Chapter 13: The Mother Who Came Back From the Dead
I stared at my phone.
The incoming video call continued vibrating in my hand.
MOM.
For six years, that contact had been nothing more than a painful reminder of someone I'd lost.
My mother had supposedly died after a long illness. I'd held her hand in a hospital room, kissed her forehead, and watched her breathing slow until the monitor went silent.
I'd attended her funeral.
I'd scattered flowers over her grave.
And now someone was calling me using her name.
“Don't answer,” Vanessa whispered.
I looked at her.
“Why?””
“Because if it's really her, there's a reason she stayed away.””
The call stopped.
A message appeared.
*Corinne, sweetheart. Please don't be afraid. I need to see you.*
Another message followed.
*Your father wasn't the only person who lied to you.*
I felt sick.
Ellis approached the bank security officer.
“Where is this woman?””
“She's in the main reception area. She refuses to leave until she speaks with Mrs. Bascombe.””
Rebecca immediately intervened.
“Nobody allows her into this room until we establish her identity.””
I stared at the message.
Then I made a decision.
“I want to see her.””
Vanessa grabbed my hand.
“Corinne, please.””
“She knows something about Dad. And apparently about everything that's happened to us.””
Rebecca studied my face.
“Then we do this carefully. Security will remain present, and I will record the conversation.””
Five minutes later, the elevator doors opened.
A woman stepped into the corridor.
She wore a navy coat, carried a small leather handbag, and had silver streaks running through her dark hair.
Her face was thinner.
Older.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
My mother's eyes.
She stopped when she saw me.
“Corinne.””
I couldn't speak.
She took one step forward.
“My baby.””
I stepped backward.
“Don't.””
Her expression crumpled.
“Please, sweetheart.””
“Why are you alive?””
She lowered her head.
“My name is Margaret Bascombe. And I owe you an explanation.””
I laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“An explanation? I buried you.””
“I know.””
“I cried at your funeral!””
“I know.””
“You let me believe you were dead for six years!””
She began crying.
Vanessa stood beside me, trembling.
“Tell her everything, Mom.””
Margaret looked at her.
“You were never supposed to return.””
Vanessa's expression hardened.
“Neither were you.””
Margaret closed her eyes.
Then she turned toward Rebecca.
“May I sit?””
Rebecca gestured toward a chair.
“You may explain why you are here.””
Margaret placed her handbag on the table.
“Four years ago, Edward discovered that Samuel Reed and Michael Harlan were working together. They were using false medical records and forged corporate documents to gain control of the family trust.””
I folded my arms.
“Why didn't Dad report them?””
“He tried. But Samuel had connections everywhere. He had access to the company's legal records, financial accounts, and medical information.””
Vanessa interrupted.
“That's why you helped him fake my death?””
Margaret shook her head.
“I helped you disappear because Samuel threatened you.””
“You told me Dad had agreed to the plan!””
“He did.””
Vanessa went silent.
Margaret looked at me.
“Your father knew I was alive. He knew I was helping Vanessa hide. But he believed the safest way to protect you was to let everyone think our family had been destroyed.””
I shook my head.
“That makes no sense. Why would he leave me alone with Trevor?””
“Because Edward believed Trevor was loyal to him.””
I almost laughed.
“Trevor was stealing from him!””
“Your father didn't know the full extent of it until shortly before he died.””
Margaret opened her handbag and removed a small photograph.
It showed my father sitting in a hospital bed.
He looked pale, but he was smiling.
Beside him stood Margaret.
The date on the back was three days before his death.
I stared at it.
“He knew you were alive?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did he let me believe you were dead?””
Margaret wiped her eyes.
“Because he was trying to protect you from Samuel. Your mother and I were both targets.””
I looked at her.
“Why did you disappear after Dad died?””
Her face changed.
“Because Samuel threatened to kill you and Vanessa if I came forward.””
The room became silent.
Rebecca leaned forward.
“Do you have evidence of those threats?””
Margaret nodded.
She removed a small recording device.
“Everything is here. Calls, messages, and the original agreement between Samuel and Dr. Harlan.””
Ellis looked at the device.
“Can we hear it?””
Margaret nodded.
The recording began with Samuel's voice.
“Edward is becoming a problem. If he changes the ownership documents, we lose everything.””
Another voice answered.
Dr. Harlan.
“Then we proceed with the medical explanation.””
Samuel replied, “And the daughters?””
“They'll believe whatever they're told.””
A pause followed.
Then Samuel said something that made my blood run cold.
“Make sure Margaret understands. If she comes back, Corinne becomes the next patient.””
I stared at my mother.
She began sobbing.
“I couldn't risk it.””
I wanted to forgive her.
Part of me wanted to run into her arms and pretend the last six years had never happened.
But another part remembered every birthday she'd missed.
Every night I'd cried.
Every time I'd wished she could hold my daughter.
“You could have called,” I whispered.
She nodded.
“I know.””
“You could have sent a letter.””
“I know.””
“You let me raise June believing she had no grandmother.””
Margaret covered her face.
“I know, sweetheart.””
I turned away.
Then Vanessa reached into the folder and removed the final page of my father's sworn statement.
“Mom,” she said quietly.
“There's something else we need to understand.””
Margaret looked up.
Vanessa pointed to a paragraph.
“Dad wrote that you were the only person who knew the location of the original ownership certificate.””
Margaret nodded.
“I know where it is.””
Rebecca straightened.
“Where?””
Margaret looked directly at me.
“In the house where you grew up.””
Then she added:
“Under the floorboards in your father's old study.””
Before anyone could respond, Ellis received a phone call.
He listened for several seconds.
Then he turned toward us.
“Samuel Reed has just filed an emergency petition to seize control of Bascombe Family Holdings.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Can he do that?””
Rebecca picked up her briefcase.
“Not if we get the original ownership certificate first.””
Margaret stood.
“Then we need to go now.””
Vanessa looked at me.
May you like
“Corinne, there's one more thing. Samuel knows we're here.””
And somewhere outside the bank, a black car had been waiting for us.
