Chapter 4: The Night My Father Forgot
“That is impossible.””
My father said it three times.
The first time, his voice was loud enough to echo through the storage unit. The second time, it sounded like a plea. By the third, he was staring at the police report as if the yellowed paper had become a mirror reflecting a stranger.
Daniel stood beside the open metal case, his hands trembling.
“Richard, I know what you're thinking.””
“No, you don't.”” Dad slapped the report against the folding table.
“I was twenty-three years old. I was working at a construction company in Boston. I had never met either of those women.””
Daniel swallowed.
“You met Laura.””
“I never met Laura Bennett!””
“Maybe not under that name.””
I stepped between them before my father could grab his brother again.
“Daniel, stop speaking in riddles. If you know something, tell us.””
My uncle looked at the photograph of the two sisters.
“Twenty-seven years ago, there was a fire at a house outside Hartford, Connecticut. Two sisters lived there. Laura and Nicole Bennett.
Laura was nineteen, and Nicole was twenty-three. The official report said Laura died in the fire. Nicole survived with burns on her hands and face.””
“And you're saying the woman who calls herself Nicole is actually Laura?”” I asked.
“Yes.””
“Then where is the real Nicole?””
Daniel's mouth tightened.
“That is what I never managed to find out.””
Dad shook his head.
“Why would I have been involved in any of this?””
Daniel reached into the case and removed another document.
“Because you were dating a woman named Laura before you met Margaret.””
My father went still.
I had never heard that name associated with him.
“Dad?””
He didn't answer.
Daniel placed the document beside the police report. It was a faded photograph of a young man standing outside a college dormitory, his arm around a dark-haired woman.
The young man was my father.
The woman had the same eyes as the woman who had spent six years pretending to be my stepmother.
Dad picked up the photograph.
His fingers shook so badly that the paper rattled.
“I don't remember this.””
Daniel looked at him with something between pity and disgust.
“You were engaged to her.””
“No.””
“You gave her a ring.””
“No!””
Dad threw the photograph onto the table.
“I would remember being engaged to someone!””
“Would you?”” Daniel asked quietly.
“You were in the hospital for three weeks after the accident.””
“What accident?””
Daniel looked at me.
Then he looked back at my father.
“Richard, I think you need to sit down.””
“Tell me what happened.””
“Twenty-seven years ago, you were driving home from a college party when your car went off a rural road. You suffered a head injury. The doctors said you might have gaps in your memory. When you recovered, you told everyone you had been driving alone.””
Dad pressed his palms against the table.
“I was never in an accident like that.””
“Your medical records say otherwise.””
“Then show me the records!””
Daniel opened a folder and handed him a photocopy.
Dad read it once.
Then his knees buckled.
I caught his arm before he hit the table.
“Dad!””
He sat heavily on a folding chair, staring at the page.
The report described a vehicle found in a ditch near the Bennett property. The driver had suffered a concussion and several broken ribs. A woman had been found beside the road, unconscious but alive.
Her name was listed as Laura Bennett.
My father rubbed his temples.
“I remember a hospital room,” he whispered.
“A white ceiling. Someone asking me my name.””
He shut his eyes.
“And a woman crying.””
Daniel nodded.
“Laura.””
“No.”” Dad shook his head.
“I remember another woman. She was angry. She kept saying I had promised her something.””
His eyes opened suddenly.
“Nicole.””
The name hung in the air.
Daniel leaned forward.
“What did she say?””
Dad struggled to breathe evenly.
“She said I couldn't leave her. She said I'd ruined everything.””
He pressed his fingers against his forehead.
“Then there was a doctor. He told me not to force myself to remember. He said the memories might return gradually.””
I felt a chill run through me.
“Dad, did you ever see that doctor again?””
He shook his head.
“No. My parents moved me back to Boston. They said the accident had been traumatic and that I needed a fresh start.””
“Who arranged the move?”” Daniel asked.
“My father.””
“And who was your father's attorney?””
Dad looked at him.
“Arthur Cole.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Arthur Cole represented the Bennett family.””
Silence settled over the storage unit.
My mother had spent years believing that someone was trying to separate her from my father. Perhaps she had stumbled into a story that had begun long before she was born.
But one question still bothered me.
“Daniel, if Dad was engaged to Laura, why did he marry Mom?””
“Because he believed Laura had died.””
“And why didn't she come back?””
Daniel stared at the photograph.
“Because someone wanted her to disappear.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared on the screen.
*STOP DIGGING INTO THE PAST. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOUR MOTHER DID.*
A second message arrived.
*ASK YOUR FATHER WHAT HE WAS DOING THE NIGHT MARGARET DIED.*
I showed it to Dad.
His expression hardened.
“That's Nicole.””
“How do you know?””
“Because she has used that exact phrase before.””
“What phrase?””
He looked at me.
“Your mother did something terrible.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Dad, what are you talking about?””
He stood abruptly and began pacing between the storage boxes.
“For years, whenever Margaret and I argued, Nicole would tell me that Margaret had secrets. She said my wife wasn't who I thought she was. I dismissed it as jealousy.””
“Did Mom ever admit to anything?””
“No.””
He stopped pacing.
“But the night she died, we had a terrible argument.””
The words landed like a blow.
“About what?””
“Money. The trust. She had discovered a transfer from one of our accounts, and she accused me of authorizing it.””
“Did you?””
“No. I swear to you, Emily, I didn't.””
“Then why did you argue?””
“Because I thought she was accusing me of something I hadn't done. I told her she was becoming paranoid.””
His voice broke.
“She left the house crying.””
I remembered that night.
I had been sixteen, sitting at the kitchen table with a chemistry textbook. Mom had come downstairs wearing her raincoat, her eyes red.
She had kissed my forehead and told me she loved me.
Then she had whispered, “If anything ever happens, remember that I tried to protect you.””
At the time, I thought she was talking about my upcoming exams, or perhaps the uncertainty of growing up.
Now I understood that she had been afraid.
“Dad,” I whispered, “what time did she leave?””
“A little after eight.””
“And the accident happened around nine?””
He nodded.
I felt cold all over.
“Where were you?””
“At home.””
“Alone?””
He looked at me.
“Yes.””
But something in his expression changed.
A small crease appeared between his eyebrows. He looked toward the police report, then at the photograph.
“I remember the phone ringing,” he said slowly.
“What phone?””
“Our landline. Someone called after Margaret left. I answered, but I couldn't hear anything.
There was wind. Then a woman said my name.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
He closed his eyes.
“She said, 'You promised you would keep me safe.''”
Daniel's face drained of color.
“Richard, did you go anywhere that night?””
Dad stared at the floor.
“I don't remember.””
A loud metallic bang sounded outside the storage unit.
We all turned.
Daniel rushed toward the entrance and peered through the narrow gap beneath the door.
“Someone's here.””
He pulled the door open a few inches.
The parking lot was empty.
But a black SUV was parked at the far end, its headlights off.
As we watched, the engine started.
The vehicle sped toward the exit.
I caught a glimpse of the driver.
A woman with dark hair.
Nicole.
“She's following us,” I whispered.
Daniel slammed the door shut.
“We need to leave. Now.””
Dad grabbed the files and shoved them into the metal case.
I took the photograph of the two sisters and slipped it into my bag.
We were halfway to the car when my phone rang.
Mrs. Collins, our elderly neighbor, was calling.
“Emily!”” she shouted before I could say hello.
“You need to come home immediately!””
My heart lurched.
“What's happened?””
“Nicole is here. She's trying to take Ethan!””
I heard my brother crying in the background.
Then Nicole's voice cut through the phone.
“Tell your sister to come home, Ethan. Otherwise, you'll never see your father again.””
The line went dead.
I looked at Dad.
His face had turned white.
May you like
“Drive,” I said.
And for the first time in my life, I watched my father run toward the car without looking back.
