Chapter 5: The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
“No.””
The word left my mouth before I even realized I had spoken.
I stared at the black screen.
Waiting.
Waiting for Damien’s face to return.
Waiting for him to explain.
Waiting for him to tell me this was another misunderstanding.
But the video was over.
“That’s it?”” I whispered.
Marcus looked away.
“That’s all I saw.””
I turned toward him.
“You’re telling me you had this the entire time?””
“I had it because Damien trusted me.””
“And you waited until his funeral?””
His jaw tightened.
“I was trying to keep you alive.””
The anger inside me burned hotter.
“Don’t say that like it’s enough.””
“Elena.””
“No.””
My voice broke.
“No one gets to tell me they protected me after letting me live inside a lie.””
The chapel fell quiet.
Even Mara looked at me differently.
Maybe because she understood.
She had been lied to too.
Just in a different way.
Cole walked closer.
“We need to think carefully.””
I looked at him.
“About what?””
“About who knew Damien was alive.””
The question settled over us.
Marcus shook his head.
“Damien wasn’t alive publicly.””
“But privately?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
I looked at Damien’s coffin.
The flowers around him suddenly looked fake.
The sympathy cards.
The prayers.
The tears.
Everything.
A performance.
“Did he actually die?”” I asked.
Nobody responded.
My stomach dropped.
“Answer me.””
Cole looked at the floor.
“I don’t know.””
I felt like the air disappeared.
“You don’t know?””
“Elena…”
“No.””
I stepped away.
“My husband is lying in a coffin, and you don’t know if he’s dead?””
The silence was unbearable.
Then Mara spoke.
“I never saw his body.””
I turned toward her.
“What?””
“When they told me he was gone, I never saw him.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“I saw the body,” I whispered.
Everyone looked at me.
“I saw him.””
Cole’s face changed.
“Are you sure?””
The question offended me.
I almost shouted.
“I held his hand.””
My voice softened.
“I kissed his forehead.””
The memory hit me.
The hospital room.
The machines.
The doctors.
The moment they told me there was nothing more they could do.
I had believed every second.
But now…
I remembered something.
Something small.
Something I ignored because I was too broken.
“The scar.””
Cole looked confused.
“What scar?””
“Damien had a scar on his left wrist.””
Mara stared.
“What?””
“He got it when we were married.””
I looked at Cole.
“The body had it.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Marcus quietly said:
“Elena…”
I looked at him.
“What?””
He hesitated.
“Damien knew they might use someone else.””
The room went completely still.
My heart pounded.
“Someone else?””
Marcus nodded.
“He was afraid someone would replace him.””
A horrible thought entered my mind.
“No.””
Nobody moved.
“No.””
I looked toward the coffin.
“No, that’s impossible.””
But my own voice sounded uncertain.
Cole slowly walked toward the coffin.
“Don’t.””
I grabbed his arm.
“Don’t open it.””
He stopped.
Everyone understood why.
Because if we looked…
we might find answers.
Or we might destroy the last piece of reality I had left.
Then Mara’s phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her face changed.
“Who is it?”” I asked.
She didn’t answer.
“Mara.””
Slowly, she turned the phone toward us.
A message.
No number.
No name.
Just three words.
*STOP SEARCHING DAMIEN.*
My blood ran cold.
A second message appeared.
*OR YOU’LL FIND OUT WHY HE NEEDED TWO WIVES.*
Nobody spoke.
Then another message came.
This time with a photo.
Mara opened it.
And when I saw the image…
I forgot how to breathe.
Because it was Damien.
Alive.
Standing somewhere.
With someone beside him.
May you like
Someone I recognized.
Someone who was supposed to be helping us find the truth.
