Chapter 11: The Woman Wearing My Mother's Face
We left the estate under police escort.
Detective Harris had ordered the photographs and documents secured, and a forensic team was examining the basement for fingerprints. But none of that mattered to me while Lily remained in Richard's hands.
I sat in the passenger seat of Harris's vehicle, staring at the photograph on my phone.
The elderly woman beside Lily looked almost exactly like the person in the family photographs Anna had shown us. The same silver hair. The same narrow chin. The same pale blue eyes.
Only the scar was missing.
"Who is she?"" I asked.
Anna sat behind me.
"I don't know. But if she's pretending to be my mother, Richard has access to someone who knew her well enough to copy her appearance.""
"Could it be a relative?""
"My mother had a sister who died when I was little. There was nobody else.""
Michael shifted in the back seat of the second police vehicle beside Vanessa. His injuries had been treated by paramedics, but he insisted on accompanying us.
"Richard has always kept people around who look like someone else," he said over the radio.
"He used to hire actors to attend meetings under false names. He believed nobody could prove anything if every witness disagreed about what they'd seen.""
Harris glanced at me.
"That would explain the conflicting accounts in the old reports.""
Anna leaned forward.
"There was a woman who worked for my father. Her name was Evelyn Mercer.""
The name from the ledger.
I felt a chill.
"Who was she?""
"Richard's private secretary. She handled his correspondence, arranged appointments, and knew every secret he had. She also looked remarkably like my mother.""
"Is she still alive?""
Anna nodded slowly.
"Last I heard, she was living under another name.""
Harris turned the steering wheel sharply.
"Then we're going to find her.""
We drove to an address Anna remembered from an old letter. It led us to a small house on the edge of town, surrounded by dead rose bushes and a rusted iron fence.
The porch light was on.
A newspaper lay folded beside the door.
Harris knocked.
No answer.
He knocked again, harder.
"Police. Open the door.""
A curtain moved behind the window.
Then the door opened a few inches.
An elderly woman peered through the gap.
She had silver hair, blue eyes, and a thin scar running across the back of her right hand.
Anna stopped breathing.
"Mother?""
The woman's face crumpled.
"Oh, Anna.""
Anna rushed forward, but the woman caught her shoulders and held her at arm's length.
"No. Don't touch me yet.""
Anna froze.
"Why?""
"Because I don't know who you are anymore.""
Tears streamed down Anna's face.
"It's me. It's Anna.""
The woman stared at her for a long moment.
Then she stepped aside.
"Come in.""
Her living room was filled with old photographs, stacks of newspapers, and unopened letters. A pot of tea sat untouched on the table. Beside it lay a black leather folder secured with a brass clasp.
Harris introduced himself and explained that Lily had been kidnapped.
The woman's expression hardened.
"Richard has finally made his move.""
"You knew he might do this?"" I asked.
She looked at me.
"Mark Bennett. You look just like your mother.""
The mention of my mother caught me off guard.
"You knew her?""
"Of course. She was the only person who ever made Richard afraid.""
Anna sat beside the woman.
"Why did you disappear?""
The woman folded her hands.
"Because Richard discovered I had copies of his records. He threatened to kill you if I didn't hand them over.""
"You could have told me!""
"You were six years old. What would you have done?""
Anna lowered her head.
The woman continued.
"I tried to return when you were nineteen. Richard told me you were dead.""
Anna covered her mouth.
"He told me you abandoned me.""
"He told me you had died in a car accident.""
They stared at each other, two people who had spent decades grieving the same lie.
Then the woman reached across the table and touched Anna's cheek.
"I'm sorry.""
Anna began to cry.
For a moment, I forgot about Richard, the ledger, and the danger surrounding us. I watched a mother and daughter rediscover each other in a room filled with memories they had both been denied.
Then Detective Harris opened the black leather folder.
Inside were bank statements, photographs, and a series of letters signed by Richard.
The final document was a handwritten confession.
It described the night Michael disappeared, the falsified death records, and the transfer of Lily into Vanessa's care.
At the bottom was a sentence that made my blood run cold.
*If the child ever learns who her mother is, eliminate both witnesses.*
Harris looked up.
"Who are the witnesses?""
The woman closed her eyes.
"Anna and Michael.""
"And Lily?""
"She's leverage.""
I stood.
"Where is she?""
The woman hesitated.
"There's a place Richard used to take people when he needed them to disappear. A private clinic in the mountains. It was closed years ago, but the underground rooms are still there.""
Harris immediately radioed his team.
"Send units to the abandoned clinic. Request medical backup.""
Anna rose.
"I'm coming.""
"No," Harris said.
"You stay here.""
"She's my daughter.""
"And you're exactly who Richard wants.""
Anna stepped closer to him.
"Then let him think he's getting what he wants.""
I understood what she meant before she said it.
A trap.
We would let Richard believe Anna was coming alone while police surrounded the clinic.
Harris considered it.
"Absolutely not. I'm not risking a civilian's life as bait.""
"Then he'll move Lily again," Anna replied.
"You can chase him from one abandoned building to another, or you can make him believe he's finally won.""
I looked at Anna.
"You're not going alone.""
She shook her head.
"Mark, he wants me. If you come with me, he'll use you against Lily.""
"He's already doing that.""
"And that's why we have to stop him.""
Before Harris could object, my phone rang.
A video call.
The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.
I answered.
Lily's face filled the screen.
"Daddy!""
She was crying, but she looked unharmed.
"I'm here, sweetheart. Are you hurt?""
She shook her head.
"Grandpa says I have to choose.""
My chest tightened.
"Choose what?""
The camera shifted.
Richard appeared beside her, one hand resting on her shoulder.
"You have something I need, Mark.""
"What do you want?""
"The original ledger and the trust documents. Bring them to the clinic by midnight.""
"And if I don't?""
Richard looked at Lily.
"Then your daughter will learn that love is simply another form of obedience.""
The screen went black.
Anna turned toward Harris.
"Now do you understand?""
Harris took a long breath.
Then he nodded.
"We move tonight.""
But as the officers began preparing their equipment, the elderly woman seized Anna's wrist.
"There's something else you need to know.""
Anna turned.
Her mother looked terrified.
"Richard isn't your father.""
Anna stared at her.
"What?""
May you like
The woman swallowed.
"He stole you from someone else, too.""
