Chapter 9: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
For several seconds, I thought I had misunderstood.
"Grandma?""
Maya nodded.
"Mom's mother?""
She nodded again.
I stared at the drawing.
Rachel's mother, Eleanor Carter, had died when Maya was six.
A heart attack.
At least, that was what the family had been told.
I remembered the funeral.
The closed casket.
Vanessa crying beside me.
Rachel standing silently, holding Maya's hand.
I looked at my daughter.
"Sweetheart, Grandma Eleanor is gone.""
Maya shook her head.
"Mom said she wasn't.""
My throat tightened.
"How do you know?""
Maya pointed at the drawing.
"Because I saw her.""
I sat down slowly.
"Where?""
"At our house.""
"When?""
"The night Mom died.""
I tried to keep my voice steady.
"Tell me exactly what you remember.""
Maya rubbed her hands together.
"I was in my bedroom. Mom told me to stay there. Then I heard Aunt Vanessa shouting.""
I nodded.
"Go on.""
"Then I heard footsteps on the stairs. Someone came into the hallway.""
"Who?""
"Grandma.""
I felt a chill move down my spine.
Maya continued.
"She was wearing a black coat. I thought she was a ghost at first.""
I swallowed.
"What happened?""
"She went downstairs. I heard Mom say, 'You promised me you wouldn't come back.''"
I gripped the edge of the chair.
"And then?""
Maya's eyes filled.
"Grandma said, 'You were never supposed to find out.''"
I couldn't breathe.
"What happened after that?""
Maya looked down.
"I heard something fall.""
She began crying.
"I wanted to go help Mom, but Aunt Vanessa came upstairs. She told me to stay in my room. She said Mom was having another one of her headaches.""
I held my daughter.
"Did you see Grandma again?""
Maya nodded.
"She looked at me through the doorway.""
"What did she say?""
Maya closed her eyes.
"She said I looked just like my mother.""
I felt sick.
Then Maya whispered:
"She told Aunt Vanessa that the little girl had to be moved before morning.""
I pulled away slightly.
"Which little girl?""
Maya looked at me.
"Me.""
My phone vibrated.
Sergeant Brooks.
I answered immediately.
"Brooks, I need you to listen to something.""
I explained Maya's statement.
The sergeant was silent for several seconds.
Then she asked, "Are you certain she said Eleanor Carter?""
"Yes.""
"Daniel, we need to be careful. Eleanor Carter's death certificate is legitimate, but the circumstances surrounding her burial may need to be reviewed.""
"What are you saying?""
"I'm saying I need to check something.""
I stood.
"Check what?""
"Whether the person buried under Eleanor's name was actually Eleanor.""
The phone nearly slipped from my hand.
Brooks continued.
"Do not discuss this with anyone outside the investigation. Especially Vanessa.""
I looked toward the hospital door.
For the first time since arriving, I was afraid of someone who wasn't physically present.
Someone who might have been dead for years.
"Sergeant, where is Vanessa now?""
"She was released pending further investigation. Her attorney argued that the placement documents were not enough to hold her.""
"She's free?""
"For now.""
I clenched my jaw.
"Then find her.""
"We're trying.""
The call ended.
Thomas entered carrying coffee.
He looked at my face.
"What happened?""
I handed him the drawing.
He studied it.
Then his eyes widened.
"That's Eleanor.""
I nodded.
"Maya says she saw her the night Rachel died.""
Thomas lowered the drawing.
"Daniel, there's something I never told you.""
I stared at him.
"What?""
He pulled a chair closer.
"About six months after Eleanor's funeral, I saw someone who looked exactly like her outside your old house.""
My stomach tightened.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"I thought I was mistaken.""
"Thomas.""
He looked down.
"She was standing near the mailbox. I called her name. She turned around and got into a car.""
"What kind of car?""
"A black sedan.""
I felt my pulse quicken.
"Did you see the driver?""
Thomas hesitated.
Then he said, "Vanessa.""
I sat motionless.
The pieces were becoming more disturbing.
If Eleanor was alive, then whose funeral had we attended?
And why had Rachel been afraid of her?
A nurse entered to check Maya's IV.
Her name was Olivia.
She glanced at the drawing.
"That's quite a picture, sweetheart.""
Maya immediately pulled it against her chest.
Olivia smiled awkwardly.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you.""
She checked the monitor and left.
I watched her disappear into the corridor.
Then my phone rang again.
Michael.
"Daniel, I found something in the storage unit.""
"What?""
"The envelope marked J.C. It contains James's original statement.""
I closed my eyes.
"Read it.""
"I can't read the entire document over the phone. But the important part is that James identified the biological father of Sophie.""
"Who?""
Michael hesitated.
Then he said a name.
"Gregory Shaw.""
I gripped the phone.
"What?""
"James wrote that Gregory had been involved with his wife before Sophie was born. He also believed Gregory had deliberately concealed the truth.""
I stared at Maya.
The little girl who had been caught in the middle of a financial conspiracy.
Sophie wasn't just the daughter of a dead man.
She was the daughter of the man who had helped Vanessa forge the documents.
And suddenly, the six names on Rachel's list made sense.
Gregory hadn't simply been paid to keep quiet.
He had a personal reason to control Sophie's inheritance.
Michael continued.
"There's a second page. James believed Gregory and Vanessa had been working together for years.""
I looked toward the hospital window.
"Does the document name anyone else?""
"Yes.""
"Who?""
Michael's voice dropped.
"Your mother-in-law.""
I felt my blood turn cold.
"That doesn't make sense. Eleanor died before Sophie was born.""
"According to the records, yes. But James wrote that Eleanor had arranged the original guardianship agreement.""
I closed my eyes.
"Michael, I think Eleanor is alive.""
Silence.
Then he said, "Daniel, there's something I need you to see.""
"What?""
"I found an old photograph in the trunk. It was taken two weeks before Rachel died.""
He sent it.
I opened the attachment.
The photograph showed four people standing outside a restaurant.
Vanessa.
Gregory.
Dr. Pierce.
And an older woman wearing a dark coat.
I zoomed in.
The woman's face was unmistakable.
Eleanor Carter.
My dead mother-in-law.
But that wasn't the part that made my hands shake.
The date printed on the photograph was two weeks before Rachel's death.
And on the back, in Rachel's handwriting, were the words:
*The three people who know what happened to James.*
I looked at Michael.
"Why is Eleanor standing with them?""
He answered quietly.
"Because, Daniel, James didn't die in an ordinary car accident either.""
Before I could respond, Maya's hospital monitor began beeping rapidly.
A nurse rushed into the room.
"Mr. Carter, step back!""
I turned.
Maya was clutching her chest, staring toward the doorway.
Not at the nurse.
Not at me.
At someone standing behind the glass panel.
A woman in a black coat.
White hair.
One hand resting on the door handle.
Maya screamed.
"GRANDMA!""
The woman smiled.
Then she lifted her other hand.
She was holding a photograph.
A photograph of Rachel.
And beneath it was a handwritten message pressed against the glass.
*YOUR MOTHER LIED TO YOU, DANIEL.*
I rushed toward the door.
But before I could reach it, the woman disappeared.
And the nurse shouted that Maya's heart rate was climbing dangerously fast.
I turned back toward my daughter.
Then I saw something lying on the floor beside her bed.
A small white envelope.
It had not been there a moment earlier.
My name was written across the front.
Inside was a single photograph.
Rachel, standing beside me on our wedding day.
And behind us, almost hidden among the guests, was a little boy.
A boy I had never seen before.
May you like
On the back, someone had written:
*Ask Daniel Carter why he never remembers his first family.*
