Chapter 12: The Woman Who Shared My Face
We drove through the city without speaking.
My father sat in the passenger seat.
Vanessa sat in the back.
And I sat behind the wheel, holding a phone with one message burned into my mind.
Don’t trust them.
Especially Vanessa.
Lily had reached out.
But she still didn’t trust us.
I understood.
If I discovered strangers had hidden my identity for twenty years, I wouldn’t trust them either.
The address Vanessa gave us was outside the city.
A small apartment building.
Nothing dramatic.
Nothing secret.
Almost too normal.
“That’s where she lived?”” my father asked.
Vanessa nodded.
“Elena found her here.””
I parked.
Nobody moved.
My father looked at me.
“You don’t have to do this.””
I looked at him.
“Yes, I do.””
He nodded.
Because he knew.
We walked upstairs.
Each step felt heavier.
Apartment 3B.
Vanessa knocked.
No answer.
She knocked again.
“Lily?””
Silence.
Then footsteps.
The door opened.
And time stopped.
She looked like me.
Not exactly.
But enough.
Same eyes.
Same expression when confused.
Same slight tilt of the head.
The woman standing there stared at me like she was looking into a mirror.
“Maya?””
My voice disappeared.
She whispered:
“You came.””
I nodded.
“I did.””
Her eyes moved behind me.
To Vanessa.
Then my father.
Her expression changed instantly.
Fear.
“You brought them?””
I froze.
“Who?””
She stepped backward.
“You shouldn’t have brought Vanessa.””
My father looked at her.
“Lily?””
The woman’s eyes filled.
Because hearing him say her name meant something.
“You know who I am?””
My father couldn’t answer.
He just stared.
Like he was seeing the child he never got to meet.
Lily looked at me.
“You don’t understand.””
“I’m trying.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“You don’t understand what she did.””
Everyone looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa whispered:
“Lily…”
“Don’t say my name.””
The pain in Lily’s voice surprised me.
Not anger.
Betrayal.
“What happened?””
Lily looked at me.
Then at the apartment.
Then back at me.
“Your mother told me never to come home.””
My heart sank.
“Why?””
“Because home wasn’t safe.””
A chill moved through me.
“Safe from who?””
Lily stared at Vanessa.
And answered:
“Her.””
Vanessa looked destroyed.
“I never hurt you.””
Lily laughed sadly.
“No.””
A pause.
“You just helped the person who did.””
My father stepped forward.
“Explain.””
Lily looked at him.
“Daniel.””
The way she said his name made him freeze.
She knew him.
“I saw your wedding pictures.””
My father swallowed.
“I’m sorry.””
“For what?””
“For everything.””
Lily looked away.
“I spent my whole life wondering why nobody came for me.””
The words broke something in my father.
Then she looked at me.
“But I never blamed you.””
I felt tears forming.
“Why?””
“Because you were a child.””
A pause.
“You didn’t choose to be the one they saved.””
I didn’t understand.
“What do you mean?””
Lily walked to a drawer.
She pulled out an old envelope.
My mother’s handwriting.
Again.
She handed it to me.
“Maya, your mother wanted you to have this.””
My hands shook.
I opened it.
Only one sentence was written inside.
Maya,
If Lily finds you before you find her, ask her the question nobody else asked.
I looked up.
“What question?””
Lily’s face changed.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“The question your mother was too afraid to ask.””
“What?””
Lily whispered:
“Who was really trying to protect us?””
Before I could answer, the apartment lights went out.
A phone rang in the darkness.
Everyone froze.
Lily looked at the screen.
Her face turned white.
Because the caller’s name was displayed.
Marcus.
May you like
And he wasn’t calling Lily.
He was calling me.
