Chapter 9: The Message From My Past
I didn’t sleep.
Again.
It seemed like every night brought another secret.
Another piece of a puzzle I never knew existed.
My ex-wife.
The woman who left when Lily was two.
The woman who disappeared from our lives.
The woman I had spent years explaining away.
I always told Lily the same thing.
“Mommy loves you, but she lives far away.””
It was easier than telling her the truth.
That her mother had chosen to leave.
Or at least, that was what I believed.
Now everything I thought I knew was falling apart.
At 6:15 the next morning, Detective Morgan arrived.
He carried a folder.
I didn’t invite him to sit.
“What did you find?””
He opened the folder.
“Rebecca and your ex-wife, Amanda, communicated for nearly a year.””
I stared.
“About what?””
“About Lily.””
My stomach turned.
“Why?””
“We’re still investigating.””
He handed me printed messages.
The first one was from Amanda.
She wrote:
I need to know how she is.
Rebecca replied:
She’s adjusting.
Another message.
Amanda:
Does Daniel know?
Rebecca:
No.
I stared at those words.
Does Daniel know?
Know what?
I kept reading.
Amanda:
You promised me she would be okay.
Rebecca:
I’m doing my best.
I looked up.
“What does this mean?””
Detective Morgan sighed.
“We think Amanda and Rebecca knew each other before you met Rebecca.””
The room went silent.
“No.””
“Daniel.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“Why?””
“Because Rebecca told me she had never met Amanda.””
Detective Morgan looked at me.
“She lied.””
That word hurt.
Because I had heard it too many times.
Lied.
Hidden.
Manipulated.
I walked to the window.
My entire marriage felt like a locked room.
And every day someone gave me another key.
“Where is Amanda now?””
“We’re trying to locate her.””
“Why would she disappear?””
Detective Morgan didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
“Because the last message she sent Rebecca was concerning.””
“What did it say?””
He looked down.
“She wrote: ‘He deserves to know what happened to Lily before it’s too late.’”
My heart stopped.
Before it’s too late.
“What does that mean?””
“We don’t know.””
I looked upstairs.
At my daughter.
At the little girl who had been trying to tell me something for months.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A woman’s voice whispered.
“Daniel?””
I froze.
I knew that voice.
“Amanda?””
There was silence.
Then she said:
“I’m sorry.””
My hand tightened around the phone.
“Where are you?””
“I can’t tell you.””
“Why?””
“Because Rebecca knows I contacted you.””
I looked toward the front door.
My voice dropped.
“What are you talking about?””
Amanda started crying.
“Daniel, I made a mistake.””
“What mistake?””
A long pause.
Then:
“I thought Rebecca could help me get my daughter back.””
The words hit me.
“My daughter?””
Amanda whispered:
“Lily.””
I couldn’t move.
“What did you do?””
Her voice broke.
“I gave Rebecca information.””
“What information?””
“About you.””
The room went cold.
“Why?””
“Because she promised me something.””
“What?””
Amanda’s answer came in a whisper.
“She promised she could make you believe Lily was the problem.””
My breathing stopped.
Before I could respond, Amanda said one final sentence.
A sentence that changed everything.
“Daniel… Rebecca was never trying to replace me.””
“Then what was she trying to do?””
May you like
Amanda cried.
“She was trying to prove Lily was exactly like Emma.””
