Chapter 6: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
I stared at the phone screen.
The call was gone.
The number was gone.
But the voice remained.
Because I knew it.
I had heard it before.
Five years ago.
On the night everything burned.
"Who was it?""
Nathan's voice pulled me back.
I looked at him.
"I don't know.""
But that was a lie.
I knew.
I just didn't want to say it.
Detective Vance noticed my expression.
"You recognized her.""
I stayed silent.
"Caroline.""
I looked at the floor.
"It sounded like...""
My voice failed.
"Like my mother.""
Nobody spoke.
My mother had been dead for twelve years.
Cancer took her before I finished college.
She was the reason the emerald necklace mattered.
The reason our family had fallen apart after she died.
Nathan shook his head.
"That's impossible.""
"I know.""
But impossible had become normal in my life.
A dead sister.
A stolen child.
A fake death certificate.
A missing mother.
Nothing made sense anymore.
The next morning, Detective Vance took us back to the old Mercer house.
The fire had destroyed most of it.
But after five years, the property had never been rebuilt.
My father kept it abandoned.
Like he was waiting for something.
I stood outside the burned remains.
The wind moved through the empty windows.
Lily held my hand.
"Was this my old house?""
I looked down at her.
"Yes.""
"Did I live here?""
I nodded.
She looked sad.
"Why don't I remember?""
I squeezed her hand.
"Because you were very little.""
But I wondered if that was the whole truth.
Inside, Detective Vance searched through the remaining structure.
My father arrived twenty minutes later.
He looked older.
Smaller.
Like the man I knew had disappeared.
"Caroline.""
I turned.
For a moment, I wanted to run to him.
I wanted him to hug me.
To tell me he was sorry.
Instead, I asked:
"Did you know?""
His face changed.
That was enough.
"Did you know Juliette lied about my death?""
He looked away.
"Caroline...""
"Answer me.""
A long silence.
Then:
"Yes.""
The word crushed me.
Nathan stepped forward.
"You knew she was alive?""
"No.""
My father shook his head quickly.
"I thought she was dead.""
"Then what did you know?""
He looked at the burned house.
"I knew Juliette was hiding something.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone knew something.""
My father closed his eyes.
"I was trying to protect you.""
"Protect me?""
I pointed at the ruins.
"You let me disappear.""
"I thought I had lost you.""
His voice broke.
"And then when I found out the truth, it was too late.""
"What truth?""
He didn't answer.
That was the problem.
Nobody ever answered.
Detective Vance found something beneath the old staircase.
A metal box.
Burned but intact.
He opened it carefully.
Inside were papers.
Letters.
And a small video recorder.
My father's face changed when he saw it.
"No.""
Detective Vance looked at him.
"What is it?""
My father whispered:
"Your mother.""
I took the recorder.
My hands shook.
The screen flickered.
A woman appeared.
My mother.
Older.
Tired.
Alive.
I couldn't breathe.
She looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this, Caroline, then the truth finally came out.""
I covered my mouth.
My mother continued:
"I need you to know something.""
She looked terrified.
"Your father and Juliette didn't start the fire.""
A pause.
Then her eyes filled with tears.
"The person who did was someone you trusted most.""
The screen glitched.
My heart pounded.
Then my mother's final words appeared.
Words that changed everything.
"Caroline, the person who tried to kill you...""
The video cut.
Detective Vance looked at the recorder.
"Battery died.""
I stared at the frozen screen.
A single thought filled my mind.
Someone I trusted.
Someone close.
Someone who wanted me gone.
My father slowly whispered:
"Caroline...""
I turned toward him.
He looked terrified.
May you like
Because he knew who my mother was talking about.
And before he could say the name, a gunshot echoed from outside the house.
