Chapter 6: The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The phone kept ringing.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The screen glowed in Ethan’s hand.
*MOM*
A name that should have belonged to a memory.
A name that should have stayed buried.
I felt the world tilt beneath my feet.
“No.””
The word escaped before I could stop it.
Ethan looked at me carefully.
“Rachel…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“That’s impossible.””
Cole stepped closer.
“Who was your mother?””
I looked at him.
“My mother died when I was twenty-two.””
Nobody said anything.
The phone continued ringing.
A soft, cruel sound.
Like it was mocking everything I believed.
“My father confirmed it,” I said.
My voice became quieter.
“There was a funeral.””
Marcus watched me closely.
“Rachel…”
I turned toward him.
“Don’t.””
The warning in my voice made him stop.
“Not another secret.””
The phone stopped.
For one second, relief appeared.
Then it rang again.
Same name.
Same impossible caller.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“She knows we’re here.””
My blood ran cold.
“How?””
He didn’t answer.
I looked at Cole.
“You knew about this?””
He shook his head.
“No.””
I searched his face.
For a lie.
For hesitation.
Anything.
But he looked genuinely confused.
Marcus, however, looked different.
Not surprised.
Concerned.
And I noticed.
“You know something.””
Marcus looked away.
“Rachel.””
“No.””
I stepped toward him.
“You know something about my mother.””
His silence answered for him.
The phone rang again.
I grabbed Ethan’s hand and took the phone.
“I’m answering.””
Cole immediately said:
“Rachel, wait.””
I looked at him.
“You all told me to wait.””
My voice cracked.
“Wait for answers. Wait for proof. Wait for someone to explain why my husband disappeared.””
I looked around at everyone.
“I’m done waiting.””
I pressed the answer button.
For a few seconds, there was only silence.
Then a woman’s voice.
“Rachel?””
My knees nearly gave out.
Because I knew that voice.
Not from a phone call.
From childhood.
From old recordings.
From dreams.
“Mom?””
The word came out like a whisper.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The woman on the other end was crying.
“Oh my God.””
Her voice shook.
“My little girl.””
I closed my eyes.
Tears blurred everything.
“No.””
I forced myself to speak.
“No, this isn’t real.””
“Rachel, listen to me.””
“Who is this?””
A painful silence.
Then:
“It’s me.””
I gripped the phone harder.
“My mother is dead.””
“I know.””
The answer destroyed me.
“What?””
“I know what you were told.””
My chest tightened.
“Who are you?””
The woman breathed slowly.
“The woman who gave birth to you.””
I looked at everyone.
Cole looked stunned.
Marcus looked like he already knew.
That hurt more than anything.
“You knew,” I said.
Not to the woman on the phone.
To Marcus.
He looked away.
“You knew.””
“I suspected.””
“You suspected my mother was alive?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
My voice rose.
“Five years. Eight years. My whole life.””
The woman on the phone spoke again.
“Rachel, please.””
I ignored her.
“Who are you people?””
Nobody answered.
I laughed bitterly.
“I spent my entire life thinking I understood my own family.””
My hand shook.
“And apparently I don’t even know who my parents are.””
The woman’s voice softened.
“I never wanted you to find out this way.””
I froze.
“Why?””
A long pause.
“Because Daniel promised he would protect you from this.””
My heart stopped.
“Daniel knew?””
“Yes.””
The answer came quietly.
“He found me before he disappeared.””
I looked at Cole.
Then at Marcus.
Everything connected.
Daniel.
My mother.
Lucy.
The secrets.
The missing years.
“What did Daniel know?””
The woman hesitated.
“Everything.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What does that mean?””
Before she could answer, a loud crash came from somewhere nearby.
Everyone turned.
The black SUV.
Its door had opened.
The person inside was moving.
Cole immediately stepped in front of me and Lucy.
“Rachel, get behind me.””
The woman on the phone heard.
“Are you with Cole?””
I froze.
“Yes.””
Her voice changed.
“Leave him.””
My eyes narrowed.
“What?””
“Rachel, you cannot trust Cole.””
The exact same warning.
Again.
First the message.
Then Marcus.
Now her.
Everyone was telling me the same thing.
The man with the raven tattoo was dangerous.
I looked at Cole.
He looked hurt.
Not angry.
Hurt.
“Is that true?””
He stared at me.
“No.””
The woman on the phone spoke quickly.
“He was there the night Daniel vanished.””
My heart sank.
“I know.””
A pause.
“You know?””
“Yes.””
“Then you know what happened?””
I looked at Cole.
His face tightened.
The woman continued.
“Rachel, Daniel didn’t disappear because of the people chasing him.””
“Then why?””
“Because he trusted the wrong person.””
I looked at Marcus.
Then Cole.
Then the approaching figure from the SUV.
“Who?””
The woman whispered:
“Someone inside your family.””
The call suddenly became distorted.
Static.
“Mom?””
“Rachel, listen to me. You need to find the—”
The line cut.
I stared at the phone.
“No.””
I pressed the screen.
“Call back.””
Nothing.
“Call back!””
Nothing.
My hands started shaking.
Lucy wrapped her arms around my waist.
“Mom.””
I looked down.
She was scared now.
Really scared.
I hated that.
I hated that my daughter had been dragged into a world of secrets because adults kept making choices for her.
I knelt beside her.
“Lucy, look at me.””
She did.
“Everything is going to be okay.””
The words felt strange.
Because I wasn’t sure I believed them.
“But I need you to be brave for me.””
She nodded.
Like she always did.
Then she whispered:
“Is Grandma alive?””
I didn’t know how to answer.
Before I could, Cole spoke.
“Rachel.””
I stood.
“What?””
He looked toward the road.
The person from the SUV was getting closer.
“We have to leave.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
His eyes moved to the phone in my hand.
“Because whoever is calling you knows something they shouldn’t.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“For once, Cole is right.””
I looked at him.
“You agreeing with him doesn’t make me trust either of you.””
Marcus nodded.
“I understand.””
That surprised me.
He didn’t argue.
He didn’t defend himself.
He simply looked tired.
Then Ethan spoke.
“Rachel.””
Everyone turned.
He was looking at the letter again.
The one from Daniel.
“What?””
Ethan pointed at a line I hadn’t noticed.
My hands went cold.
I unfolded it.
The sentence was near the bottom.
A sentence I had skipped because of everything else.
*Rachel, if my mother-in-law contacts you, do not believe everything she tells you.*
I stared.
My mother.
Daniel knew.
He knew she was alive.
And he warned me.
I looked up slowly.
“No.””
Cole watched my face.
“What is it?””
I couldn’t speak.
Because the impossible truth was becoming something worse.
A pattern.
Everyone had secrets.
Everyone had a reason.
Everyone had lied.
And Daniel’s final warning was not about Cole.
Not about Marcus.
Not about the people chasing him.
It was about the woman who had just called me.
My mother.
The woman who was supposed to be dead.
My phone vibrated.
A new message.
From the same number.
I opened it.
Only one sentence appeared.
*Rachel, if you are reading this, Daniel is already gone again.*
My heart stopped.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
*And this time, it’s because he came back for you.*
