Chapter 13: The Voice From the Past
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
“Emily?””
I repeated the name quietly.
Claire didn’t answer immediately.
“Michael, I need you to understand something.””
“What?””
“The person on the phone identified herself as Emily.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“But Emily is dead.””
A long silence followed.
Then Claire said:
“That’s what we need to find out.””
The call ended.
I stood in the middle of my living room, staring at Vanessa.
She looked like she had seen a ghost.
Maybe she had.
“Mason,” I said.
He looked at me.
“Go check on Lily.””
He nodded and walked away.
The second he disappeared upstairs, I turned back to Vanessa.
“Who called you that night?””
Her lips parted.
No answer.
“Vanessa.””
She looked down.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t know?””
“I received a call.””
“From Emily.””
Her entire body froze.
That was enough.
“You knew.””
Tears appeared in her eyes.
“I thought she was gone.””
My anger faded for a second.
Not because I forgave her.
Because I realized there was another piece of this nightmare.
Something bigger.
“Tell me everything.””
Vanessa sat down.
“I was in the kitchen that night.””
“The night Lily disappeared?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
She stared at her hands.
“Because I heard Lily crying.””
I waited.
“She was saying she wanted her mother.””
My chest tightened.
“And?””
“I went into her room.””
“What happened?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“She looked at me and said, ‘You’re not my mommy.’”
The words hung in the air.
“And that made you take her outside?””
“No.””
Her voice broke.
“I took her outside because I thought she needed to see something.””
“See what?””
“The stars.””
I stared at her.
“You scared her because you wanted her to look at the sky?””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“I wanted her to understand that her mother was still with her.””
I didn’t know what to say.
Because buried inside something horrible was something that almost sounded like grief.
Almost.
“But then?””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Then my phone rang.””
“Emily?””
She nodded.
“I heard her voice.””
My stomach turned.
“What did she say?””
Vanessa’s face went pale.
“She said, ‘Mom, you promised.’”
The room became silent.
I looked toward the stairs.
My daughter.
My stepson.
The two children Vanessa had hurt while chasing something she had lost.
“What did you say?””
“I dropped the phone.””
“Why?””
“Because I knew it couldn’t be real.””
“Unless?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“Unless someone wanted me to think it was.””
A chill moved through me.
Someone.
Not something.
Someone.
The next day, Claire arranged for us to review the original footage.
The video was grainy.
But clear enough.
I watched Vanessa lead Lily outside.
Not dragging her.
Not forcing her.
Talking to her.
That confused me.
Because I expected cruelty.
I expected anger.
Instead, I saw something else.
Desperation.
Then Lily sat beside the shed.
Vanessa stepped away.
Her phone rang.
She answered.
And her entire face changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
Then she dropped the phone.
Claire paused the video.
“Look closely.””
The screen froze.
I leaned forward.
“What?””
“There.””
She pointed.
Near the shed.
A shadow.
Someone standing behind the fence.
My heart raced.
“Who is that?””
“We don’t know.””
Claire zoomed in.
The image became blurry.
But there was something.
A person watching.
Not Vanessa.
Not Lily.
Someone else.
Then Claire played the audio.
Static.
Wind.
Then a voice.
A woman’s voice.
Soft.
“You said you would fix it.””
Vanessa’s face went white.
She whispered:
“No.””
I looked at her.
“You recognize that voice.””
She didn’t answer.
“Vanessa.””
She covered her mouth.
“It can’t be.””
“Who is it?””
Her eyes filled with fear.
Then she said:
“Emily.””
That evening, Mason found something in Vanessa’s old belongings.
A letter.
No envelope.
No name.
Just a handwritten page.
He brought it to me.
“Dad.””
I opened it.
The handwriting was shaky.
The first sentence made my heart stop.
*Mom, I know you think I’m gone.*
I looked at Mason.
“What is this?””
He shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
I kept reading.
*But I’m still here. And I need you to finish what you started.*
The page continued.
It mentioned Lily.
It mentioned me.
It mentioned a plan.
Then the final line made my blood run cold.
*She is the replacement you promised me.*
I dropped the paper.
Because suddenly the question wasn’t whether Vanessa had lost control.
May you like
The question was:
Who had been controlling Vanessa?
