Chapter 6: The Woman With My Mother’s Eyes
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
The woman standing in the doorway looked nothing like Cassandra.
Nothing like anyone I had ever known.
She looked exhausted.
Like she had carried a secret for years and finally ran out of strength.
But her eyes…
Her eyes were the same.
The same warmth.
The same sadness.
The same look my mother had in the old photographs.
My father stared at her.
“Who are you?””
The woman looked at him.
Then at me.
“I’m someone who should have come here a long time ago.””
Cassandra stepped backward.
“No.””
The woman’s gaze moved to her.
“Hello, Cassandra.””
The way she said the name made my skin crawl.
Not with fear.
With history.
My father looked between them.
“You know each other?””
The woman nodded.
“Yes.””
Cassandra’s voice became sharp.
“You need to leave.””
The woman ignored her.
She looked at me.
“My name is Elena.””
I couldn’t stop staring.
“Why are you here?””
She held the folder tighter.
“Because your mother asked me to protect you.””
My heart dropped.
Another person.
Another secret.
Another piece of my mother’s life that I never knew existed.
My father stepped forward.
“Explain.””
Elena looked at him.
“You really don’t remember me?””
My father frowned.
“No.””
Her expression changed.
A mixture of sadness and disappointment.
“That’s exactly what she was afraid of.””
Cassandra laughed quietly.
“This is ridiculous.””
Elena looked at her.
“You haven’t changed.””
“Neither have you.””
“Actually, I have.””
Elena lifted the folder.
“I stopped being afraid.””
My father looked at the folder.
“What’s inside?””
Elena didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she walked into the room.
Her eyes moved over everything.
The staircase.
The furniture.
The broken photograph.
Then she looked at me.
“She would hate seeing you standing here like this.””
My eyes burned.
“You knew my mother.””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Elena swallowed.
“She was my best friend.””
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because suddenly there was another person who remembered my mother.
Another person who knew her laugh.
Her habits.
Her dreams.
Another person who carried pieces of her that I had lost.
“Why didn’t I know you?””
Elena looked down.
“Because Cassandra made sure you didn’t.””
The room exploded into silence.
My father turned.
“Cassandra.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
Elena continued.
“She told your father I was unstable.””
My father looked shocked.
“What?””
“She told him I was obsessed with your mother’s death.””
Cassandra stepped forward.
“Because you were.””
Elena looked at her.
“I was trying to find the truth.””
My father’s face changed.
“The truth about what?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at Cassandra.
“Why did you keep her away?””
Cassandra’s expression hardened.
“Because she was dangerous.””
Elena smiled sadly.
“Still using that word.””
“What word?””
“Dangerous.””
Elena opened the folder.
“She always called anyone dangerous who could expose her.””
My father reached for the papers.
“Let me see.””
Elena handed him the folder.
Inside were documents.
Photographs.
Copies of messages.
My father scanned the first page.
Then the second.
His face slowly changed.
“What is this?””
Elena looked at him.
“Proof.””
“Proof of what?””
She looked at Cassandra.
“Of what happened before your wife died.””
My stomach turned.
Before my mother died.
The phrase felt heavier than anything else.
My father looked at Cassandra.
“You said everything was an accident.””
Cassandra’s eyes flashed.
“It was.””
Elena shook her head.
“No.””
The word was quiet.
But powerful.
“No, it wasn’t.””
My father stopped moving.
I looked at Elena.
“What are you saying?””
She looked at me.
And her expression broke my heart.
Because she looked like someone who had waited years to say something she never wanted to say.
“Your mother knew she was in danger.””
The room went silent.
I felt dizzy.
“No.””
Elena nodded slowly.
“She knew.””
My father’s voice was barely a whisper.
“From who?””
Elena looked at Cassandra.
Nobody moved.
Cassandra’s face changed.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Recognition.
My father saw it.
“Maya…”
He looked at me.
Then back at Cassandra.
“Is this true?””
Cassandra opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Elena placed the folder on the table.
“There’s more.””
My father looked at her.
“What?””
She reached inside.
And pulled out an old photograph.
She placed it beside my mother’s broken frame.
My breath stopped.
It was my mother.
But she wasn’t alone.
Standing beside her was Cassandra.
And behind them…
Was Marcus.
But the date on the back made my father go pale.
Because it was taken before Cassandra and Marcus had ever met.
He flipped the photograph over.
His fingers shook.
A handwritten note was on the back.
My mother’s handwriting.
Only one sentence.
“Marcus, if you are seeing this, it means Cassandra found the card first.””
My father dropped the photograph.
May you like
And at that exact moment, Cassandra whispered:
“She was never supposed to remember.””
