”
“Why didn't you use it?”
“Because your father told me to wait.”
“Wait for what?”
She looked at me.
“For Claire to become the person who could survive the truth.”
I stepped back.
“What truth?”
She lowered her voice.
“Your father wasn't protecting the company.”
“Then what was he protecting?”
She stared at me.
“You.”
A phone rang.
Mine.
The investigator.
His voice was urgent.
“Claire, you need to leave the house immediately.”
“Why?”
“We found Daniel.”
“Where?”
“At the Belmont construction site.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then why?”
The investigator hesitated.
“Because he isn't alone.”
“Who is with him?”
“Your husband.”
I blinked.
“No.”
“He is with another man.”
“Who?”
The investigator sent me a photograph.
I opened it.
Daniel stood inside the abandoned basement.
Beside him was a man holding a gun.
I recognized the face.
My father.
May you like
Older.
Alive.
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