Chapter 4: The Woman at the Door
Vanessa stepped backward.
“No.””
The woman held the folder against her chest.
“You knew this was coming.””
Marcus looked between them.
“Who are you?””
The woman looked at him.
“My name is Rachel Cole.””
Vanessa's voice shook.
“You weren't supposed to come here.””
Rachel gave a humorless smile.
“Neither was I.””
Marcus opened the door wider.
“Get inside.””
Rachel entered.
Buddy sniffed her coat and then returned to Noah.
Marcus shut the door.
“What is going on?””
Rachel placed the folder on the dining table.
“I worked with your mother.””
Marcus stared at her.
“My mother died three years ago.””
“I know.””
“Then why are you here now?””
Rachel opened the folder.
“She asked me to wait.””
“For what?””
Rachel looked at Noah.
“For the moment when you finally stopped believing everything Vanessa told you.””
Vanessa slammed her palm against the table.
“This is insane.””
Rachel didn't react.
She pulled out a photograph.
It showed Marcus’s mother sitting in a hospital bed.
Beside her was Rachel.
On the other side stood Noah’s mother, who had died shortly after his birth.
Marcus recognized the bracelet around his mother's wrist.
His throat tightened.
“What did she tell you?””
Rachel answered carefully.
“She believed Vanessa was lying to you.””
Vanessa scoffed.
“Your mother hated me.””
Rachel looked at her.
“No. She was afraid of you.””
The room went silent.
Marcus took the photograph.
“Why?””
Rachel reached into the folder again.
A bank statement.
Then another.
Then another.
Payments from Marcus’s account to an unfamiliar company.
Thousands of dollars.
Marcus frowned.
“I don't recognize this.””
Vanessa spoke quickly.
“It was for the house.””
“Which house?””
“Our house.””
“This isn't our mortgage.””
Vanessa said nothing.
Rachel placed a second folder on top.
“This is the property your company bought last year.””
Marcus opened it.
His eyes widened.
The property wasn't registered to Vanessa.
It was registered to an LLC.
An LLC owned by a man named Daniel Mercer.
Marcus’s dead brother.
He looked up.
“Daniel is dead.””
Rachel nodded.
“Officially.””
Marcus felt a chill.
“What does that mean?””
Rachel sat down.
“It means someone has been using his identity.””
Vanessa turned pale.
Marcus slowly looked at her.
“Who?””
Rachel didn't answer.
She slid a final document across the table.
A signature appeared at the bottom.
Vanessa Mercer.
Marcus stared at it.
“That isn't possible.””
Rachel said softly, “It is.””
Vanessa's voice rose.
“You can't prove any of this.””
Rachel reached into her coat.
“I don't need to.””
She placed a flash drive beside the phone.
“Everything is backed up.””
Marcus stared at the device.
“What’s on it?””
“Security footage. Financial records. Voice messages.””
Vanessa grabbed it.
Marcus caught her wrist.
“Don't.””
She looked at him.
For a moment, no tears appeared.
No trembling.
Nothing.
Only anger.
“You really choose him over me?””
Marcus released her.
“No.””
He glanced at Noah.
“I choose the truth.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“You don't know what the truth is.””
Rachel stood.
“I think you're finally about to.””
Buddy suddenly ran toward the hallway.
His claws scratched against the wood.
Then he stopped beside the basement door.
He barked once.
Marcus looked over.
“What's wrong with him?””
Rachel’s face changed.
“Does Buddy ever go into the basement?””
“Almost never.””
She walked toward the door.
“Then maybe he smells something unfamiliar.””
Marcus opened it.
The basement lights came on.
At the bottom of the stairs stood a metal filing cabinet.
The top drawer was slightly open.
Inside was a stack of photographs.
Marcus pulled out the first.
His breath caught.
It showed Vanessa standing beside Daniel.
May you like
Very much alive.
And the date printed on the photograph was six months after Daniel's funeral.
