Chapter 4: The Woman Who Died
The bedroom stayed dark for three seconds.
Then the emergency lights from the police vehicles outside flashed through the curtains, painting the walls blue, then red, then blue again.
Daniel didn't move.
He stood between us and the door, staring at the piece of paper in his hand.
Mom whispered, “Rebecca.””
I looked at her.
“You said she died.””
“I thought she did.””
“You thought?””
Mom's lips trembled.
Daniel raised one finger.
“Quiet.””
We listened.
Nothing.
Then came three soft knocks.
Not loud.
Not threatening.
Almost polite.
Mom grabbed my arm.
Daniel drew his weapon.
“Who is it?”” Officer Harris called from the hallway.
No answer.
Daniel motioned for her to move back.
She did.
The bedroom door suddenly shook.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
Daniel looked at the police officer.
“Everyone stay behind me.””
A man's voice came from the other side.
“Sarah, you have something that belongs to us.””
Mom's face went white.
Daniel whispered, “Nobody answers.””
The voice continued.
“You have ten seconds.””
I looked at the clock.
9:17 p.m.
My fingers were numb.
“What do they want?”” I whispered.
Mom squeezed my hand.
“You.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“They want you.””
A loud crack exploded through the hallway.
Officer Harris shouted, “DOWN!””
The bedroom window shattered.
Glass sprayed across the carpet.
Mom pulled me to the floor.
Daniel fired toward the window.
Someone outside ducked.
Police shouted downstairs.
For several seconds, the house became noise.
Sirens.
Boots.
Shouting.
Glass crunching under shoes.
Then silence.
Daniel lowered his weapon.
“Are you hurt?””
I touched my forehead.
My fingers came away with a thin line of blood.
“I'm okay.””
Mom wasn't.
She was staring at the broken window.
“Emily.””
I looked at her.
“Get your coat.””
“Why?””
“We're leaving.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
Mom turned toward him.
“They know she's here.””
“That doesn't mean we move her.””
“Then what do we do?””
Daniel looked at me.
“We take her somewhere they can't reach.””
“Where?””
He hesitated.
“An old safe house.””
Mom's eyes narrowed.
“Which one?””
“Virginia.””
She shook her head immediately.
“Absolutely not.””
“Sarah—”
“They'll look there first.””
Daniel stared at her.
“You have another option?””
Mom didn't answer.
I stood.
“What are you two not telling me?””
Neither spoke.
I stepped closer.
“You keep talking like I'm a package you have to move around.””
Mom's eyes filled with tears.
“Emily, you're my daughter.””
“Then stop lying to me.””
She flinched.
I hadn't meant to shout.
But the words had been trapped inside me since the kitchen.
Daniel lowered his weapon.
“She deserves the truth.””
Mom looked at him.
“She isn't ready.””
“I think she became ready when Ethan put her through a wall.””
Mom closed her eyes.
I whispered, “Tell me.””
She sat on the bed.
“Rebecca wasn't just my partner.””
“What was she?””
“My sister.””
I stared at her.
“What?””
“Half-sister,” Mom said.
“Same father. Different mothers.””
I looked at the photograph again.
The woman standing beside my parents suddenly looked less like a stranger.
She had Mom's eyes.
The same gray-green color.
The same slight crease between her eyebrows.
“Then why did you say she died?””
“Because that's what the government told me.””
Daniel crouched beside the broken window.
“Rebecca disappeared after helping Sarah enter witness protection.””
“Disappeared?””
“We found a burned vehicle.””
“Was she inside?””
“No.””
“Then how did you know she was dead?””
Daniel looked at Mom.
“Because someone sent Sarah proof.””
Mom reached into the wooden box.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
I opened it.
It was a death certificate.
*REBECCA MARIE VALE.*
Date of death: fifteen years earlier.
I looked at Daniel.
“This could be fake.””
“It is.””
The answer came from Mom.
I turned toward her.
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“Why?””
“Because Rebecca was careful.””
Mom pointed to the certificate.
“She never used her middle name.””
I looked closer.
The certificate said Rebecca Marie Vale.
Mom whispered, “Her middle name was Anne.””
My stomach tightened.
“So someone wanted you to believe she was dead.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Mom looked at the photograph.
“Because Rebecca knew where the bodies were buried.””
Daniel stood.
“Literally.””
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
He didn't answer.
Mom did.
“Your father wasn't just involved with criminals.””
She took a breath.
“He helped them disappear people.””
The room seemed to shrink.
“People?””
“Witnesses. Informants. Anyone who threatened the organization.””
I remembered Dad washing his truck.
Dad fixing the loose cabinet hinge.
Dad teaching me how to ride a bike.
My stomach turned.
“How many?””
Mom's voice cracked.
“I don't know.””
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
“We have to move.””
A police officer appeared at the door.
“Officer Brooks?””
Daniel nodded.
“Perimeter is secure for now.””
“For now?””
“Two suspects got away.””
Daniel looked at Mom.
“We're out of time.””
Mom grabbed the box.
I grabbed my coat.
As we moved downstairs, I noticed something.
Dad's truck was still parked in the driveway.
Police lights reflected across its windshield.
I stopped.
“Daniel.””
He turned.
“What's wrong?””
“Dad's truck.””
“What about it?””
“He always locks it.””
Daniel followed my gaze.
The driver's door was slightly open.
He immediately raised his weapon.
“Everyone stay back.””
He approached slowly.
Then stopped.
Something was hanging from the rearview mirror.
A photograph.
Daniel removed it.
He looked at it.
His face drained of color.
I stepped closer.
“What is it?””
He turned the photograph around.
It showed me.
Standing outside my school.
Taken that afternoon.
My backpack was on one shoulder.
I was smiling at something someone had said.
On the back was a handwritten message.
*SHE WAS NEVER THE TARGET.*
Daniel flipped it over.
His eyes locked on mine.
I whispered, “What does that mean?””
He didn't answer.
Mom did.
“It means they didn't come here for me.””
May you like
She looked at me.
“They came here because of you.””
