Chapter 6: The Woman on the Phone Wasn't Supposed to Exist
My father couldn't move.
The phone remained pressed against his ear, but his eyes were fixed on the floor.
“Catherine?”” he whispered.
The woman's breathing was uneven.
“Arthur, please listen to me.””
My father grabbed the edge of the dresser.
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you.””
“Are you alive? Is this really you?””
“Yes.””
He closed his eyes.
A tear rolled down his cheek.
“Catherine…”
Olivia stepped forward.
“Dad, put it on speaker.””
He pressed the button.
The voice filled the bedroom.
“Arthur?””
My father swallowed.
“I'm here.””
“Are Emily and Olivia with you?””
I froze.
“How do you know we're together?”” I asked.
There was a pause.
Then the woman began crying harder.
“My girls.””
Olivia's face crumpled.
“Mom?””
A long silence followed.
Then the woman whispered:
“My little Livvy.””
Olivia covered her mouth.
She looked at me, then at the phone.
“Are you really my mother?””
“Yes, darling.””
“Why didn't you come for me?””
The question hung in the room.
The woman made a small, painful sound.
“I tried.””
Olivia shook her head.
“No. I spent twenty-seven years believing nobody wanted me.””
“I'm so sorry.””
“You have no idea what that felt like.””
“I know I can't undo it.””
“Then tell me what happened.””
The woman took a shaky breath.
“Vanessa came to the hospital the night you were born. She told me she had arranged everything. She said she would take you somewhere safe until Arthur and I could marry.””
My father gripped the dresser harder.
“Vanessa was there?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because she had been working for your father then. She knew about the pregnancy. She told me she could help.””
Olivia's voice trembled.
“And you trusted her?””
“I was nineteen, exhausted, and frightened. I thought she was helping me.””
“What happened next?””
“They told me you had complications. Then a nurse came in and said you hadn't survived.””
Olivia wiped her tears.
“Who signed the death certificate?””
“I never saw one. Vanessa said the hospital had handled everything.””
My father suddenly spoke.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“I tried, Arthur. I called you from the hospital. Vanessa told me you were away on business.””
“I never received a call.””
“I know that now.””
The woman began coughing.
I stepped closer to the phone.
“Mom, where are you?””
“Somewhere safe. For now.””
“Why didn't you tell us you were alive?””
“Because Vanessa found me six years ago.””
My father looked up.
“What?””
“She discovered I had started investigating Olivia's disappearance. She came to my house with Daniel.””
Olivia's face went pale.
“What did they do?””
“They showed me photographs of you both. They told me that if I continued searching, they would make sure you suffered.””
My father slammed his hand against the dresser.
“I'll destroy them.””
“Arthur, please. You don't understand. They have been watching this family for years.””
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you yet.””
“Catherine, I'm coming to find you.””
“No!””
Her voice became urgent.
“Don't come here. Not until you know who is helping Vanessa.””
My father stopped.
“What do you mean?””
“I found out that Daniel wasn't acting alone.””
Robert stepped forward.
“Mrs. Carter, this is Robert Hayes. Can you tell us who else is involved?””
The woman went quiet.
Then she said:
“Someone inside the family.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
“I don't know if I can trust the documents anymore.””
Robert looked at my father.
“Mrs. Carter, we need something concrete.””
“There is a safe-deposit box. At First National Bank. The key is hidden in the place where Arthur proposed to me.””
My father stared at the phone.
“Catherine, I know that place.””
“Inside the old fountain. Beneath the stone where you carved our initials.””
My father looked toward the window.
The old fountain stood in the garden behind the house.
It had been dry for years.
“What's in the box?”” he asked.
“Evidence. Everything I discovered before I disappeared.””
“Who made you disappear?””
The woman began crying again.
“Daniel arranged the documents. Vanessa arranged the people.””
“And where were you taken?””
“I don't know. I was unconscious when they moved me. When I woke up, I was in a private medical facility.””
My father went pale.
“The clinic?””
“Yes.””
Robert immediately opened his folder.
“Which clinic?””
“I don't know the name. But I remember the doctor. Dr. Malcolm Pierce.””
Robert looked at the payment records.
The same name appeared on the invoices.
He pointed at the page.
“Arthur.””
My father stared at it.
Then the call crackled.
“Catherine? Catherine!””
Her voice became distant.
“Arthur, there's something else…”
“What?””
“I never signed the documents transferring my shares.””
My father frowned.
“What shares?””
“The company shares your mother left me. Vanessa forged my signature.””
Robert's expression changed.
“Mrs. Carter, how many shares?””
“All of them. The controlling shares.””
My father looked at Robert.
Robert slowly nodded.
That meant the forged ownership transfer Daniel had presented earlier might be based on another fraudulent transaction.
My mother had never willingly surrendered her position.
And if she was still alive, the legal consequences could be enormous.
Suddenly, the woman whispered:
“Arthur, listen carefully.””
“I'm listening.””
“Don't trust the person who brings you the key.””
The call disconnected.
My father immediately called back.
The number was unavailable.
Olivia began pacing.
“We have to find her.””
“We will,” my father said.
“No. We have to find her now.””
Robert placed a hand on her shoulder.
“We need to be careful. If they know she's contacted us, they may move her.””
Olivia turned toward him.
“They've already stolen twenty-seven years from me. I'm not waiting another day.””
My father looked at her.
“You won't have to.””
He took his coat from the chair.
“Thomas!””
The driver appeared in the doorway.
“Yes, sir?””
“Get the security team. We're checking the fountain.””
Robert stood.
“Arthur, wait. If Catherine is telling the truth, the people who arranged this may still be watching the property.””
My father nodded.
“Then we'll go together.””
I picked up my handbag.
“I'm coming too.””
My father shook his head.
“Emily, I need you to stay here.””
“No.””
“Sweetheart—”
“Dad, Mom specifically left me those documents. She wanted me to find Olivia. She wanted us together. I'm not staying behind while you search for her.””
He studied my face.
Then he nodded.
“All right. But you stay beside me.””
The garden was cold and dark by the time we reached the fountain.
The old stone structure stood beneath a large oak tree. My mother had loved that fountain. She used to sit beside it on summer evenings, reading novels while my father worked in the garden.
Arthur knelt beside the stone base.
“Here.””
He brushed away a layer of dirt.
Two initials had been carved into the stone.
A and C.
Beneath them was a small heart.
My father ran his fingers over the engraving.
“She made me promise never to forget this place.””
He pressed against a loose stone.
It shifted.
Inside was a small brass key.
Robert took it carefully.
“Let's go.””
We returned to the house and drove to First National Bank.
The branch was closed, but Robert had already contacted the bank's emergency legal department and arranged access through its authorized security procedure.
After verifying the relevant documents, a bank officer escorted us into the secure vault area.
The safe-deposit box was small.
Arthur inserted the key.
The lock clicked.
Inside were three envelopes, a USB drive, and a photograph.
My father picked up the photograph first.
It showed my mother standing outside a medical facility.
She looked thinner than I remembered, but she was smiling.
Beside her stood a woman in a white coat.
Robert leaned closer.
“That's Dr. Pierce.””
My father picked up the first envelope.
It contained a handwritten statement describing the forged adoption records.
The second held copies of financial transfers between Daniel, Vanessa, and several shell companies.
The third envelope had my name written across it.
I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
My darling Emily,
If you are reading this, then you have found your sister. And if you have found Olivia, there is a good chance I am finally able to reach you.
I began crying.
There is one thing I need you to understand. Vanessa did not begin this alone. She had help from someone I trusted with my life.
I turned the page.
A name was written in bold handwriting.
*ROBERT HAYES.*
I looked up.
Robert was standing behind my father.
My fingers went numb.
“Dad…”
He turned.
I held out the letter.
My father read the name.
Then slowly raised his eyes toward his attorney.
“Robert?””
The attorney's face had gone completely still.
“That document is a fabrication.””
My father stepped between us.
“Why is your name in my wife's letter?””
Robert closed his briefcase.
“Arthur, I think you should listen before you make a terrible mistake.””
Olivia moved closer to me.
The bank officer quietly stepped toward the security desk.
My father stared at the man who had been his attorney for more than twenty years.
“Tell me what you did.””
Robert looked at him.
Then he reached into his jacket.
I expected a phone.
Instead, he pulled out a photograph.
He placed it on the table.
It showed Robert standing beside Vanessa outside the private medical facility.
And behind them, through a second-floor window, was my mother.
Alive.
Robert finally spoke.
“I didn't put Catherine in that facility.””
May you like
He paused.
“But I was the one who made sure nobody could find her.””
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