Chapter 9 - Mother's RoomMy mother's room had been sealed for twenty years.
Nobody entered.
Not even me.
My father had always said her death was too painful to revisit.
Now Evelyn was telling me she may never have died.
We broke the seal.
Dust covered everything.
The room smelled faintly of lavender.
My mother's dresser remained untouched.
Her jewelry box was still there.
Her wedding dress.
Her books.
Her handwritten notes.
Then Evelyn noticed a painting.
“Move it.”
Behind it was a safe.
Inside was a passport.
My mother's photograph.
A different name.
She was alive.
Her identity had been changed.
I felt my knees weaken.
There were letters too.
Dozens.
All addressed to someone named Helen.
One letter was dated three years after my mother supposedly died.
I opened it.
My mother's handwriting.
He knows about the boys.
Another:
Richard has decided which child will inherit.
Another:
Victor cannot be trusted.
Then the final letter.
If Evelyn finds this, tell her not to marry Adrian.
I stared at the page.
Why had my mother warned Evelyn?
Evelyn looked at me.
“She knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That the wedding was a trap.”
“And she didn't warn me.”
“She tried.”
“How?”
“She sent you letters.”
“I never received them.”
“They were intercepted.”
By Bianca?
“No.”
Evelyn looked toward the doorway.
“By your father.”
We searched the attic.
There we found a trunk containing hundreds of letters.
All addressed to me.
Unopened.
Some dated more than fifteen years earlier.
My mother had written every birthday.
Every Christmas.
Every major milestone.
She had never stopped.
Someone had stolen my entire relationship with her.
Then we found a photograph.
It showed my mother sitting beside a woman.
The woman was alive.
Older.
But unmistakable.
It was the same woman who had appeared on the wedding day in the fake bridal dress.
I stared.
“That can't be.”
Evelyn's face went white.
“That's the woman they wanted to replace me with.”
I looked at the photograph again.
My mother was holding her hand.
Reed asked:
“Who is she?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Her name is Helena.”
“Who is Helena?”
“My mother's sister.”
My head spun.
There had been another woman in the wedding plan.
Not a random replacement.
Family.
Helena had been trained to impersonate Evelyn.
She knew private details.
She knew my habits.
She knew things no stranger could know.
Because she had access to my childhood.
My mother's family.
Our entire history.
Then the truth became clear.
The replacement bride wasn't designed to fool the guests.
She was designed to fool me.
And because she was my mother's niece…
she knew exactly how to do it.
Reed found a hidden compartment in the trunk.
Inside was a cassette.
My mother's voice.
I pressed play.
“If you are hearing this, I am already gone.”
She sounded exhausted.
“Richard believes he can control both boys.”
I closed my eyes.
“But he is wrong.”
There was a long silence.
Then:
“Adrian is not my only son.”
I opened my eyes.
Evelyn grabbed my hand.
My mother continued.
“The other child belongs to someone else.”
I stared at the recorder.
“His father is Victor.”
Silence.
Evelyn whispered:
“What?”
The tape continued.
“Victor and Richard are brothers. They fought over control of the company.”
Then my mother said something that shattered the last illusion I had about my family.
“Victor's son is Nathan.”
I froze.
The room seemed to disappear.
I wasn't Adrian.
I wasn't Richard's son.
I was Victor's.
And the man I called my father…
had stolen me.
But then another voice interrupted the tape.
My father's voice.
“Margaret.”
My mother screamed.
The recording ended.
We stood in silence.
Then footsteps came from the hallway.
Slow.
Measured.
A man entered the room.
Victor.
He looked at me.
May you like
And said:
“Hello, son.”
Related Stories
