Chapter 3: The Name in the File
I couldn't move.
Mason stood in the doorway, clutching the sleeve of his shirt.
“Your real mom?”” I asked.
He nodded.
I slowly lowered myself into Vanessa's desk chair.
“Tell me everything you remember.””
Mason looked frightened.
“I don't remember everything.””
“That's okay.””
“He came when Mom wasn't here.””
“Vanessa?””
“No. My other mom.””
I stared at him.
“Your biological mother?””
He nodded.
“What was her name?””
“Sarah.””
The name hit me strangely.
I had heard it before.
Vanessa had told me Mason's mother died before she met me.
She'd said Sarah had abandoned him.
That she didn't want him.
That Vanessa had stepped in because Mason needed someone.
I'd never questioned it.
Why would I?
Vanessa had always seemed so certain when she told the story.
Mason wiped his nose.
“Sarah used to call you.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“Before you married Mom.””
My pulse quickened.
“Why would she call me?””
“I don't know.””
“What did she say?””
“She wanted to talk to you.””
“Did she?””
Mason shook his head.
“Mom wouldn't let her.””
I stood.
“Why?””
“She said Sarah was dangerous.””
I looked at the black phone in my hand.
Daniel.
Sarah.
The secret account.
Forty thousand dollars.
None of it made sense.
Then I remembered something.
Three years ago.
Before Vanessa and I married.
I'd received a voicemail from an unknown woman.
I still remembered the first sentence.
“Michael, please don't marry Vanessa.””
I'd assumed it was a prank.
Vanessa had laughed when I showed her.
She said someone must have gotten my number from social media.
I deleted it.
Two days later, Vanessa proposed.
At least, that's how I'd remembered it.
I suddenly wasn't sure of anything.
I pulled out my phone and searched my old cloud backups.
Messages.
Photos.
Voicemails.
I found it.
A saved audio file.
No name.
Just a date.
I pressed play.
A woman's frightened voice filled the room.
“Michael, my name is Sarah Reeves. You don't know me, but I know Vanessa.””
I looked at Mason.
His eyes widened.
The recording continued.
“She is not who she says she is. Please don't marry her until you hear what I have to tell you.””
Then a sound.
A door slamming.
The woman gasped.
“Someone's here. I have to—”
The recording ended.
I stared at the phone.
Mason whispered:
“That was her.””
I nodded.
“Yes.””
A knock came downstairs.
Three sharp knocks.
I froze.
Mason grabbed my hand.
“Dad.””
“Stay here.””
Another knock.
Then a man's voice came through the front door.
“Michael?””
I didn't recognize it.
I moved downstairs slowly.
“Who is it?””
“Daniel Reeves.””
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I looked through the peephole.
A man stood on the porch.
Late forties.
Dark jacket.
Wet hair.
He looked exhausted.
“I need to talk to you.””
I kept the door locked.
“How did you find me?””
“I've known where you live for years.””
I stepped back.
“That's not reassuring.””
Daniel looked directly at the door.
“Vanessa has been lying to you.””
I almost laughed.
“I'm aware.””
“No.””
His voice became urgent.
“You don't understand how much danger you're in.””
I kept one hand on the lock.
“What happened to Sarah?””
Silence.
Daniel's face changed.
“You know her name.””
“Mason told me.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Then she finally got through.””
“Where is she?””
“I don't know.””
“What do you mean you don't know?””
“She disappeared.””
“When?””
“Three years ago.””
The same year Vanessa and I met.
I opened the door just enough to speak.
“What does Vanessa have to do with it?””
Daniel looked past me.
His eyes went toward the stairs.
“Where are the children?””
“Safe.””
“Good.””
“Answer me.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Vanessa didn't meet you by accident.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“What?””
“She was looking for you.””
“Why?””
“Because Sarah left something behind.””
“What?””
Daniel looked at the phone in my hand.
“Proof.””
“Proof of what?””
He hesitated.
Then said:
“Who actually killed Sarah.””
The house seemed to shrink around me.
“Sarah is dead?””
“I don't know.””
“You just said she disappeared.””
“Because that's what Vanessa told me.””
I stared at him.
Daniel's voice dropped.
“I spent three years believing my sister was dead.””
“Sister?””
He nodded.
“Sarah was my sister.””
I stepped onto the porch.
“Then why did Vanessa have your name in her phone?””
“Because she hired me.””
“To do what?””
Daniel looked at me for a long moment.
“To watch you.””
My stomach twisted.
“For how long?””
“Almost two years.””
“Why?””
“Because Vanessa needed to know whether you were going to find something.””
“What?””
“The truth.””
Behind me, the floor creaked.
I turned.
Mason was halfway down the stairs.
“Dad?””
I walked back inside.
“Go upstairs.””
“But—”
“Now.””
He obeyed.
I shut the door behind me.
Daniel remained outside.
“Michael,” he said through the glass, “you need to listen carefully.””
I waited.
“Vanessa didn't just steal money from you.””
“What else?””
“She changed something in your life before you even met her.””
“What?””
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Your first wife's death.””
I couldn't breathe.
“My first wife?””
Daniel nodded.
“Sarah didn't die.””
“She was your first wife.””
I stared at him.
“That’s impossible.””
“You married her six years ago.””
“No.””
“You have a marriage certificate.””
“No.””
“You have a daughter with her.””
My mind went blank.
“Lily?””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not Lily.””
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded document.
“I think you should see who Lily's mother really is.””
I opened the door.
Daniel handed me the paper.
My fingers trembled as I unfolded it.
At the top was a hospital birth record.
*Child: Lily Carter.*
*Mother: Sarah Reeves.*
*Father: Michael Carter.*
I stared at the names.
Then at the date.
Six years ago.
Six months before I met Vanessa.
A sound came from behind me.
A small gasp.
I turned.
Lily stood on the stairs.
She had heard everything.
Her eyes were fixed on the paper.
“Daddy…”
I couldn't speak.
She pointed at the birth record.
“Who's Sarah?””
Before I could answer, Daniel's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face went white.
“What?”” I asked.
He answered.
“Hello?””
A woman's voice came through the speaker.
Weak.
Shaking.
But unmistakably alive.
“Daniel?””
He stopped breathing.
“Sarah?””
I looked at him.
The woman whispered:
May you like
“Michael must not trust Vanessa.””
Then the line went dead.
