PART 13 — THE MOTHER THEY SAID WAS DEAD
St. Martha's Medical Center stood at the edge of the city.
Catherine stared at the building through the windshield.
Her heart was pounding.
For thirty-four years, she had believed she knew who her mother was.
Teresa Whitmore.
The woman who raised her.
The woman who held her when she was sick.
The woman who cried at her wedding.
The woman she had trusted.
Now Catherine knew that woman had hidden the biggest truth of her life.
Jonathan parked several blocks away.
“We don't know what we're walking into.”
“I don't care.”
“You should.”
Catherine looked at him.
“If Evelyn is alive, I need to know.”
They entered the hospital through a side entrance.
Jonathan had found an old employee database.
The name Evelyn appeared in records from nine years ago.
Not as a patient.
As a visitor.
Catherine's heart raced.
“Someone came here using her name after my father died.”
Jonathan nodded.
“Three times.”
“Who did she visit?”
“An unidentified patient.”
They reached the basement archives.
Jonathan showed an old employee his credentials.
Minutes later, they found the file.
Patient number 4471.
Female.
Age: 58.
Admitted nine years earlier.
No family listed.
Catherine looked at the photograph attached to the file.
She stopped breathing.
The woman in the photograph was older.
Her hair was gray.
Her face thinner.
But Catherine knew those eyes.
She had seen them in the photograph from her father's recording.
“That's her.”
Jonathan looked at the file.
“She was here.”
“Where is she now?”
“Discharged six years ago.”
“Where did she go?”
Jonathan searched.
There was no address.
Only one note.
Transferred under protective identity.
Catherine stared at the words.
“Protective identity?”
Jonathan nodded.
“Someone protected her.”
“Who?”
They found another document.
A signature.
Daniel Whitmore.
Catherine's father.
“He saved her.”
Jonathan looked at her.
“Apparently.”
Catherine sat down.
Her father had known Evelyn was alive.
He had protected her.
And still he had never told Catherine.
“Why?”
Jonathan answered softly.
“Because he believed telling you would put you in danger.”
Catherine wiped her eyes.
“What happened to Evelyn?”
Jonathan continued searching.
Then found a phone number.
It was old.
But still active.
He called.
A woman answered.
“Hello?”
Catherine froze.
The voice was soft.
Older.
But something inside Catherine recognized it.
Jonathan looked at her.
“It's her.”
Catherine took the phone.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then:
“Who is this?”
“My name is Catherine.”
The woman stopped breathing.
Catherine's eyes filled with tears.
“Are you Evelyn?”
Another silence.
Then the woman whispered:
“Daniel promised he would keep you safe.”
Catherine closed her eyes.
“Mom?”
The woman began crying.
“Yes.”
Catherine covered her mouth.
Her entire life had changed in one word.
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Please.”
“They found me once. They will find me again.”
“Who?”
“Victor.”
Catherine's blood ran cold.
“He killed my father.”
“He didn't pull the trigger.”
Catherine froze.
“What?”
“Victor ordered it.”
“Who carried it out?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“Someone you would never suspect.”
Catherine's heart pounded.
“Who?”
Before Evelyn could answer, the call ended.
Jonathan looked at the phone.
“She hung up.”
Catherine's phone immediately received a message.
An address.
No explanation.
She stared at it.
Jonathan read it.
“That's a private residence.”
“Could it be a trap?”
“Yes.”
“I have to go.”
They drove to the address.
It was a small house in a quiet neighborhood.
The front door was open.
Catherine stepped inside.
“Mom?”
No answer.
The living room was empty.
A photograph lay on the table.
Catherine picked it up.
It showed her as a little girl.
Standing beside her father.
And behind them stood Evelyn.
Catherine turned the photograph over.
Three words were written on the back.
HE TRUSTED HER.
Jonathan suddenly noticed blood on the floor.
“Catherine.”
She turned.
The trail led toward the bedroom.
They rushed inside.
The room was empty.
But on the bed lay a torn piece of paper.
Catherine picked it up.
It contained a name.
DR. MICHAEL REEVES.
Jonathan stared at it.
“Who's that?”
Catherine didn't know.
Then she remembered.
Her father's attorney had mentioned the name years ago.
A doctor who had treated Daniel before his death.
Jonathan searched the internet.
His face changed.
“Catherine…”
“What?”
“Dr. Reeves is still alive.”
“Where?”
Jonathan looked at the address.
“He works at a private clinic.”
Catherine took a deep breath.
“Then that's where we're going.”
As they left the house, Catherine noticed a car parked across the street.
A familiar black sedan.
The same one that had followed her from the station.
Someone was watching.
And this time, Catherine saw the driver's face.
It was Mark.
