PART 3 — CARTER'S LIE
Carter stood in the doorway.
His expensive suit looked completely out of place against the institutional beige walls.
He smiled.
“Mother.”
Edith stared at him.
“What do you want?”
“I came to check on you.”
“You came to check whether I’m still alive.”
Carter’s smile disappeared.
“That’s unfair.”
Hailey stepped between them.
“Mrs. Ledbetter needs privacy.”
Carter looked at her.
For a moment, his eyes lingered on Hailey’s uniform.
Then on Edith.
“Did she tell you anything?”
Hailey’s heart slammed against her ribs.
“No.”
Carter smiled again.
“You’re new.”
“Four months.”
“That’s longer than most.”
“Why?”
He shrugged.
“People don’t last here.”
Edith spoke sharply.
“Leave.”
Carter ignored her.
“Tomorrow morning, the psychiatrist is coming.”
“I know.”
“You need to cooperate.”
“No.”
“Mother…”
“I said no.”
Carter sighed.
“You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”
Hailey watched him carefully.
“What exactly happens if she refuses?”
Carter turned toward her.
“She gets transferred.”
“To Sunny Pines?”
“Yes.”
“Against her will?”
Carter’s expression hardened.
“If the doctors determine she’s a danger to herself, yes.”
Hailey frowned.
“Has she ever harmed herself?”
“No.”
“Anyone else?”
Carter hesitated.
“No.”
“Then why psychiatric hospitalization?”
Carter stared at her.
“Because she is delusional.”
Edith laughed.
“Ask him about Walter.”
Carter went silent.
Hailey looked between them.
“Who is Walter?”
Carter answered quickly.
“My father.”
“Was he abusive?”
Carter’s jaw tightened.
“My parents had a complicated marriage.”
Edith whispered:
“He tortured me.”
Carter looked at her.
“You’ve been telling this story for forty years.”
“Because it happened.”
“You need help.”
Hailey noticed something.
Carter never looked at Edith’s back.
Not once.
Almost as though he already knew what was there.
“Mr. Ledbetter,” Hailey said.
He turned.
“Why are you so determined to have your mother declared incompetent?”
His expression became cold.
“That is none of your business.”
“It became my business when you threatened her with psychiatric confinement.”
Carter took a step toward her.
“Be careful.”
Hailey didn’t move.
“Is that a threat?”
“No.”
He smiled.
“It’s advice.”
He turned to leave.
Then stopped.
“By the way…”
He looked back.
“Did Mother tell you about the old facility?”
Edith went rigid.
Hailey said nothing.
Carter smiled.
“Of course not.”
He walked out.
The door closed.
Hailey waited several seconds.
Then she whispered:
“What old facility?”
Edith stared at the door.
“His father’s laboratory.”
“Where is it?”
“Under the old Ledbetter factory.”
“Does it still exist?”
“I don’t know.”
Hailey pulled out the paper with her name.
“Carter knows something.”
Edith looked at it.
“No.”
“What?”
“He knows everything.”
Hailey frowned.
“Then why pretend you’re crazy?”
“Because he needs me to look crazy.”
“Why?”
Edith hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Because if I am declared incompetent, Carter becomes guardian.”
“And then?”
“He controls my estate.”
Hailey nodded.
“That makes sense.”
“No.”
Edith shook her head.
“You still don’t understand.”
“What?”
“My estate is worth far more than Carter thinks.”
Hailey looked at her.
“How much?”
Edith answered quietly.
“Three hundred million dollars.”
Hailey stared.
“But why would Walter care about your money now?”
“He doesn’t.”
“Then who does?”
Edith looked toward the door.
“That’s what frightens me.”
She reached into the bottom of her suitcase.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a small cassette recorder.
Hailey frowned.
“What is that?”
“A recording.”
“Of what?”
“Walter.”
Edith pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a man’s voice.
Deep.
Controlled.
Terrifyingly calm.
“Edith, you will give me the account numbers.”
A younger Edith screamed.
“I don't know them!”
“You do.”
“I swear!”
A loud crash.
Then Walter again.
“You think your son will save you?”
Edith’s voice broke.
“Leave Carter out of this.”
“He is already part of it.”
The recording ended.
Hailey stared at Edith.
“What did he mean?”
Edith’s eyes filled with tears.
“Carter was six years old.”
Hailey waited.
“Walter made him watch.”
“Watch what?”
“What he did to me.”
Hailey felt sick.
“Why would he do that to his own child?”
“To teach him obedience.”
Hailey looked at the scars.
“And Carter never told anyone?”
“He was terrified.”
“Until now?”
Edith nodded.
“He became exactly what his father wanted.”
Hailey’s phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown number.
A message appeared.
STOP ASKING QUESTIONS.
Then another.
YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT.
Hailey stared at the screen.
A third message arrived.
This time there was a photograph.
It showed Hailey’s mother.
Alive.
But the photograph had been taken recently.
Hailey stopped breathing.
Her mother had supposedly been dead for twelve years.
Edith looked at the image.
Her face turned white.
“No…”
Hailey whispered:
“My mother is alive.”
Edith shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who is this?”
Edith stared at the photograph.
“That isn't your mother.”
Hailey looked closer.
The woman in the picture had the same face.
The same hair.
The same eyes.
But around her neck was a small silver pendant.
Hailey recognized it.
Her mother had worn that pendant every day of her life.
Edith whispered:
“That necklace belonged to someone else.”
“Who?”
Edith looked toward the locked door.
“Walter’s first wife.”
Hailey’s blood ran cold.
“Your mother wasn’t his first wife?”
Edith shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at Hailey.
“Your mother wasn't even the first woman he tried to silence.”
Suddenly, the lights went out.
And from somewhere beneath the floor came three slow knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Edith whispered:
“Someone is under us.”
