Chapter 3: There Were Two Vanessas
I watched the monitor in disbelief.
The woman who had just stepped out of the black SUV was identical to Vanessa.
Same face.
Same dark hair.
Same height.
Even the same champagne-colored dress.
But there was something different about her expression.
The woman inside the chamber looked at me through the screen with panic in her eyes.
The woman outside looked calm.
Almost amused.
I turned toward Elena.
"Who is she?""
Elena pressed both palms against the glass.
Her lips moved.
"Rebecca.""
I stared at her.
"Your sister?""
Elena nodded.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Elena had never mentioned having a twin.
In fact, I knew very little about her childhood. She had told me she grew up in foster care after losing her parents in a house fire.
Whenever I asked about her family, she would become quiet.
I had assumed it was painful.
I had never pushed.
Now I understood that there were things my wife had been afraid to tell me.
I looked at the monitor again.
The woman outside entered the mansion.
A few seconds later, the camera showed Vanessa turning toward the entrance.
The two women stood face-to-face.
Then they hugged.
Not like strangers.
Not like acquaintances.
Like sisters who had just completed a successful plan.
I felt sick.
The speaker crackled.
This time, the voice came from the woman inside the chamber.
"Marcus?""
It was Vanessa.
Or at least, the voice sounded exactly like hers.
I looked around.
"Where are you?""
"Under the stairs.""
I turned toward the far side of the chamber.
A small black speaker had been mounted above the metal table.
"You're watching me?""
A soft laugh came through it.
"Of course I am.""
"Who are you?""
She paused.
Then answered.
"Would you believe me if I said I was the woman you proposed to?""
I clenched my jaw.
"Why are there two of you?""
"Because Elena made a terrible mistake fourteen months ago.""
I looked at my wife.
She shook her head desperately.
"Tell me the truth," I said.
Vanessa sighed.
"You always were difficult when you wanted answers.""
I moved toward the steel door.
"Open it.""
"No.""
"Open the door!""
"Marcus, you're going to need to calm down.""
I struck the metal with my fist.
"YOU LOCKED MY WIFE UNDER MY HOUSE!""
The speaker went silent.
Then I heard a different voice.
It was deeper.
Male.
"Mr. Hale, I suggest you stop shouting.""
I froze.
"Who is this?""
"Someone who has been protecting your interests.""
I looked at the monitor.
A man in a dark suit had entered the pool terrace.
He was carrying a black leather briefcase.
I recognized him immediately.
Graham Whitmore.
My family's attorney.
He had handled the paperwork after Elena disappeared. He had advised me on the insurance claim, the estate documents, and the legal declaration of death.
He had sat beside me at the memorial service.
He had held my shoulder while I cried.
And now he was standing beside the woman who had imprisoned my wife.
"What the hell is Graham doing there?"" I whispered.
Elena began pounding the glass.
I turned toward her.
She pointed at the screen, then at the wall behind me.
There was something taped beneath the metal table.
I crawled through the shallow water and pulled it free.
A small waterproof pouch.
Inside were several photographs, a USB drive, and a folded piece of paper.
I opened the paper.
The handwriting was Elena's.
Marcus, if you're reading this, it means they finally let you find me. Do not trust the woman who calls herself Vanessa. Do not trust Graham. And whatever happens, do not let them take Ava.
My hands began shaking.
I read the note again.
There was another line at the bottom.
Your daughter knows more than anyone realizes.
I looked toward the door.
"Elena, what does that mean?""
She pointed toward the monitor again.
The camera had switched to the living room.
Ava was sitting on the sofa beside Daniel.
A woman entered the room.
It was the second Vanessa.
She knelt in front of Ava.
"Hello, sweetheart.""
Ava immediately backed away.
"No.""
The woman smiled.
"Don't you remember me?""
Ava shook her head.
"You're not my mommy.""
The woman laughed softly.
"Of course I'm not.""
Then she reached into her handbag and pulled out a small silver bracelet.
Ava stared at it.
I recognized the bracelet.
It had belonged to Elena.
I had given it to her on our fifth wedding anniversary.
The woman held it out.
"Your mother wants you to come with me.""
Ava stood up.
"Where is Mommy?""
The woman glanced toward the camera.
Then she smiled.
"Somewhere your father won't be able to find her.""
I slammed my fist against the steel door.
"GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!""
The speaker crackled.
"Relax, Marcus," Graham said.
"Nobody is going to hurt the child.""
I grabbed the microphone cable and ripped it from the wall.
The sound cut off.
I turned toward Elena.
She was crying silently.
I took the photographs from the pouch.
The first showed Elena standing beside another woman.
They looked identical.
The second showed the two women as children.
The third was a photograph of a hospital record.
I held it closer to the light.
The names were partially faded.
But I could read the heading.
St. Catherine's Women's Hospital.
Below it were two names.
*Elena Marlowe.*
*Rebecca Marlowe.*
Twins.
I sat back on my heels.
Elena had a twin sister.
A twin sister who had somehow become Vanessa.
But that wasn't the worst part.
I looked at the final photograph.
It showed Graham standing beside a much younger Elena.
They were outside a courthouse.
On the back, Elena had written a date.
Fourteen months earlier.
The day she disappeared.
Beneath the date were six words.
Graham signed my death certificate.
My chest tightened.
I looked toward the monitor.
Graham was now standing in the living room beside Rebecca.
He was holding a document.
Rebecca was speaking to Ava.
I couldn't hear the conversation, but I could see my daughter shaking her head.
Then Graham crouched and placed the document on the coffee table.
He pointed to a signature line.
Rebecca picked up a pen.
She smiled at Ava.
And suddenly, I understood.
They weren't simply trying to get Elena out of the way.
They were trying to get Ava.
I looked back at Elena.
She had moved toward the door.
Her fingers were pointing at a small vent near the ceiling.
I followed her gaze.
There was a narrow maintenance duct.
A rusted cover.
I pulled the metal table underneath it and climbed up.
The cover was secured with four screws.
I used the heavy gloves to twist them loose.
One by one.
The last screw fell into the water.
I pulled the cover away.
A narrow ventilation passage stretched into darkness.
I looked at Elena.
"Can you fit through here?""
She nodded weakly.
I helped her remove the loose chain around her wrist.
When I touched her arm, she flinched.
The sight nearly broke me.
I had imagined holding my wife again for fourteen months.
I had imagined kissing her forehead, hearing her laugh, watching her walk through the front door.
I had never imagined her skin being this cold.
Her fingers were trembling.
"Elena, I'm getting you out.""
She grabbed my hand.
Then she pointed at the monitor.
The camera showed Rebecca standing behind Ava.
Ava was holding a framed photograph of Elena.
Rebecca reached for it.
My daughter pulled it against her chest.
"Don't touch my mommy!""
Rebecca's smile disappeared.
She grabbed Ava's wrist.
I started climbing toward the ventilation passage.
Then the screen changed.
A new message appeared.
*ACCESS CONTROL: MAIN GATE UNLOCKED.*
I stared at it.
A second message appeared.
*SECURITY SYSTEM OVERRIDE COMPLETE.*
Someone had disabled the mansion's security.
I looked at Elena.
She was shaking her head.
Then she whispered something I could barely hear.
"Marcus...""
I leaned closer.
"Yes?""
She pointed at the photographs.
I picked up the last one.
It was a picture of a little girl standing between Elena and Rebecca.
The child was about four years old.
She had blonde hair.
Blue eyes.
A small scar above her left eyebrow.
I stared at the photograph.
Then I looked at the monitor.
Ava was standing in exactly the same position.
Same scar.
Same eyes.
Same face.
But the date written on the back of the photograph was twenty years old.
I turned toward Elena.
"What is this?""
She began crying harder.
Then she pressed her forehead against the glass and whispered:
"Marcus, Ava isn't Rebecca's niece.""
I couldn't breathe.
"What are you saying?""
Elena looked directly into my eyes.
"Rebecca is her biological mother.""
The world seemed to tilt.
I shook my head.
"No.""
Elena nodded.
"And she didn't come here tonight to take Ava away.""
She looked toward the monitor.
Rebecca was now standing beside Graham, holding Ava's little hand.
Then Elena whispered the words that destroyed everything I thought I knew.
"She came to take back the daughter she gave birth to.""
A loud crash came from the other side of the chamber.
The steel door began opening.
I turned toward it.
And standing in the doorway was Graham Whitmore.
He was holding a pistol.
Behind him stood the first Vanessa.
Her champagne dress was stained with water.
She looked directly at me.
Then she smiled.
"Marcus," she said softly.
"There's something else Elena forgot to tell you.""
She raised her hand and showed me a photograph.
It was a picture of me.
Standing outside a hospital.
Holding a newborn baby.
And written across the bottom, in Elena's handwriting, were the words:
The night Ava was born, Marcus was told one baby died.
May you like
Vanessa tilted her head.
"Would you like to know what really happened to the other one?""
