Chapter 3: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
I turned toward the staircase.
Victoria stood at the top, still wearing her cream-colored dress.
Her hair was wet from the splashing water, and her makeup had begun to run down her cheeks.
But she wasn't alone.
A man in a black security uniform stood behind her.
It was Daniel, the head of security at my estate.
He had worked for my family for eight years.
I had trusted him with the safety of my wife and daughter.
Now he was holding a metal flashlight like a weapon.
“Get away from the door, Marcus,” Victoria repeated.
I stepped between them and the white door.
“Unlock it.””
Victoria shook her head.
“You don't understand what's happening.””
“I understand that my wife is behind this door.””
Daniel moved down one step.
“Sir, you need to come upstairs.””
I looked at him.
“Did you know?””
He didn't answer.
“Daniel. Did you know my wife was alive?””
His eyes shifted toward Victoria.
That was enough.
I felt something inside me break.
“For fourteen months?””
Daniel lowered his head.
Victoria began crying.
“Marcus, I never wanted things to go this far.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Things?””
I pointed toward the door.
“There's a woman locked in a room beneath my swimming pool! What exactly do you call that?””
Victoria wiped her cheek.
“She was dangerous.””
I stared at her.
“My wife?””
“She was going to destroy everything!””
“What did she do?””
Victoria looked at the door.
Then she whispered, “Ask her.””
I turned back toward the glass.
“Elina, what is she talking about?””
A weak voice answered.
“Marcus, don't believe her.””
Victoria stepped down another stair.
“She manipulated you before, and she's doing it again.””
I clenched my fists.
“Unlock the door.””
Daniel finally spoke.
“Sir, please. Let's go upstairs. We can explain everything.””
“No.””
“There's a reason Mrs. Hayes made these arrangements.””
I slowly turned toward him.
“Mrs. Hayes?””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
Then Victoria said something that made the room feel even smaller.
“Daniel, open the emergency exit.””
He nodded.
I lunged toward him.
But he swung the flashlight, striking my shoulder.
Pain exploded down my arm.
I staggered against the wall.
“DANIEL!””
He grabbed my shirt.
“I'm sorry, sir.””
I shoved him away and slammed my elbow into his chest.
He lost his balance and fell against the staircase railing.
The flashlight dropped into the water.
Victoria screamed.
“Stop! Both of you!””
I reached for the key ring.
Victoria grabbed my wrist.
“Marcus, listen to me!””
I pushed her back.
“Get out of my way!””
She stumbled, catching herself against the wall.
For a moment, I saw something in her eyes that I had never seen before.
Not fear.
Hatred.
“You really think she loves you?”” Victoria hissed.
“After everything she did?””
I turned toward the door.
“Tell me what happened, Elina.””
The woman behind the glass began to cry.
“I found the money, Marcus.””
I stopped.
“What money?””
“The money from the foundation.””
I looked at Victoria.
Her face went pale.
Elina continued.
“Two weeks before the accident, I discovered transfers from the children's medical fund. Millions of dollars had disappeared.””
Victoria shook her head.
“She's lying.””
“I found the accounts,” Elina whispered.
“I found the companies. And I found your name.””
I frowned.
“My name?””
“Yes. Someone had been using your signature to authorize the transfers.””
I felt sick.
I had established the foundation with my father ten years earlier. It provided medical assistance to children whose families couldn't afford treatment.
I had personally approved every major donation.
If Elina was telling the truth, someone had been stealing from sick children while using my identity.
“Who was responsible?”” I asked.
There was a pause.
Then Elina answered.
“Victoria.””
Victoria lunged toward the door.
“SHUT UP!””
Her voice echoed through the chamber.
I grabbed her arm.
“Is it true?””
She twisted free.
“You have no idea what you're talking about!””
“Did you steal the foundation's money?””
“I was protecting myself!””
“By framing me?””
Victoria's eyes filled with tears again.
“Your father was dying, Marcus. He had promised me a place in this family, and then he changed his will!””
I stared at her.
“What does my father have to do with this?””
“He left everything to you and Elina. Nothing to me. Nothing!””
My father had died eight months earlier.
I remembered Victoria attending the funeral. I remembered her crying beside me, telling me that we would get through everything together.
All the while, she had been hiding a woman beneath my house.
Elina's voice came through the door.
“Marcus, she didn't just steal the money. She arranged the accident.””
I stopped breathing.
Victoria went completely still.
“What accident?”” I whispered.
Elina pressed her hands against the glass.
“The brakes on my car were tampered with. I was supposed to die that night.””
My legs weakened.
“But you survived?””
“I woke up in a hospital. Victoria had someone transfer me before I could contact you. She told me you were dead.””
I stared at the door.
“What?””
“She showed me a photograph of a burned vehicle and told me you had been inside it. She said Lily was being taken away. She said if I ever tried to escape, she would make sure my daughter disappeared.””
A sob escaped Elina's throat.
“I believed her, Marcus. I thought you and Lily were gone.””
My eyes burned.
Fourteen months.
Fourteen months of mourning a woman who had been alive all along.
Fourteen months of sleeping beside an empty pillow.
Fourteen months of telling my daughter that her mother was never coming home.
I pressed my forehead against the glass.
“I'm here, sweetheart. I'm here.””
A trembling hand appeared on the other side.
Then Elina whispered:
“Marcus, there's something else.””
I closed my eyes.
“What?””
“Victoria didn't work alone.””
I turned toward the staircase.
Daniel had managed to stand again.
Victoria was staring at Elina's door with a strange, unreadable expression.
Elina continued.
“The person who helped her falsify the accident report was someone who had access to your family's legal records.””
“Who?””
She took a shaky breath.
“Your brother.””
The words struck harder than Daniel's flashlight.
My younger brother, Ethan, had been living in London for the past year.
He had attended Elina's funeral.
He had stood beside me while I lowered a white rose onto her coffin.
He had hugged me and promised that he would help raise Lily if I ever needed him.
I shook my head.
“No. Ethan couldn't have done this.””
Victoria gave a small, bitter laugh.
“You still don't understand, do you?””
I turned toward her.
“What?””
She reached into the pocket of her cream-colored dress and pulled out a phone.
Her thumb moved across the screen.
A second later, the phone began ringing.
She answered without taking her eyes off me.
“It's done,” she said quietly.
“He found her.””
A man's voice came through the speaker.
Even through the poor connection, I recognized it.
“Then there's no reason to keep pretending.””
My blood ran cold.
“Ethan?””
There was silence on the other end.
Then my brother laughed.
“Hello, Marcus.””
Victoria looked at me.
“Now you finally understand why I couldn't let you open that door.””
Behind me, Elina began pounding against the glass.
“Marcus! Don't let them take Lily!””
I turned toward the staircase.
And suddenly, the most terrifying thought entered my mind.
My daughter was still upstairs.
Alone with the people who had destroyed our family.
Then Ethan spoke again through Victoria's phone.
“By the way, brother, there's one more thing you should know.””
He paused.
“Lily wasn't supposed to survive the accident either.””
I looked up toward the pool.
And somewhere above us, I heard my daughter's tiny voice calling for me.
“Daddy?””
Then came a sound I would never forget.
The front door of the mansion opened.
May you like
And someone answered her.
“Hello, sweetheart. Come with Uncle Ethan.””
