Chapter 12 - Elena stared at her mother.“What?”
Claire didn't blink.
“You heard me.”
“You think I'm behind this?”
“No.”
“Then why point at me?”
“Because someone has been using your identity.”
Claire walked closer.
“For twelve years.”
Elena shook her head.
“How?”
Claire opened the folder.
Inside were photographs of Elena.
Different ages.
Different locations.
Different signatures.
Different bank accounts.
“Someone has been impersonating you.”
Elena stared.
“Who?”
Claire looked at Margaret.
Margaret answered:
“Your twin.”
Silence.
Vanessa whispered:
“She has a twin?”
Claire nodded.
“She was born seven minutes after Elena.”
Elena's mouth went dry.
“What happened to her?”
“We were told she died.”
“Who told you?”
Claire's eyes filled with pain.
“Your father.”
Elena stared.
“Then my father lied.”
“Yes.”
Claire looked away.
“He knew the second child carried something dangerous.”
“What?”
“A memory.”
Elena frowned.
“A memory?”
“Your sister witnessed a murder.”
Everyone went silent.
“Whose murder?”
Claire whispered:
“Your father's.”
Elena felt dizzy.
“My sister saw who killed him.”
Ruiz stepped forward.
“Where is she?”
Claire looked toward the basement door.
“She was here.”
The door slammed shut.
Everyone turned.
A woman stepped from the shadows.
She looked exactly like Elena.
Same eyes.
Same face.
Same voice.
Vanessa gasped.
Daniel took a step back.
Elena stared at her twin.
“Who are you?”
The woman smiled.
“I've been you for twelve years.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
“You?”
The woman nodded.
“I signed your father's documents.”
“I lived your life.”
“I married Daniel.”
Elena stared at him.
Daniel looked devastated.
“You knew?”
“No.”
The twin laughed.
“Of course he didn't.”
She looked at Elena.
“Your husband believed I was you.”
Elena's eyes narrowed.
“Then why did you push me?”
“Because you discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
The twin walked closer.
“That you're not the real heir.”
Elena stared.
“What?”
Her twin whispered:
“You were never Thomas Reed's biological daughter.”
The room fell silent.
Elena looked at Claire.
“Is that true?”
Claire couldn't speak.
Elena's voice broke.
“Mother.”
Claire finally nodded.
“Yes.”
The words destroyed something inside Elena.
She stepped backward.
“Then who am I?”
The twin smiled.
“That is the one question your father died trying to answer.”
Then she raised her phone.
“Because the DNA test was just decrypted.”
She pressed play.
A recorded voice filled the room.
Thomas Reed.
“Elena isn't my daughter.”
A pause.
“She is the daughter of the man who founded the network.”
Elena froze.
The recording continued.
“And if she ever discovers the truth...”
Thomas's voice lowered.
“they will kill her.”
The recording stopped.
Everyone stared at Elena.
Her entire identity had just collapsed.
May you like
And then her twin whispered:
“Now you understand why they need your baby.”
