Chapter 2: The Woman Who Attended My Wife's Funeral
The ambulance arrived nine minutes later.
Those nine minutes felt longer than the fourteen months I had spent grieving Elena.
I stayed beside my wife, holding her hand while Lily rested against her other side.
Vanessa stood near the kitchen doors.
She had ended her phone call, but she hadn't come closer.
When the paramedics entered the patio, she immediately changed her expression.
Her shoulders dropped.
Her eyes filled with tears.
She pressed a hand against her chest.
"Thank God," she whispered.
"She's alive.""
I stared at her.
The performance was almost impressive.
A paramedic named Daniel knelt beside Elena.
"Ma'am, can you tell me your name?""
"Elena.""
"Do you know where you are?""
"Home.""
"Do you know what day it is?""
She shook her head.
Daniel glanced at his colleague.
"That's okay. We're going to take care of you.""
He checked her pulse and began examining her arms.
When he noticed the deep red marks around her left wrist, his expression hardened.
"How did this happen?""
Elena looked at me.
I answered for her.
"She was chained inside a concealed chamber beneath the pool.""
Daniel stopped.
"A concealed chamber?""
"Yes.""
"Who put her there?""
I looked toward Vanessa.
She immediately stepped forward.
"That's what we're trying to understand.""
Daniel glanced between us.
"Are you family?""
"I'm her husband," I said.
Vanessa interrupted.
"I'm Marcus's fiancée.""
The paramedic looked confused.
Elena closed her eyes.
I felt something tighten in my chest.
"She's my wife," I said firmly.
"The woman I'm standing beside is my wife.""
Vanessa's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Daniel continued examining Elena.
"We need to get her to the hospital immediately. She's severely dehydrated and hypothermic. We're also concerned about injuries to her wrists and possible complications from prolonged confinement.""
Lily grabbed Elena's hand.
"Can I go with Mommy?""
I crouched beside her.
"Grandma's going to come stay with you.""
"I don't want Grandma.""
"Then I'll come with you.""
"Both of you?""
I looked at the paramedic.
He nodded.
"We can accommodate that.""
Elena suddenly pulled my hand toward her.
"Marcus.""
"I'm here.""
"Don't leave Lily alone.""
"I won't.""
She looked at our daughter.
Then whispered something that made my entire body go cold.
"She tried to take her.""
I leaned closer.
"Who?""
Elena's eyes moved toward Vanessa.
I followed her gaze.
Vanessa was standing beside the ambulance doors.
Her face was expressionless.
Then she smiled.
A small, polite smile.
The same smile she had worn when she brought Lily a birthday cake six months earlier.
The same smile she had worn at Christmas.
The same smile she had worn while standing beside me at Elena's funeral.
I suddenly remembered something.
Four months after Elena's death, Lily had woken from a nightmare screaming that someone had been inside her bedroom.
Vanessa had told me it was grief.
She had suggested we install a night-light.
I had agreed.
Now I wondered whether my daughter had been trying to tell me something.
At the hospital, Elena was taken directly into a treatment room.
A nurse asked me to wait outside.
Lily refused to let go of my hand.
We sat together in a small waiting area with pale green walls and a television playing a cooking show.
She leaned against my shoulder.
"Daddy?""
"Yes, baby?""
"Are you happy?""
The question caught me off guard.
I looked at her.
"What do you mean?""
She twisted the hem of her pink dress.
"Mommy came back.""
My throat tightened.
"Yes.""
"Then why are you sad?""
I pulled her onto my lap.
"Because I don't understand what happened to her.""
Lily thought about that.
Then she whispered, "I knew she wasn't gone.""
I kissed the top of her head.
"How?""
She shrugged.
"Sometimes I heard her singing.""
I went still.
"Where?""
"In the garden.""
I stared at her.
"What did you hear?""
"The song Mommy used to sing when she made pancakes.""
Elena had a little song she invented for Lily.
It was nonsense, something about strawberries and dancing bears.
Nobody else knew the words.
Not even me.
"When did you hear it?""
"At night.""
"Every night?""
Lily nodded.
"Sometimes I heard tapping too.""
I remembered the five knocks beneath the pool hatch.
Three.
Then two.
My hands became cold.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"I did.""
She looked down.
"Vanessa said Mommy was gone and I shouldn't make Daddy sad.""
I couldn't speak.
Lily looked up at me.
"She said if I kept talking about Mommy, Daddy might get sick.""
I closed my eyes.
A wave of anger rose through my chest.
"Did Vanessa ever tell you not to go near the pool?""
Lily nodded.
"She said the water was dangerous.""
"Did you see Mommy before today?""
"Yes.""
"Where?""
Lily pointed toward the hallway.
"Sometimes in the little window.""
"What window?""
"The round one.""
I looked at her carefully.
"Can you show me?""
She nodded.
Then she whispered, "Mommy told me to keep looking.""
An hour later, a doctor finally came out.
Dr. Reynolds introduced himself and explained that Elena was stable for now.
She was exhausted, dehydrated, and suffering from several injuries, but she was conscious.
"She keeps asking for you," he said.
I stood immediately.
"Can I see her?""
"Yes. But keep the conversation calm. She needs rest.""
I left Lily with a nurse and entered the room.
Elena was lying beneath a white blanket.
An IV was attached to her arm.
Her hair had been cleaned, and someone had placed a warm blanket over her legs.
She looked so much like the woman I remembered that my eyes burned.
I pulled a chair beside her.
"Hi.""
She managed a weak smile.
"Hi.""
I took her hand.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been tearing through me since the pool.
"How did you survive?""
Elena stared at the ceiling.
"I remember leaving the house.""
"When?""
"The night before the accident.""
I frowned.
"What accident?""
She looked at me.
"The one everyone said killed me.""
My stomach tightened.
"Elena, I was told your car went off the road.""
"It didn't.""
"What?""
She swallowed.
"I never got into the car.""
I leaned forward.
"Then what happened?""
She looked toward the closed door.
"Vanessa came to see me.""
The room seemed to grow smaller.
"Vanessa?""
Elena nodded.
"She said she needed to talk about you.""
I stared at her.
"What did she want?""
"She said you were unhappy. That you were struggling with the business. That you were spending too much time working and not enough time with Lily.""
I shook my head.
"That's not true.""
"I know.""
She squeezed my hand.
"But she kept talking. She told me you were considering leaving me.""
I felt sick.
"Elena, I never...""
"I know, Marcus.""
She looked directly at me.
"I believed her at first.""
I remembered Vanessa telling me that Elena had been under enormous stress before her death.
She had even suggested Elena might have been having emotional problems.
At the time, I had dismissed it as grief making me confused.
Now every word sounded different.
Elena continued.
"She brought me tea. She said we should talk privately. I remember drinking it.""
Her voice became weaker.
"Then I woke up in the dark.""
I held her hand tighter.
"Where?""
"Beneath the pool.""
I stared at her.
"How?""
"I don't know. I couldn't move properly. My head hurt. There was a small room with a mattress, a water container, and a metal door.""
I remembered the hidden chamber.
It had been larger than I expected.
There were pipes running along one wall and an old ventilation system.
"How did you get food?""
Elena looked away.
"Someone brought it.""
"Who?""
She didn't answer.
"Elena, who?""
"At first, a man.""
My stomach twisted.
"What man?""
"I never saw his face. He wore a mask. He told me nobody knew I was alive.""
I felt my jaw tighten.
"Did he hurt you?""
Elena closed her eyes.
"Sometimes.""
I looked down at the marks around her wrists.
My hands began shaking.
"Why didn't you tell him you had a daughter? Why didn't you scream?""
"I did.""
Her eyes filled.
"Every day.""
I couldn't find words.
She continued.
"Then Vanessa came down.""
I froze.
"When?""
"About a week after I woke up.""
"What did she say?""
Elena turned her face toward me.
"She told me you had buried me.""
I felt something inside my chest crack.
"She showed me pictures of the funeral. Pictures of you holding Lily. Pictures of my grave.""
Tears slipped down her temples.
"She said you were already moving on.""
I shook my head.
"No.""
"She told me you were going to marry her.""
I couldn't speak.
Elena watched my face.
"She said you loved her.""
I stood so abruptly that the chair scraped against the floor.
"That's not true.""
"I know that now.""
"Elena, I thought you were dead.""
She nodded.
"I know.""
"I didn't know.""
"I know, Marcus.""
She reached for my hand.
"You have to understand something. She didn't just want you to forget me.""
Her voice dropped.
"She wanted to replace me.""
I sat again.
The engagement ring box flashed through my mind.
The diamond.
The proposal.
The future I had almost promised Vanessa.
"Why didn't she kill you?"" I whispered.
Elena looked at me for a long moment.
Then she answered.
"Because she needed me alive.""
"Why?""
Her lips trembled.
"Because of the house.""
I frowned.
"What about the house?""
Elena took a shaky breath.
"Marcus, do you remember the documents I asked you to sign two weeks before I disappeared?""
I searched my memory.
There had been several documents concerning our estate.
A trust.
Some property arrangements.
Elena had insisted we review them together.
I remembered signing a few pages in my office.
"Yes.""
Her eyes filled with fear.
"She wanted those documents.""
I leaned closer.
"What documents?""
Elena opened her mouth.
Then the hospital door swung open.
Vanessa walked in.
She carried a bouquet of white roses.
"How is she doing?""
Elena immediately pulled her hand away from mine.
Vanessa placed the flowers on the bedside table.
"I brought these for you.""
Elena stared at her.
Then she whispered something.
"Get away from me.""
Vanessa sighed.
"Elena, please. We don't need to do this.""
I stood.
"How did you know which room she was in?""
Vanessa looked at me.
"I asked the nurse.""
"You weren't invited.""
She gave me a wounded expression.
"Marcus, I care about you.""
I pointed toward the door.
"Leave.""
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
Then she turned to Elena.
"You should be grateful.""
Elena went pale.
Vanessa leaned closer.
"You have no idea how much trouble you've caused.""
I grabbed her arm.
"Get out!""
She pulled away.
"Fine.""
She walked toward the door.
But just before leaving, she turned around.
Her expression was completely different.
Cold.
Calculating.
"Marcus, before you make any decisions, you should ask your wife what happened to the original death certificate.""
Then she walked out.
I looked at Elena.
"What was she talking about?""
Elena began trembling.
And for the first time since I had found her, she looked more frightened than she had beneath the water.
"Marcus...""
May you like
She reached for my hand.
"Your wife wasn't the only person declared dead that night.""
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