Chapter 9: My Dead Sister Was Standing in My Bedroom
I couldn't speak.
The woman standing in front of me looked like someone had taken my reflection and aged it by fifteen years.
Her dark hair fell over one shoulder.
Her eyes were identical to mine.
Even the small scar near her eyebrow was in the same place.
I stepped backward.
"Who are you?""
She smiled sadly.
"You already know.""
I shook my head.
"No.""
She looked at the photograph on the floor.
"Mom kept that picture, didn't she?""
I stared at her.
"You're Laura?""
She nodded.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then I noticed something.
She was wearing a silver necklace.
A small silver heart.
I had one almost exactly like it.
My mother had given it to me when I turned eighteen.
I touched the necklace around my own neck.
Laura noticed.
"She gave you one too?""
I nodded slowly.
Laura's eyes filled.
"She told me she would never forget either of us.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"Why did she give you away?""
Laura looked down.
"Because Catherine was afraid Daniel would use me to control her. Mom agreed to raise me under another name.""
"Then why didn't she tell me?""
"Because she thought keeping us apart would keep us safe.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Safe? You were missing for thirty years!""
Laura stepped into the bedroom.
"I know.""
"Did you know I existed?""
"Yes.""
"Since when?""
"Since I was sixteen.""
I stared at her.
"Sixteen?""
She nodded.
"Mom showed me your photograph. She told me I had a twin sister, but she made me promise not to contact you.""
I felt tears running down my cheeks.
"Why?""
"Because Catherine believed Daniel was watching us.""
I looked at the photograph again.
"Then why did you come here now?""
Laura closed the bedroom door.
"Because someone told me you had the original ledger.""
I shook my head.
"I don't.""
"Are you sure?""
"Yes.""
She studied my face.
Then she walked toward the wardrobe.
"Where is your second phone?""
I frowned.
"Why?""
"Because Daniel has been monitoring your communications.""
My stomach tightened.
"How do you know?""
Laura removed a small device from her handbag.
"Because I found the tracking software on your phone.""
I stared at it.
"Daniel did this?""
"Daniel, Olivia, and someone else.""
"Who?""
Laura looked at me.
"Marcus's business partner.""
I sat down.
"Peter Lawson?""
She nodded.
I remembered Peter.
He had been Marcus's closest business partner for twenty years.
He attended family dinners, sent expensive gifts at Christmas, and called Marcus his brother.
"Why would he be involved?""
Laura placed the device on the bedside table.
"Because the original ledger contains evidence that Peter, Daniel, and Olivia have been moving money out of Cole Industries since before Catherine disappeared.""
I shook my head.
"Olivia?""
"Yes.""
"But she told Marcus she was protecting Catherine.""
Laura laughed without humor.
"Olivia was protecting herself.""
She opened her handbag and removed a thick envelope.
Inside were copies of financial records.
I recognized several account numbers.
One belonged to the account under my maiden name.
Another belonged to Laura.
And a third had Marcus's name.
"What's this?"" I asked.
"The original financial structure. Daniel created several accounts to hide company money. Peter approved the transactions. Olivia controlled the documents.""
I stared at the pages.
"Why did they use my name?""
"Because you were the perfect person to blame.""
I looked up.
"What?""
"You're Marcus's second wife. You were already disliked by Ethan. You had access to the house. And you had no idea who your family really was.""
I felt sick.
"They planned to frame me?""
Laura nodded.
"The three hundred thousand dollars was supposed to be the final piece. If Ethan had signed that agreement, it would have looked like you were paying him with stolen money to leave the family.""
I remembered the envelope.
The money.
The torn dress.
The security footage.
Everything.
"But why did Daniel tell me to run?""
Laura looked toward the door.
"Because he knew the police were closing in. He wanted you to disappear before the transfers could be traced.""
I shook my head.
"He told me he was protecting me.""
"Daniel protects himself.""
I stared at the documents.
Then something occurred to me.
"Why did you say I had the original ledger?""
Laura hesitated.
"Because Catherine gave it to you.""
I frowned.
"That's impossible.""
"She left it with your mother before she disappeared.""
I shook my head.
"My mother never gave me anything like that.""
Laura reached into her handbag and removed an old photograph.
It showed my mother standing in front of a small house.
She was holding a wooden jewelry box.
I recognized it immediately.
It was the box I had inherited after her death.
I had never opened the hidden compartment beneath the velvet lining.
Laura pointed to it.
"That's where she kept the key.""
I stood abruptly.
"Where is the box?""
"In your house, I assume.""
I rushed toward the wardrobe and pulled out the small suitcase I had packed earlier.
The jewelry box was inside.
I had taken it from my mother's house years ago.
I opened it.
Inside were several necklaces, old photographs, and a gold bracelet.
I lifted the velvet lining.
A small metal key fell into my palm.
Laura exhaled.
"That's it.""
I looked at her.
"What does it open?""
She pulled out a small photograph of an old safe deposit box.
"Something Catherine left behind.""
I stared at the key.
"Why didn't you retrieve it yourself?""
"Because I didn't know where Mom had hidden it until yesterday.""
"How?""
Laura looked away.
"Olivia told me.""
I frowned.
"Olivia?""
"She contacted me three weeks ago. She said Catherine was alive and wanted the ledger returned.""
I stared at her.
"Then why did she tell Marcus she didn't know where Catherine was?""
Laura's expression darkened.
"Because Olivia was trying to find out whether I still had the original documents.""
I felt a chill.
"She was using you too.""
Laura nodded.
"Yes.""
I sat on the edge of the bed.
For the first time, I understood that everyone had been playing a different game.
Daniel wanted the money.
Olivia wanted the documents.
Peter wanted the company.
And Laura wanted to find the truth about Catherine.
I had been caught between all of them.
Then Laura took my hand.
"There's something else.""
I looked up.
"What?""
"Mom didn't give me away because she wanted to.""
I swallowed.
"Then why?""
Laura reached into her handbag and removed a letter.
It was old, yellowed, and folded into four sections.
The handwriting was my mother's.
I recognized it immediately.
She had written it shortly before her death.
Laura handed it to me.
I unfolded the paper.
My darling girls,
If you're reading this, then the truth has finally reached you.
I made the worst decision of my life when I allowed Catherine to take Laura away. I believed I was protecting her. I believed Daniel would never find her.
But I was wrong.
There is something you both need to understand.
Your father was not the man I told you he was.
I stopped reading.
My fingers trembled.
I looked at Laura.
"What does this mean?""
She shook her head.
"Keep reading.""
I continued.
The man who raised Vanessa was not her biological father. And the man who raised Laura was not her biological father either.
You share the same biological father.
His name is Marcus Cole.
I dropped the letter.
The room seemed to disappear around me.
Marcus.
My husband.
The man I had married eighteen months earlier.
The man whose son I had tried to force out of the house.
I looked at Laura.
She was crying.
"That's impossible.""
Laura shook her head.
"That's what I thought.""
I picked up the letter again.
The final paragraph was barely legible.
Marcus never knew about either daughter. Catherine was pregnant when she left him, and I helped her conceal the truth. I believed the girls would have better lives if they never knew.
I felt nauseated.
"Then Ethan...""
Laura lowered her eyes.
"Ethan is our half-brother.""
I covered my mouth.
Marcus wasn't just my husband.
He was my biological father.
And Ethan wasn't just the son I had tried to remove from the house.
He was my brother.
My entire marriage had been built on a lie so enormous that I couldn't even understand how it had happened.
I stood and began pacing.
"No. No, this can't be true.""
Laura caught my arm.
"Vanessa, listen to me.""
I pulled away.
"Why would my mother let me marry him?""
"She didn't know you were going to.""
"She knew who Marcus was!""
"She knew his name. She didn't know you would meet him.""
I stared at her.
"Then why did Catherine allow it?""
Laura looked down.
"Because Catherine didn't know you were her daughter until after the wedding.""
I shook my head.
"How?""
"She found out when she saw your wedding photograph.""
I felt the room spinning.
"She knew?""
Laura nodded.
"She contacted Mom. That's when everything started.""
I remembered the unknown messages.
The photographs.
The warnings.
Catherine had been trying to reach me.
But why hadn't she simply told me?
Laura took a breath.
"Because there was another reason she stayed away.""
"What reason?""
"She was afraid you would discover what happened to her.""
I looked at her.
"What happened?""
Laura slowly opened another envelope.
Inside was a photograph of Catherine sitting in a wheelchair.
She looked older, thinner, but alive.
On the back was a handwritten date.
Three months ago.
I stared at the picture.
"Where was this taken?""
"At the facility.""
I swallowed.
"Why did she leave?""
Laura looked toward the door.
"Because someone tried to kill her.""
My heart stopped.
"Who?""
Before Laura could answer, a loud crash came from downstairs.
We both froze.
Then footsteps.
Heavy.
Fast.
Someone was coming up the stairs.
Laura grabbed my wrist.
"Get behind me.""
The bedroom door flew open.
Olivia stood in the doorway.
Her face was pale.
Behind her was Daniel.
And behind Daniel stood Peter Lawson.
Marcus's business partner.
Peter looked at the jewelry box in my hands.
Then at the key.
His expression changed.
"Well," he said quietly.
"Looks like we finally found it.""
Laura stepped in front of me.
"Stay away from her.""
Peter smiled.
"That's not how this is going to work.""
Daniel closed the bedroom door.
Olivia looked at me.
"I'm sorry, Vanessa.""
I stared at her.
"Sorry for what?""
She lowered her eyes.
Peter answered for her.
"For the fact that neither of you was ever supposed to survive long enough to read that letter.""
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun.
Laura grabbed my hand.
And then the lights went out.
I heard a struggle.
A chair fell.
Someone shouted my name.
Then a gunshot exploded through the darkness.
I dropped to the floor.
"Laura!""
No answer.
I crawled toward the wall.
A hand grabbed my shoulder.
I screamed.
Then a familiar voice whispered:
"Don't move.""
It was Laura.
She was alive.
But someone else was standing beside us.
A man was breathing heavily.
Then a flashlight switched on.
Marcus.
His face was covered in blood.
Ethan stood behind him, holding a broken wooden chair.
Peter was on the floor.
Daniel was gone.
And Olivia was standing near the bedroom window, crying.
Marcus looked at the key in my hand.
Then at the letter.
His expression changed.
"Vanessa," he whispered.
"What?""
He picked up the letter.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he looked at me.
And I knew he had read the part about our relationship.
He stepped backward.
"No...""
Ethan approached.
"Dad?""
Marcus couldn't look at him.
He stared at me with horror.
"Tell me this isn't true.""
I began crying.
"I didn't know.""
He shook his head.
"Tell me.""
I looked at Laura.
She lowered her eyes.
May you like
Then Marcus whispered the words that destroyed whatever remained of our family.
"You're my daughter.""
