PART 8: ONE OF US WAS WORKING FOR THEM
For a moment, I couldn't understand what Marcus was saying.
He was alive.
That was the only thing my mind could process.
My husband was standing less than twenty feet away from me.
Bruised.
Exhausted.
Thinner than I remembered.
But alive.
And yet he was looking at me as if I were a stranger.
“Marcus…”
My voice broke.
“I thought you were dead.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I know.”
“You let me bury you.”
“I had no choice.”
“No choice?”
My voice rose.
“You let everyone accuse me.”
“I know.”
“You let your brother stand over your coffin and call me a traitor.”
Marcus looked down.
“I heard him.”
My heart stopped.
“You heard him?”
He nodded.
“I was listening.”
I stared at him.
“From where?”
“The hospital.”
I felt dizzy.
“You were there?”
“For six days.”
“Why didn't you come home?”
His jaw tightened.
“Because someone was watching the hospital.”
Detective Carter stepped between us.
“Marcus, I need answers.”
Marcus nodded.
“I'll tell you everything.”
His eyes moved toward Lily.
“But first, get my daughter somewhere safe.”
Carter immediately ordered two officers to escort Lily to a police vehicle.
Lily refused to let go of my hand.
“Mom, I'm staying with you.”
I knelt.
“Sweetheart, go with the officers.”
“But Dad is here.”
“I know.”
She looked at Marcus.
“Dad?”
Marcus crouched down despite the pain.
He opened his arms.
Lily ran into them.
Marcus held her tightly.
For the first time since I had heard his voice through the recording, I saw the old Marcus again.
The father who used to carry Lily on his shoulders.
The man who had taught her how to ride a bicycle.
The husband who used to kiss my forehead every morning.
He whispered:
“I'm sorry, sweetheart.”
Lily cried against his chest.
“I thought you were gone.”
“I know.”
“Mom cried every night.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“I know.”
Then he looked at me.
“I heard that too.”
My heart broke.
“You heard me?”
He nodded.
“I heard you talking to my photograph.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“You were listening to me?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because if they knew you knew I was alive, they would have killed you.”
I looked at Emily.
“And you?”
Marcus's expression changed.
“She helped me.”
Emily nodded.
“I told you.”
Marcus looked at her.
“But she also lied to you.”
Emily lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
I stepped closer.
“What did she lie about?”
Marcus took a breath.
“Emily was originally sent to spy on me.”
I looked at her.
She nodded.
“I told you.”
“But you changed sides?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Emily looked at Lily.
“Because I realized what they were planning to do.”
“What?”
“They wanted to use Lily.”
My stomach turned.
“How?”
Emily shook her head.
“I don't know all the details.”
Marcus interrupted.
“I do.”
Everyone looked at him.
“They weren't trying to kill Lily.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“They wanted to take her.”
Silence.
“What do you mean?”
Marcus's voice became quiet.
“They wanted to use her as leverage.”
“For what?”
“For me.”
He looked at me.
“They knew I would do anything to protect her.”
I understood.
“If they took Lily…”
“I would give them everything.”
The company.
The documents.
The evidence.
Everything Marcus had spent two years collecting.
I whispered:
“So the accident…”
Marcus nodded.
“They thought Lily would be in the car.”
My entire body went cold.
“But she wasn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Marcus looked at me.
“Because you changed your mind.”
I frowned.
“I changed my mind?”
“You were supposed to take Lily to school that morning.”
I remembered.
That morning.
I had planned to drive Lily.
But at the last minute, I had asked Marcus to take her.
Because I had a doctor's appointment.
Marcus continued:
“That changed everything.”
I covered my mouth.
“So they thought Lily was with me.”
“Yes.”
“And when she wasn't…”
“They followed me instead.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“I almost got you killed.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You saved Lily.”
I cried.
Then Detective Carter interrupted.
“We need to discuss the people behind this.”
Marcus nodded.
“The Meridian Circle.”
Carter asked:
“How many members?”
“Seven that I know of.”
“Names?”
Marcus looked at Emily.
She handed Carter a document.
“The names are here.”
Carter opened it.
His expression changed immediately.
“There's a judge.”
“Yes.”
“A bank chairman.”
“Yes.”
“Two politicians.”
“Yes.”
He looked at Marcus.
“And a hospital administrator.”
Marcus nodded.
“The administrator helped fake my death.”
I looked at Jonathan.
He lowered his head.
“I was trying to save him.”
Marcus looked at him.
“He did.”
I stared at Jonathan.
“You helped my husband?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Marcus made me promise.”
I looked at Marcus.
He said nothing.
Then Carter turned another page.
His expression suddenly became serious.
“There's one more name.”
Marcus looked at the document.
His face changed.
“What?”
Carter pointed.
“This person.”
Marcus took the paper.
His hands began trembling.
“No.”
“What?”
He looked at me.
“I didn't know she was involved.”
“Who?”
Marcus slowly handed me the document.
I looked at the name.
My blood ran cold.
CLAIRE HALE.
I stared at it.
My own name.
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
“What is this?”
Marcus stepped toward me.
“I don't know.”
Carter examined the document.
“Someone registered a shell company under your identity.”
I shook my head.
“I never did that.”
“I believe you.”
“But who could?”
Marcus suddenly looked toward Emily.
Emily's face had gone completely white.
She whispered:
“Sarah.”
I remembered Lily's nanny.
“She used my identity?”
Emily nodded.
“She had access to your documents.”
Carter immediately called the officers.
“Find Sarah Brooks.”
But Marcus suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
“What?”
Marcus looked at me.
“Sarah isn't the person who created the company.”
“Then who?”
He pointed at the document.
“Look at the registration date.”
I did.
My heart stopped.
It had been registered fourteen years ago.
The same year Marcus and I got married.
“That’s impossible.”
Marcus stared at the paper.
“I thought so too.”
Emily stepped closer.
“Marcus…”
He looked at her.
“What?”
She pointed to the signature.
“That isn't Sarah's signature.”
Carter examined it.
“No.”
I stared at the name.
Then I noticed something.
The signature wasn't Sarah's.
It wasn't Marcus's.
It wasn't Richard's.
It wasn't my mother's.
I knew that handwriting.
My blood ran cold.
“Marcus…”
He looked at me.
“I know whose signature that is.”
“Whose?”
I couldn't speak.
Then I whispered:
“My father's.”
Everyone froze.
Marcus stared at me.
“Your father died before we met.”
“I know.”
“Then how did his signature appear on a company registered fourteen years ago?”
I shook my head.
“I don't know.”
Suddenly, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then a man's voice whispered:
“Claire.”
I froze.
It was a voice I hadn't heard in twenty years.
A voice I had believed was buried forever.
My father's voice.
“Don't trust Marcus.”
The line went dead.
I dropped the phone.
Marcus stared at me.
“What happened?”
I couldn't answer.
Because there was only one possibility.
My father wasn't dead.
Or someone had spent twenty years learning how to sound exactly like him.
And if my father was alive…
then everything Marcus and I believed about our lives was a lie.
