Chapter 4: The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Gone
Marcus stared at the phone screen.
For five seconds, nobody moved.
The room that had already been filled with impossible truths suddenly felt like it had stopped existing.
Because the name on the screen should not have been there.
Elena.
His wife.
Nia’s mother.
The woman who had died seven years ago.
The woman whose funeral Marcus still remembered with painful clarity.
The woman whose last words to him had been a promise.
“Take care of our little girl.””
And he had.
Every day.
Every night.
Through every nightmare, every birthday without her, every moment when Nia asked why other kids had mothers and she didn’t.
He had carried that promise like a weight on his shoulders.
Now her name was glowing on Vanessa’s phone.
Marcus slowly looked at Vanessa.
She wasn’t pretending anymore.
Her face had lost all color.
“You know something about this,” he said.
Vanessa didn’t answer.
Marcus held up the phone.
“Why is my dead wife contacting you?””
Nia looked up.
“Mom?””
The word came out quietly.
Almost like she was afraid to say it.
Vanessa’s eyes flickered toward her.
For a second, something almost like guilt appeared.
Then it disappeared.
“You need to give me that phone.””
Marcus stepped back.
“No.””
“Marcus.””
“No.””
His voice was calm.
But everyone in the room heard the warning beneath it.
Caleb stood beside Ava.
“What is happening?””
Nobody answered.
The phone rang again.
Marcus looked down.
The same name.
Elena.
This time, he answered.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then a woman’s breathing.
Marcus felt his entire body go cold.
“Who is this?””
The voice that answered was weak.
Shaky.
But familiar.
“Marcus…”
His hand tightened around the phone.
He knew that voice.
Not because he had heard it recently.
Because he had spent years remembering it.
“Who is this?”” he repeated.
A quiet sob came through the speaker.
“It’s me.””
Marcus looked at Nia.
Then at Vanessa.
“No.””
The word escaped before he could stop it.
The woman on the phone whispered:
“I’m sorry.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
For a moment, he wasn’t standing in his living room.
He was back in the hospital.
Seven years earlier.
The smell of antiseptic.
The sound of machines.
Elena’s cold hand in his.
The doctor saying there was nothing more they could do.
But Elena wasn’t dead.
Someone was on the phone.
Someone using her voice.
Someone who knew his name.
Someone who knew his daughter.
“Where are you?”” Marcus asked.
Vanessa suddenly moved.
“Don’t listen to her.””
Marcus turned.
“What?””
Vanessa looked terrified.
“She’s lying.””
The voice on the phone heard her.
“Vanessa is there?””
Marcus looked at his wife.
“How do you know her?””
No answer.
The silence was worse than any confession.
Marcus walked away from everyone.
“Tell me what happened.””
The woman on the phone breathed shakily.
“I tried to come back.””
Marcus froze.
“Come back?””
“I was going to tell you everything.””
His heart started pounding.
“What everything?””
A pause.
Then:
“That I never abandoned Nia.””
The room became silent.
Nia heard.
Her eyes widened.
Marcus looked at his daughter.
The little girl who had spent years missing a mother she believed was gone forever.
“Where are you?”” Marcus asked again.
“I can’t tell you yet.””
“Why?””
“Because Vanessa knows.””
Marcus turned toward her.
Vanessa’s expression changed.
Not fear anymore.
Anger.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.””
The woman on the phone whispered:
“She was never supposed to marry you.””
Marcus felt like the floor shifted beneath him.
“What?””
“She planned everything.””
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Give me the phone.””
Marcus raised a hand.
“Stay where you are.””
The authority in his voice stopped her.
The woman continued.
“Marcus, I need you to listen carefully.””
“I’m listening.””
“Do you remember the night of the accident?””
Marcus swallowed.
Of course he remembered.
He remembered every detail.
The rain.
The phone call.
The police officer standing outside his door.
The words:
“We’re sorry.””
Elena had died in a car accident.
That was the truth he had lived with.
“What about it?””
The voice trembled.
“It wasn’t an accident.””
Nobody breathed.
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
She looked away.
That was enough.
He knew.
Something was wrong.
“What are you saying?””
“I’m saying someone wanted me gone.””
The phone suddenly crackled.
Then the call ended.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Disconnected.
Everyone remained frozen.
Then Nia spoke.
“Dad?””
He turned immediately.
“Yes, sweetheart?””
She looked frightened.
“Is my mom alive?””
Marcus opened his mouth.
But no answer came.
Because he didn’t know.
And for the first time in seven years, he realized he might not have known the truth at all.
Vanessa walked toward him.
“You need to stop this.””
Marcus looked at her.
“No.””
“You’re destroying everything because of a stranger.””
“She knew Elena’s voice.””
“She’s manipulating you.””
Marcus stared at her.
“You knew.””
Vanessa’s face tightened.
“I didn’t.””
“You did.””
“No.””
“You knew my wife was alive.””
Vanessa said nothing.
And that silence was a confession.
Marcus stepped closer.
“How long?””
Vanessa’s eyes filled with frustration.
“How long what?””
“How long have you known?””
She looked toward Nia.
Then away.
“Years.””
The word crushed the room.
Nia covered her mouth.
Caleb looked shocked.
Ava started crying.
Marcus felt something inside him break.
Years.
Vanessa had known.
While he sat beside Elena’s grave.
While Nia cried herself to sleep.
While he told his daughter stories about a mother who was gone.
Vanessa knew.
“You let me believe she was dead.””
Vanessa’s voice became defensive.
“She left.””
“You said she died.””
“She wanted me to say that.””
Marcus stared.
“What?””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“You think Elena is innocent?””
The anger in her voice was sudden.
“She walked away from you.””
Marcus shook his head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
Vanessa pointed toward the phone.
“She abandoned you.””
“Then why hide the fact she was alive?””
Vanessa had no answer.
Marcus looked toward the door.
The suitcase was still there.
The symbol of everything Vanessa had tried to control.
A fake story.
A staged moment.
A carefully built lie.
Then Marcus’s phone buzzed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
He opened it.
One sentence.
*If you want the truth about Elena, come alone.*
Below it was an address.
Marcus looked up.
Vanessa saw his expression.
And for the first time, she looked genuinely afraid.
“Don’t go.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Why?””
Her voice dropped.
“Because if she tells you everything…”
She stopped.
Marcus waited.
“What?””
May you like
Vanessa swallowed.
“Because you’ll hate me.””
