Chapter 8: The Woman Who Knew My Face
Detective Harris confiscated my phone long enough to trace the messages, but the number had been routed through a series of temporary accounts.
The photograph offered no reliable location.
By sunrise, we had three officers stationed outside the mansion, another watching the hospital where Renata had been admitted, and a detective calling every private medical facility within fifty miles of Salem.
None of it answered the question that mattered most.
Was my mother alive?
Dad sat in the kitchen with a cup of untouched coffee, staring at the photograph of Elena.
He hadn't slept.
Neither had I.
At 7:40 a.m., Detective Harris entered with a thin folder.
"We've found the facility in the photograph.""
Dad stood so quickly his chair scraped across the floor.
"Where?""
"A private rehabilitation center outside Salem. Room Twelve is part of a secured wing.""
"Who's the patient?""
Harris hesitated.
"A woman admitted under the name Eleanor Vale. The admission record dates back eleven years.""
I gripped the edge of the counter.
"Eleven years?""
"Yes.""
"That's six years after my mother died.""
"According to the records, the woman was transferred from another facility. Her identity wasn't verified through standard channels.""
Dad's face went pale.
"Can we see her?""
"The facility has agreed to cooperate, but we need to approach this carefully. If the patient is Elena, she may be a witness. If she's someone else, we can't assume she's connected to your mother's case.""
I looked at the photograph again.
"She's connected.""
Harris didn't argue.
Twenty minutes later, we were on the road.
The rehabilitation center stood on a wooded hillside behind a security gate. It was a quiet place with white walls, tall windows, and flower beds arranged so neatly they looked artificial.
A nurse met us in the lobby.
"Detective Harris?""
He showed his badge.
"We're here regarding a patient registered as Eleanor Vale.""
The nurse's expression changed.
"She's not expecting visitors.""
"Is she medically stable?""
"Yes, but she has strict instructions about who can see her.""
Dad stepped forward.
"Please tell her Daniel Bennett is here.""
The nurse looked at him for a long moment.
Then she disappeared through a door marked STAFF ONLY.
We waited beneath a painting of a blue river.
I could hear my heartbeat.
A few minutes later, the nurse returned.
"She'll see Emily.""
Dad immediately shook his head.
"No. She'll see both of us.""
"I'm sorry," the nurse replied.
"Those were her exact instructions.""
Detective Harris folded his arms.
"We can't send a seventeen-year-old into an uncertain situation alone.""
"I can go with her," the nurse offered.
"I'll remain in the room.""
Dad looked at me.
"You're not obligated to do this.""
"I know.""
"If she asks you to leave, you leave. If anything feels wrong, you call for help.""
I nodded.
He kissed my forehead.
"Be careful, sweetheart.""
The nurse led me down a corridor lined with photographs of landscapes. At the end stood a door with a small brass number.
12.
She knocked twice.
A woman's voice answered.
"Come in.""
The room smelled of lavender and antiseptic.
A woman sat beside the window, her hands folded in her lap. She wore a pale cardigan and had silver threads running through her dark hair.
She looked up when I entered.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then she stood.
"Oh, Emily.""
Her voice trembled.
I froze.
"How do you know my name?""
She took a step toward me, then stopped as though afraid I might run.
"Because I've watched you grow up.""
My stomach twisted.
"Who are you?""
She closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, tears glistened along her lower lashes.
"My name is Elena Vale.""
I stared at her.
"My mother's sister?""
"Yes.""
"Where have you been?""
She looked toward the window.
"Trying to stay alive.""
The answer was so quiet that it almost disappeared beneath the hum of the air conditioner.
I took a step closer.
"Did my mother die in that house?""
Elena's lips parted.
Then she shook her head.
"No.""
My knees weakened.
"What?""
"Your mother was alive when I last saw her. She was badly injured, frightened, and convinced that someone had taken you.""
I grabbed the back of a chair.
"Taken me where?""
Elena looked at me.
"That's what I've spent seventeen years trying to discover.""
I felt the floor shift beneath my feet.
"But I lived with Dad.""
"I know.""
"Then what do you mean?""
She crossed to a small table and opened a drawer. Inside lay a collection of old photographs, a folded blanket, and a leather-bound notebook.
She removed one photograph.
It showed two identical babies wrapped in white blankets.
I stared at it.
"What is this?""
"Your mother gave birth to twins.""
The room went silent.
I couldn't breathe.
"No.""
"I'm sorry.""
"No, that's impossible. Dad would've told me.""
Elena's eyes filled.
"Your father didn't know.""
I stared at the photograph.
Two babies.
One had a tiny silver bracelet around her wrist.
The other wore a white ribbon.
Elena pointed to the baby with the bracelet.
"That's you.""
My hands began to shake.
"And the other baby?""
She swallowed.
"Her name was Sophie.""
The name from my father's confession.
My mother's niece.
Except she wasn't my cousin.
She was my sister.
I sat down hard.
"Where is she?""
Elena turned away.
"I don't know.""
"How can you not know?""
"Because Renata took her.""
The words struck with the force of a physical blow.
I rose.
"What?""
"On the night your mother fell, Renata took Sophie from the house. She told everyone the baby had died during delivery complications. Your father was devastated, but he never saw the body. Your mother had been unconscious for hours, and when she woke up, Sophie was gone.""
I shook my head.
"Why didn't Mom tell Dad?""
"She tried. But Renata had people watching the house. Your mother believed that if Daniel knew the truth, they'd use him to get to you.""
"That's insane.""
"Yes," Elena whispered.
"It was.""
I paced toward the window.
"Then why did I stay with Dad?""
"Because your mother arranged for you to remain with him. She believed the house was the safest place for you as long as he didn't know about Sophie.""
"But Mom died when I was a baby.""
Elena nodded slowly.
"She died years later.""
I spun around.
"What?""
"Your mother survived the fall. She was taken to a private hospital, then moved to a safe house. She spent years trying to find Sophie. She believed Renata had hidden her somewhere under a different name.""
"Then why did everyone say she was dead?""
Elena's expression crumpled.
"Because the people who controlled the investigation needed Daniel to stop looking.""
I pressed both hands against my mouth.
All those years.
All those birthdays.
All those nights I'd cried for a mother I believed was gone.
She might have been alive.
And somewhere, I had a sister I'd never met.
"Where is my mother now?"" I whispered.
Elena lowered her eyes.
"I don't know.""
I grabbed her hand.
"You're lying.""
She didn't pull away.
"I wish I were.""
"Then why did someone send me a photograph of you at this hospital?""
Elena's expression changed.
"What photograph?""
I showed her the image on my phone.
She stared at it, then shook her head.
"That's not me.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"What?""
"The woman in that photograph has a scar beneath her left ear. I don't.""
I enlarged the image.
The figure's hair obscured most of her face, but there was a thin, pale line just beneath the ear.
Elena stepped backward.
"Someone wants you to believe I'm involved.""
"Who?""
Before she could answer, the door opened.
A man in a dark suit stood in the doorway.
He was tall, with neatly combed hair and a silver watch.
He smiled politely at the nurse.
"Sorry to interrupt. I'm here to escort Ms. Vale to her appointment.""
The nurse frowned.
"She doesn't have an appointment scheduled.""
The man's smile disappeared.
Then he looked at me.
"Emily Bennett.""
My entire body went cold.
"Who are you?""
He reached into his jacket.
Detective Harris had warned me never to trust anyone who arrived unexpectedly.
I stepped away from him.
"Don't come any closer.""
The man paused.
Then he removed a badge.
Not a police badge.
A private security identification card.
"I'm here on behalf of your mother.""
Elena made a strangled sound.
"No.""
The man looked at her.
"Ms. Vale, you've been hiding long enough.""
He reached into his pocket again and placed a small silver key on the table.
The same key my father had used to open the hidden room.
My breath caught.
"Where did you get that?""
The man turned toward me.
"From the woman who gave birth to you.""
He placed a folded note beside the key.
May you like
Then he said the words that made my legs nearly give out.
"Your mother is alive, Emily. And if you want to see her, you have until midnight to decide whether you're willing to learn what your father did to your sister.""
