Chapter 8: The Woman in the Photograph
Marcus crawled toward the kitchen island.
“Maya, stay down.””
She nodded, trembling.
Sarah crouched beside her.
Vanessa was shaking so badly she could barely stand.
Thomas pulled her behind the counter.
Daniel stared at the shattered window.
“They're not trying to kill you.””
Marcus looked at him.
“What?””
Daniel pointed at the wall.
“The shot was too high.””
Marcus looked at the bullet hole.
Daniel continued.
“They're sending a message.””
A phone began ringing.
Not Maya's.
Not Sarah's.
Vanessa slowly reached into her blouse pocket.
Marcus stared at her.
“Whose phone is that?””
Vanessa didn't answer.
“Vanessa.””
She pulled it out.
The screen showed one word.
*UNKNOWN.*
Marcus grabbed it.
“Put it on speaker.””
Vanessa shook her head.
Marcus pressed answer.
Nobody spoke.
Then a woman's voice came through.
“Hello, Marcus.””
Maya's blood ran cold.
The voice sounded familiar.
Sarah covered her mouth.
“No.””
Marcus looked at her.
“You know her.””
Sarah whispered,
“That's Rebecca.””
Maya frowned.
“Who?””
Sarah stared at the phone.
“Your biological mother.””
Maya stopped breathing.
The voice on the phone laughed softly.
“Hello, Maya.””
Maya couldn't speak.
The woman continued.
“I've waited seventeen years to hear you breathe.””
Marcus's hand tightened around the phone.
“Where are you?””
“Not far.””
“Why are you doing this?””
“Because Thomas stole my daughter.””
Thomas's expression hardened.
“She abandoned her.””
Rebecca laughed.
“No. You paid doctors to tell me my baby was dead.””
Maya looked at Thomas.
He said nothing.
Rebecca continued.
“You took Maya from the hospital.””
Sarah began crying.
Maya stared at her.
“And you knew?””
Sarah shook her head.
“I found out years later.””
Rebecca's voice sharpened.
“You found out and stayed silent.””
“I was trying to protect her.””
“You protected yourself.””
Maya closed her eyes.
Every version of her childhood seemed to crack apart at once.
Marcus took the phone.
“Rebecca, if you're Maya's mother, why didn't you come back?””
“I tried.””
“When?””
“Every year.””
Marcus frowned.
“Then where were you?””
“Prison.””
Silence.
Maya opened her eyes.
“What?””
Rebecca answered gently.
“Thomas framed me.””
Thomas finally spoke.
“She's lying.””
Rebecca laughed.
“Ask him about the fire.””
Thomas's expression changed.
Marcus noticed.
“What fire?””
Thomas looked at him.
“Don't.””
Maya stood.
“I'm tired of that word.””
Marcus grabbed her arm.
“Maya—”
“No.””
She looked toward Thomas.
“I want the truth.””
Thomas stared at her.
Rebecca's voice came through the phone.
“The night you were born, there was a fire at the clinic.””
Sarah nodded through tears.
“I remember.””
Rebecca continued.
“Thomas used it to destroy the original records.””
Daniel suddenly spoke.
“He didn't destroy them all.””
Everyone looked at him.
Daniel reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a photograph.
“I kept this.””
Thomas lunged toward him.
Marcus blocked him.
Daniel handed the photograph to Maya.
It showed a hospital room.
Two women stood beside a newborn baby.
Sarah on one side.
Rebecca on the other.
Maya stared.
“Why are both of you here?””
Rebecca's voice softened through the phone.
“Because we were sisters.””
Maya looked at Sarah.
“Sisters?””
Sarah nodded.
“We were.””
Marcus looked stunned.
“You never told me.””
“I was ashamed.””
Rebecca's voice shook.
“Thomas hated that Sarah helped me.””
Thomas shouted,
“Because you were both thieves!””
Marcus turned.
“What did they steal?””
Thomas said nothing.
Daniel answered.
“The money.””
Marcus frowned.
“What money?””
“The money Thomas was hiding.””
Daniel looked at Maya.
“Your mother discovered that Thomas had been laundering money through the family business.””
Maya looked at Thomas.
“And you framed her.””
Thomas's jaw tightened.
“She was going to destroy us.””
Sarah stepped forward.
“She was going to expose you.””
Rebecca's voice became quiet.
“And then Thomas made a deal.””
Marcus looked at her.
“With who?””
“With Vanessa.””
Vanessa's face crumpled.
Maya turned.
“What deal?””
Vanessa whispered,
“He promised he'd leave Marcus alone if I helped him separate you from both your mothers.””
Marcus stared at Vanessa.
“You chose him over us.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I thought I could control it.””
“You couldn't.””
“No.””
She looked at Maya.
“I was wrong.””
Maya's phone buzzed.
A message appeared.
*THE SECOND BOX IS IN THE CHURCH ON MAPLE STREET.*
Another message followed.
*COME ALONE, MAYA.*
Marcus saw it.
“No.””
Maya looked at him.
“I have to go.””
“Absolutely not.””
Rebecca's voice came through the phone.
“Marcus is right.””
Maya stared at the screen.
“Mom?””
Rebecca hesitated.
“Both of us are.””
Maya's eyes filled.
“I just want answers.””
“You'll get them,” Rebecca said.
“But not alone.””
A loud crash came from outside.
Everyone turned toward the driveway.
A black SUV had smashed through the front gate.
Marcus grabbed Maya.
“Everyone upstairs. Now.””
But Thomas wasn't moving.
He was staring through the broken window.
His face had gone completely pale.
Maya followed his gaze.
A woman was stepping out of the SUV.
She was holding a photograph.
And even from across the yard, Maya recognized her.
She looked exactly like Sarah.
Exactly.
Sarah whispered,
“That's not Rebecca.””
Thomas's voice trembled.
“No.””
The woman raised the photograph.
On it was a picture of two newborn babies.
One was Maya.
The other had the same face.
The same birthmark.
The same eyes.
May you like
The woman smiled.
Then she pointed directly at Maya.
