CHAPTER 4 — The Woman Everyone Thought Was Dead
The mansion was under federal lockdown.
Agents searched every room.
Lawyers hurried toward the exits.
Board members quietly deleted files from their phones.
Alexander noticed.
"So..."
"You all knew."
No one answered.
Meanwhile, Noah stood silently in front of Emily's old paintings.
He traced one faded signature with his finger.
"My mom painted this when she was pregnant."
Alexander's heart shattered.
He had missed every birthday.
Every Christmas.
Every scraped knee.
Every nightmare.
Twenty-one years...
stolen.
Just then, FBI Special Agent Rebecca Collins approached.
"Mr. Whitmore."
"We found something."
She handed him an old passport.
Name:
Sarah Evans.
Photo:
Emily.
Alexander frowned.
"That's impossible."
Rebecca nodded.
"Emily Carter didn't die last week."
Alexander froze.
"What?"
"The woman buried under that name wasn't Emily."
Silence filled the room.
Noah looked confused.
"But..."
"I buried my mom."
Rebecca slowly opened another file.
"The DNA doesn't match."
Alexander's hands began shaking.
"If she isn't dead..."
"...where is she?"
Before anyone could answer...
every phone inside the mansion rang at exactly the same second.
Unknown Number.
Alexander answered.
A familiar voice whispered...
"Don't tell Noah I'm alive."
The line went dead.
Alexander nearly dropped the phone.
Because after twenty-one years...
he had just heard Emily's voice.
May you like
Alive.
And terrified.
