Chapter 10: The Woman Who Never Died
“Say that again.””
My voice barely worked.
On the other end of the phone, Graham was breathing hard.
“Daniel says Caroline survived.””
For thirty-two years, I had believed my biological mother died hours after giving birth to me.
For less than one day, I had believed that story came from Evelyn’s lies but was still fundamentally true.
Now even that was gone.
“Where is she?””
“I don’t know.””
“You just told me she’s alive.””
“I said she may be.””
“That isn’t good enough!””
“Claire, I’m telling you everything Daniel told me.””
“Then tell me all of it.””
A horn blared through Graham’s phone.
He was still driving behind Margaret and Lily.
“First, get away from my daughter.””
“I’m trying to protect her.””
“By chasing her down a highway?””
“I didn’t know Margaret was the driver!””
“You know now.””
Silence.
“Pull over.””
“Claire—”
“Pull over, or I swear you will never come near Lily again.””
The line went quiet except for road noise.
Then Graham said, “Okay.””
A few seconds later, the engine softened.
“I’m pulling over.””
The detective beside me was coordinating with state police.
Margaret’s SUV had been located.
Two patrol vehicles were approaching without sirens.
I closed my eyes.
“Now talk.””
Graham exhaled.
“Daniel called me after the wedding.””
“Why?””
“He saw videos online.””
Of course he had.
Three hundred guests.
Hundreds of phones.
Vanessa’s wedding disaster was probably spreading across social media faster than police could investigate it.
“He asked what I knew.””
“And you told him about the notebook.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because when Caroline named my father on that tape, I knew Daniel had answers.””
“How?””
“My brother worked for Dad for fifteen years.””
“And?””
“He handled problems.””
I hated that phrase.
“What kind of problems?””
“Legal settlements. Confidentiality agreements. Property transfers. Things Dad didn’t want connected directly to him.””
“You knew this?””
“I knew Daniel handled sensitive business matters. I didn’t know he was covering crimes.””
“Are you sure?””
His voice hardened.
“Yes.””
I wanted to believe him.
That frightened me.
“What did Daniel tell you?””
“That Dad kept a private file on Caroline.””
“Where?””
“He wouldn’t say.””
“What was in it?””
“Medical records.””
My stomach tightened.
“From the hospital?””
“Yes.””
“And they say she survived?””
“He says Caroline was transferred approximately fourteen hours after you were born.””
“Transferred where?””
“The record was altered.””
“By who?””
“A physician named Dr. Harold Vance.””
Samuel looked sharply at me when I repeated the name.
“You know him?””
He nodded.
“Robert mentioned him once.””
“When?””
“Years ago. He said Vance owed the Ellison family favors.””
I turned back to the phone.
“What happened after the transfer?””
“Daniel doesn’t know.””
“Convenient.””
“I said the same thing.””
“And?””
“He told me Dad paid for Caroline’s treatment for almost a year.””
My legs weakened.
“A year?””
“Yes.””
“So he knew she was alive.””
“Yes.””
“And Margaret?””
“I don’t know whether she knew.””
Margaret had told me Caroline died.
Either she had been deceived too, or another person I wanted desperately to trust had lied.
“Why would Richard keep Caroline alive?””
Graham hesitated.
“That’s the part Daniel wouldn’t explain.””
“Make him.””
“I tried.””
“What did he say?””
“That Dad wasn’t protecting Caroline.””
Cold moved through me.
“What was he doing?””
“Protecting himself.””
Before I could ask more, the detective raised his hand.
“They found Margaret.””
My heart stopped.
“Lily?””
“She appears safe.””
I nearly collapsed.
I hung up on Graham without saying goodbye.
Twenty minutes later, a state police SUV pulled into the staging area.
The rear door opened.
Lily jumped out.
“Mom!””
I ran.
I didn’t care who was watching.
I dropped to my knees and wrapped both arms around her.
She buried her face against my neck.
“I’m sorry.””
“No.””
“I went with her.””
“You’re here.””
“I thought you sent her.””
“You’re here.””
That was all I could say.
I held her until my arms hurt.
Margaret stepped out of the second vehicle.
Seeing her in person was strange.
She was tiny.
White hair.
Purple sweater.
Exactly as Lily had described.
Her face was lined deeply with age.
But her eyes—
My eyes.
I saw myself there.
Or maybe I wanted to.
I stood.
Margaret looked at me.
“Claire.””
“You lied to me.””
Pain crossed her face.
“I know.””
“You said Caroline died.””
“That was what I believed for thirty years.””
“Until when?””
“Two years ago.””
I felt my anger rise.
“You knew for two years?””
“I learned she might have survived.””
“And you said nothing.””
“I didn’t know where you were emotionally. Evelyn told me—”
“Stop.””
She flinched.
“Do not use Evelyn as an excuse.””
“I’m not.””
“You all decided what I should know.””
“I was trying—”
“If you say protecting me, I’m leaving.””
She closed her mouth.
Good.
“Why did you take Lily?””
“I panicked.””
“You lied to an eight-year-old and put her in your car.””
“Yes.””
“You do that again and you will never see either of us.””
Tears filled her eyes.
“I understand.””
“Do you?””
“Yes.””
I believed she meant it.
That didn’t mean I forgave her.
“Now tell me about Caroline.””
Margaret looked toward the police.
“They need to hear this too.””
We moved into a small conference room.
Lily sat beside me eating crackers from a vending machine.
A detective recorded the conversation.
Margaret folded her hands.
“The hospital told me Caroline died.””
“You didn’t see her body?””
“No.””
“Why?””
“They said there had been complications and that arrangements had already been made.””
“By who?””
“Robert.””
Samuel immediately shook his head.
“That doesn’t sound like him.””
“It wasn’t him.””
“How do you know?””
“Because years later Robert told me he believed I had claimed Caroline’s body.””
A terrible symmetry.
Someone had told Robert one thing.
Margaret another.
Each believed the other had taken responsibility.
“Who arranged that?””
Margaret whispered, “Richard.””
“Why?””
“I didn’t know then.””
“And two years ago?””
“A woman contacted me.””
“Who?””
“She called herself Anna.””
My heart beat faster.
“Did you meet her?””
“Yes.””
“Who was she?””
Margaret opened her purse.
The detective tensed.
She slowly removed a folded photograph.
It showed two women outside a grocery store.
Margaret.
And another woman.
Late forties or early fifties.
Dark brown hair streaked with gray.
Thin face.
A cautious smile.
I stared.
Something about her felt familiar.
Then I realized why.
Lily.
Not exactly.
But the eyes.
The curve of the mouth.
The same features I had seen in Caroline’s childhood photograph.
My hands shook.
“Is that her?””
“I don’t know.””
“What do you mean?””
“She said her name was Anna Mercer.””
Mercer.
Evan Mercer.
Graham’s business partner.
Vanessa’s lover.
My stomach turned.
“Mercer?””
Samuel heard it too.
“Was she related to Evan?””
“She said he was her son.””
The room went silent.
Evan’s mother.
“What did she want?””
“She asked me about Caroline.””
“Why?””
“She said she had memories.””
“What kind of memories?””
“Fragments. A hospital room. A baby. Someone calling her Carrie.””
I stared at the photograph.
“Caroline.””
Margaret nodded.
“She had no memory of her life before she was twenty-one.””
My skin prickled.
“What?””
“She was told she suffered a severe psychiatric episode after losing a baby.””
I gripped the edge of the table.
“She was told the baby died?””
“Yes.””
My throat closed.
“She was placed in long-term treatment under another name.””
“Anna.””
“Yes.””
“And later?””
“She built a life.””
“Married?””
“For a time.””
“Had Evan?””
“Yes.””
My mind struggled to catch up.
Evan Mercer might be my half-brother.
The man Vanessa had been sleeping with.
Vanessa might have known.
I felt sick.
“Does Evan know?””
Margaret looked down.
“I believe so.””
“Did Vanessa?””
“Yes.””
Of course.
“Why was Vanessa involved with him?””
“I don’t know whether their relationship was what it appeared to be.””
I stared at her.
“They kissed.””
“I know.””
“Then what?””
“Evan contacted Vanessa first.””
“When?””
“About a year ago.””
“Why?””
“He was trying to investigate his mother’s past.””
That changed something.
Maybe not enough.
But something.
“Did he know I existed?””
“Eventually.””
“Why didn’t he contact me?””
“Because he didn’t know who to trust.””
I almost laughed.
That seemed to be the family motto.
The detective leaned forward.
“Where is Anna Mercer now?””
Margaret’s eyes filled.
“I don’t know.””
“When did you last see her?””
“Three months ago.””
“What happened?””
“She called me terrified.””
“Why?””
“She said someone had discovered she was remembering.””
“Who?””
“She didn’t know.””
“What did she remember?””
Margaret looked at me.
“A name.””
My heart pounded.
“What name?””
“Evelyn.””
I felt cold.
“She remembered Evelyn at the hospital?””
“Yes.””
“Doing what?””
Margaret swallowed.
“Signing paperwork.””
Samuel leaned forward.
“What paperwork?””
“Transfer documents.””
My hands curled into fists.
Mom had been there.
Not merely when I was born.
When Caroline was removed.
“Anything else?””
“She remembered a man arguing with Evelyn.””
“Richard?””
“No.””
“Thomas?””
Margaret nodded.
My biological father.
“What were they arguing about?””
“She couldn’t remember everything.””
“Anything.””
Margaret hesitated.
“She remembered Thomas saying, ‘You were supposed to get rid of the baby, not her.’”
The room seemed to tilt.
Lily stopped eating.
I immediately turned toward her.
“Baby, can you wait outside with the officer?””
“No.””
“Please.””
She saw my face and nodded.
Once she was gone, I looked at Margaret.
“What did that mean?””
“I don’t know.””
Before she could say more, the detective’s phone rang.
He listened.
His expression changed.
“When?””
A pause.
“Secure the location.””
He hung up.
“What happened?””
He looked at me.
“Police found Evan Mercer.””
“Where?””
“At the marina.””
“Is he alive?””
“Yes.””
Relief hit me unexpectedly.
“Did he say where Vanessa is?””
“He asked for you.””
“Why?””
“He says he knows where Caroline is.””
I stood so quickly my chair scraped backward.
“Where?””
The detective’s expression stopped me.
“What?””
“Evan says she isn’t missing.””
My heart hammered.
“Then where is she?””
“He says Caroline has been hiding voluntarily.””
“From Richard?””
“No.””
“Thomas?””
May you like
The detective shook his head.
“From you.””
