Chapter 8 - 742We drove to 742 that night.
The house was abandoned.
Windows boarded.
Grass knee-high.
A rusted bicycle lay beside the porch.
I stared at the red mailbox.
Exactly as in the photograph.
Daniel checked the back door.
Unlocked.
Inside, dust covered everything.
Until we reached the upstairs bedroom.
There, the room was spotless.
Fresh sheets.
Fresh flowers.
A children's drawing taped to the wall.
I stepped closer.
It showed a mother.
A father.
Two little girls.
And another figure standing outside the house.
The figure had no face.
Underneath it was written:
THE WATCHER.
Daniel searched the drawers.
He found photographs.
Dozens.
All of me.
At work.
At the grocery store.
Walking Emma to daycare.
Sleeping in my own house.
Some photographs were taken years ago.
Others were recent.
Someone had been watching me for a very long time.
Then I found a folder.
Inside was Emma's medical information.
Hospital records.
Vaccination records.
School records.
Even her blood type.
My stomach turned.
“This isn't about the skillet,” I whispered.
Daniel looked up.
“What?”
“Someone has been tracking Emma.”
There was a noise downstairs.
We froze.
Footsteps.
One.
Two.
Three.
Coming up the stairs.
Daniel grabbed a metal flashlight.
The footsteps stopped outside the bedroom.
The door opened.
An elderly woman stood there.
I recognized her immediately.
The woman from the mirror.
“Lily?”
She smiled.
“Finally.”
My knees almost buckled.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why did they tell me you died?”
She looked past me.
“At first because of the accident.”
Then her eyes hardened.
“Later because your father paid me to disappear.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Why come back now?”
She looked at Emma's records.
“Because they made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“They thought the past belonged to them.”
I stared at her.
“What happened sixteen years ago?”
Lily took a slow breath.
“Vanessa pushed me.”
My heart stopped.
“And you?”
“I survived.”
“Then why did everyone blame me?”
“Because Vanessa knew you wouldn't remember.”
I whispered:
“Why did Mom protect her?”
Lily's eyes filled with sadness.
“Because our father threatened her.”
“With what?”
“Your life.”
I felt cold.
“What does that mean?”
Lily walked to the window.
“Your father had a secret.”
“What secret?”
She looked at me.
“Emma is not your only daughter.”
I stared.
“What?”
Lily took out a tiny photograph.
A baby.
The same baby from the apartment.
“Rachel,” she whispered, “you gave birth to another child.”
I felt the room spin.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Five years ago.”
I shook my head.
“That's impossible.”
May you like
Lily looked at me.
“You were told the baby died.”
