Chapter 8: The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
I stared at the photograph until the world stopped making sense.
My mother.
Marianne Carter.
Alive.
Standing beside Caroline Blackwood.
The woman everyone believed disappeared.
The woman I had spent twenty-five years mourning.
“No,” I whispered.
Daniel looked at me.
“Elena.””
I shook my head.
“That’s not possible.””
Arthur closed his eyes.
“She survived.””
I turned toward him.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“You let me believe she was dead.””
Arthur looked down.
“I was a coward.””
The word sounded strange coming from him.
A man who controlled companies.
A man whose family name opened every door.
A man who had spent decades hiding the truth.
But now he looked like an old man carrying a weight too heavy to hold.
“Where is she?””
Arthur pointed at the photograph.
“The building.””
Daniel took the picture.
“We need an address.””
The officer checked the back.
There was writing.
A location.
A single sentence.
Bring Elena.
Only Elena.
Daniel immediately shook his head.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“You are not going alone.””
I looked at the photograph again.
My mother had waited twenty-five years.
If she was alive, she had answers.
And I needed them.
“I have to go.””
Daniel frowned.
“It could be a trap.””
“So was the mansion.””
Nobody argued.
Because everyone knew he was right.
Before leaving, I went upstairs to find Lily.
She was sitting in the library with a blanket around her shoulders.
When she saw me, she ran over.
“Are you leaving?””
I knelt beside her.
“For a little while.””
“Are you coming back?””
The question broke something inside me.
Because years ago, I had been the child asking the same thing.
I touched her hand.
“Yes.””
She looked relieved.
Then she whispered.
“I’m sorry.””
“For what?””
“I should have told you sooner.””
I shook my head.
“You were scared.””
She looked down.
“They told me if I talked, people would disappear.””
I felt anger rise in my chest.
But I kept my voice gentle.
“You did the right thing.””
She reached into her pocket.
The recorder.
“Keep this.””
I stared.
“No, Lily. You need it.””
She shook her head.
“I already recorded everything.””
A small smile appeared.
“You said proof matters.””
I smiled back.
“You remembered.””
“I remember everything.””
That sentence stayed with me.
Because Lily had survived by remembering.
And now I had to do the same.
An hour later, Daniel and I arrived at the location from the photograph.
It was an old community center on the edge of the city.
Nothing like Blackwood Mansion.
No guards.
No gates.
No luxury.
Just a quiet building with faded paint.
Daniel checked the entrance.
“Stay behind me.””
I nodded.
We entered.
The hallway was empty.
Then we heard footsteps.
Slow.
Careful.
A woman appeared at the end of the corridor.
She looked older.
Her hair was gray.
Her face carried years of pain.
But I knew her instantly.
My body reacted before my mind could.
“Mom?””
The woman froze.
Her eyes filled with tears.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then she whispered the name nobody had called me in years.
“Lena.””
I covered my mouth.
Twenty-five years disappeared in one second.
I wanted to run to her.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to ask why.
Why did you leave me?
Why didn’t you come back?
But before I could move, another voice came from behind her.
A voice I recognized.
Cold.
Calm.
Controlled.
Victoria.
“She wasn’t supposed to find you this soon.””
My mother’s face changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
She grabbed my arm.
“Lena, listen to me.””
I looked between them.
“What is happening?””
My mother’s hands trembled.
“You need to leave now.””
“Why?””
She looked at Victoria.
Then at me.
“Because the person who destroyed my life…”
She paused.
“…is not the person you think.””
May you like
The lights suddenly went out.
And in the darkness, I heard a door lock behind us.
