Chapter 7 - The Woman We Buried
Rebecca Cole.
Vanessa’s mother.
According to Vanessa, Rebecca died when Vanessa was eleven.
Or so she had been told.
Date of death?
The same night Laura Hayes supposedly died.
Different state.
Different story.
Same woman?
Dad began reconstructing the records.
Laura and Rebecca had worked together.
They looked remarkably alike.
Not twins.
Not relatives, according to available records.
But similar enough for the Mirror Protocol.
One of them died that night.
The other disappeared.
Which one?
The dental records identifying “Laura” had been altered.
Rebecca's remains were supposedly cremated without Vanessa ever seeing them.
Two dead women.
One confirmed body.
My stomach turned.
Vanessa whispered:
“Daniel knew.”
He shook his head.
“I knew there were irregularities.”
“You married Emily because of them!”
Daniel shouted:
“I married Emily because Halcyon believed Laura left evidence with Richard!”
There.
Finally.
The truth.
Halcyon recruited Daniel years before meeting me.
His assignment was to become close enough to learn whether Dad possessed Laura’s missing files.
Marriage had not initially been required.
Then Daniel fell in love.
Or claimed he did.
For several years, he stopped reporting.
Then debt changed things.
A failed investment.
Secret gambling.
Nearly $900,000 owed.
Halcyon approached again.
Help us access Laura’s archive.
Your debt disappears.
Suddenly the divorce made sense.
So did the absurd dinner.
Daniel was not spending my million dollars for revenge.
He needed a transaction large enough to activate a dormant corporate verification pathway without making it look like he was accessing the vault.
“Why Vanessa?”
Daniel wouldn't answer.
She did.
“Because Halcyon sent me.”
Another blow.
Vanessa had not accidentally become Daniel’s girlfriend.
She approached him.
But then something changed.
She discovered the old files concerning Rebecca.
Her mother.
“I thought Richard was dead because Daniel showed me the obituary.”
“Why would that matter?”
“Because I was told Richard killed both women.”
Dad went still.
“What?”
Vanessa’s entire hatred toward my father had been manufactured.
Just as Daniel’s marriage had been engineered.
Just as my mother’s death had been constructed.
Layers.
Everyone had been given a different villain.
Then I opened Laura’s letter farther.
One sentence had been underlined twice.
Richard did not kill Rebecca.
Vanessa collapsed into her chair.
Dad stared at Daniel.
“Who told you I did?”
Daniel whispered:
“The same person who told me to marry Emily.”
“Name.”
Daniel looked toward the door.
Fear overtook arrogance.
“I can't.”
Dad stepped closer.
“Why?”
May you like
Daniel whispered:
“Because she's still alive.”
