PART 8 — THE WOMAN WHO STOLE CHLOE'S IDENTITY
The gunshot exploded through the darkness.
Then came a scream.
I couldn't tell who had been hit.
“Mom!”
I ran toward the sound.
Someone grabbed my arm.
I fought back instinctively.
“Let me go!”
“It’s me!”
Michael.
He pulled me behind a concrete pillar.
“Stay down!”
Another gunshot echoed through the archive.
My heart hammered against my chest.
“Where's my mother?”
“She’s alive.”
“How do you know?”
“I saw her move.”
Then the lights flickered back on.
For half a second, I saw everything.
My grandfather was gone.
My mother was lying on the floor.
And beside her stood a woman.
Chloe.
But she wasn't looking at me.
She was staring at my grandfather's abandoned gun.
“Chloe?”
She slowly turned.
Her face was pale.
“I didn't know he would come here.”
I stared at her.
“You're not Chloe.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
“Then who are you?”
She looked at my mother.
Then at Michael.
Finally, she whispered:
“My name is Elena Prescott.”
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“Prescott?”
She nodded.
“Your father's daughter.”
My mother struggled to sit up.
“Sam…”
I helped her.
“Tell me the truth.”
She looked at Elena.
“It's time.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“I was raised believing I was Chloe Danvers.”
“Why?”
“Because my real identity was hidden.”
“By whom?”
“My father.”
I stared at her.
“Your father?”
She nodded.
“Victor Carlisle.”
My stomach tightened.
Damian's father.
The man connected to my grandfather.
The man my father had feared.
Elena continued.
“Victor took me when I was a baby.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted access to the Prescott inheritance.”
I shook my head.
“But if you were my father's daughter…”
“You were never supposed to know.”
She looked at me.
“When your father discovered the truth, he tried to take me back.”
“And that's why he died?”
Elena nodded.
“Victor ordered the attack.”
My hands trembled.
“But Damian?”
“He was there.”
“What did he do?”
“He watched.”
The words cut through me.
“He was twenty-six,” Elena continued.
“He could have stopped it.”
“But he didn't.”
I remembered Damian's face at our wedding.
The way he had smiled.
The way he had promised to protect me.
Every memory suddenly felt poisoned.
Then I asked the question that had haunted me.
“Why did you marry him?”
Elena looked away.
“To destroy him.”
I stared at her.
“You married Damian to get revenge?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you steal my life?”
“I didn't.”
“You took my husband.”
“I never wanted your husband.”
I froze.
“What?”
Elena stepped closer.
“Damian wanted me to marry him because he believed I was Chloe Danvers.”
“He didn't know who you really were?”
“No.”
“And you knew?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your mother asked me not to.”
I looked at my mother.
She lowered her eyes.
“Why?”
“Because we needed Damian to believe his plan was working.”
My mind raced.
“So the wedding…”
“Was a trap.”
I stared at Elena.
“The entire marriage?”
“Yes.”
I couldn't believe it.
“You knew I was in the hospital.”
Elena's eyes filled with guilt.
“I knew.”
“And you still married him?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make him expose himself.”
I stepped back.
“You used me.”
“No.”
“You used my marriage.”
“Yes.”
“That still means you used me.”
She didn't argue.
Instead, she reached into her handbag.
She pulled out a small USB drive.
“This is why.”
Michael immediately recognized it.
“Where did you get that?”
“From Victor's private office.”
I stared at the drive.
“What is it?”
“Everything.”
She placed it in my hand.
“Bank transfers.”
“Emails.”
“Medical records.”
“Messages between Damian and your grandfather.”
I looked at her.
“And proof of what happened to my father.”
My fingers tightened around the drive.
“How did you get it?”
“Damian gave it to me.”
I froze.
“Why?”
“He thought I was helping him.”
“So Damian doesn't know who you really are.”
“No.”
“Then why would he give you evidence against himself?”
“Because he trusts me.”
I almost laughed.
“That's ironic.”
Elena nodded.
“He trusted me more than he ever trusted you.”
That sentence hurt.
But it also gave me an idea.
“Then we use that.”
Everyone looked at me.
I turned toward my mother.
“Where's my grandfather?”
“Gone.”
“He'll come back.”
Michael nodded.
“He always does.”
I looked at the USB drive.
“Then we make sure he comes back with Damian.”
* * *
Three hours later, we were in a secure office downtown.
The drive had been copied.
Three separate lawyers had the evidence.
The police had been notified.
For the first time, I felt like I wasn't fighting alone.
But we still had one problem.
Damian.
He couldn't know about Elena's real identity.
Not yet.
So I called him.
He answered immediately.
“Samantha?”
I softened my voice.
“Damian.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to talk.”
“About what?”
“Us.”
Silence.
“I've been thinking.”
“What about?”
“I think we made mistakes.”
He became quiet.
Then:
“Are you saying you want me back?”
I looked at Elena.
She nodded.
I closed my eyes.
“Yes.”
Damian exhaled.
“I knew you'd come to your senses.”
My stomach turned.
“Come home tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“The house.”
“Our house?”
I smiled.
“Your house.”
He laughed.
“You really mean that?”
“Yes.”
“Then I'll come.”
“Bring Chloe.”
There was a long pause.
“Why?”
“Because I want to meet the woman you chose over me.”
He agreed.
“Tomorrow.”
After we ended the call, Elena stared at me.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“What are you planning?”
I looked at the evidence.
“I'm giving Damian one final opportunity.”
“To confess?”
“No.”
“To reveal who he really works for.”
* * *
The next evening, Damian arrived at the house.
He wore a dark suit.
He looked confident.
Beside him stood Elena.
He still believed she was Chloe.
My grandfather wasn't with them.
Not yet.
Damian walked into the living room.
“You look beautiful.”
I smiled.
“So do you.”
He approached me.
“I knew you would forgive me.”
I looked into his eyes.
“I haven't forgiven you.”
His smile faded.
“Then why am I here?”
“Because I have a proposal.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“What kind?”
I picked up a glass of champagne.
“One final business agreement.”
His eyes immediately sharpened.
“What are the terms?”
I smiled.
“You get everything you wanted.”
He leaned closer.
“And what do you get?”
I looked directly at him.
“The truth.”
Before he could answer, the front doors opened.
My grandfather walked inside.
Damian turned.
His face went white.
“Sir?”
My grandfather smiled.
“You've done well, Damian.”
Then Elena stepped forward.
She removed a small necklace from around her neck.
A necklace my father had given his firstborn daughter.
My grandfather's expression changed.
Elena looked at him.
“My name isn't Chloe.”
Damian froze.
“What?”
She smiled.
“It's Elena Prescott.”
The room went silent.
Damian looked at my grandfather.
Then at me.
Then at Elena.
And for the first time…
He understood.
He had been walking into a trap from the beginning.
But before anyone could move, my grandfather pulled a gun from inside his jacket.
He pointed it directly at me.
“You should have stayed dead, Samantha.”
And Damian suddenly stepped between us.
“Put the gun down.”
My grandfather stared at him.
“You're protecting her?”
Damian's voice was cold.
“No.”
He looked at Elena.
“I'm protecting my inheritance.”
Then he reached inside his jacket.
And pulled out a second gun.
Two guns.
Two enemies.
One room.
And I suddenly realized…
I had no idea which man was going to pull the trigger first.
