Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
My stepmother's name was Clara.
She had married my father when I was nineteen.
Three years later, she supposedly died in a car accident.
I attended the funeral.
I saw the coffin.
I remembered the flowers.
I remembered my father's face.
“How could she be alive?”
Nora didn't answer immediately.
“Because the woman in that coffin wasn't Clara.”
I felt sick.
“Who was she?”
“We don't know.”
“Then why did my father pretend she was dead?”
“Because Clara was trying to disappear.”
“From whom?”
Nora looked at me.
“From the people who were using your family.”
Callahan arrived.
When I told him, he looked genuinely shocked.
“Your father never told me she survived.”
“Did he know?”
“I believe he suspected.”
Nora opened her folder.
Inside were photographs of Clara taken years after the supposed funeral.
Different cities.
Different names.
Always alone.
Then one photograph stopped me.
Clara was standing beside Mason.
My husband.
The date was six months before our wedding.
I stared at it.
“Mason knew.”
Nora nodded.
“Apparently.”
Everything I thought I knew about my marriage began collapsing.
I called Mason.
He answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
“Who is Clara?”
Silence.
Then:
“Elizabeth…”
“Don't lie.”
“I can explain.”
“Were you meeting her?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She contacted me.”
“About my father?”
“Yes.”
“What did she tell you?”
“She said your father was dying and wanted me to protect you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Protect me?”
“Yes.”
“By marrying me?”
His silence told me enough.
I felt something inside me crack.
“Did you know about the trust?”
“No.”
“Did you know my father was investigating Ravenstone?”
“No.”
“Did you know Clara was alive?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because she begged me not to.”
I closed my eyes.
Mason's voice softened.
“Elizabeth, listen to me.”
“No.”
“I never wanted Daisy hurt.”
“You didn't know she was dying.”
“I know.”
His voice broke.
“I failed her.”
For the first time, I heard genuine grief.
But I wasn't ready to forgive him.
“What did Clara want?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear I'm not.”
I ended the call.
Nora looked at me.
“You believe him?”
“I don't know what I believe anymore.”
Then my phone buzzed.
A photograph.
Mason entering a private clinic.
Another photograph.
Mason handing an envelope to a doctor.
The caption read:
YOUR HUSBAND IS STILL HIDING THE TRUTH.
I stared at the images.
Callahan frowned.
“This could be manipulated.”
“Or real.”
Before we could investigate, another message appeared.
COME TO THE OLD ROSS WAREHOUSE. ALONE.
I knew it was a trap.
I went anyway.
Not alone.
Callahan arranged surveillance.
The warehouse was abandoned.
I entered through the side entrance.
“Mason?”
No answer.
Then lights came on.
Mason stood across the room.
His hands were empty.
“You shouldn't have come.”
I stared at him.
“Who sent the photographs?”
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to survive.”
A metallic click came from the darkness.
Mason grabbed me.
“DOWN!”
A gunshot shattered the window.
He pushed me behind a concrete pillar.
Another shot.
Then another.
Mason pulled a weapon from beneath his jacket.
“You carry a gun?”
“So do you, apparently.”
He looked at me.
“I'm not your enemy.”
“Then prove it.”
He stared into the darkness.
“I will.”
He moved toward the shooter.
I grabbed his arm.
“No.”
“Stay here.”
“I'm not losing another person.”
He stopped.
For one second, we looked at each other.
Then a voice echoed from the warehouse balcony.
“You two really are pathetic.”
Clara stepped into the light.
Older.
Elegant.
Very much alive.
May you like
She smiled at me.
“Hello, Elizabeth.”
