Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The woman standing in my hospital doorway didn't move.
Neither did I.
For several seconds, the entire world became silent.
The machines beside my bed continued beeping.
The city lights outside the window continued shining.
But inside that room, everything stopped.
Because I knew that face.
I knew those eyes.
I knew the scar hidden near her left eyebrow.
A scar I had watched appear eight years ago on the night my entire life was destroyed.
"Elizabeth."
Her voice was softer than I remembered.
Almost afraid.
My fingers tightened around the blanket.
"No."
The word escaped before I could stop it.
The woman took one step forward.
"I know what you're thinking."
I shook my head.
"No."
My heart was racing.
Because this wasn't possible.
"You died."
Her expression changed.
Pain crossed her face.
"I know."
I stared at her.
"You were dead."
The memory came back like a storm.
A burning building.
Sirens in the distance.
People screaming.
My father's voice.
And her hand slipping from mine.
That was the last time I saw my older sister, Amelia Vale.
The person who raised me after our mother died.
The person who promised me she would always protect me.
The person everyone told me was gone.
But she was standing in front of me.
Alive.
"You can't be here," I whispered.
Amelia closed the door behind her.
"I didn't have a choice."
My breathing became uneven.
"You let me believe you were dead."
"I had to."
"You abandoned me."
The words came out colder than I expected.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I was trying to keep you alive."
I looked away.
Because that sentence was exactly what everyone said when they wanted forgiveness.
I had spent eight years alone.
Eight years changing my name.
Eight years hiding.
Eight years wondering why the people I loved disappeared one by one.
And now she stood there asking me to believe her.
"Why now?" I asked.
Amelia looked toward the hallway.
Fear appeared on her face.
Not sadness.
Fear.
"Because they found you."
I froze.
"Who?"
She didn't answer immediately.
That scared me more.
"Elizabeth..."
The way she said my name made my stomach tighten.
"Do you know who attacked the ballroom?"
I looked at her.
"Dominic thinks someone wanted me dead."
"He is right."
Her answer was immediate.
"Who?"
Amelia stepped closer.
"The same people who destroyed our family."
My hands went cold.
I had spent years trying not to remember that night.
The night everything changed.
The night my father disappeared.
The night the Vale name vanished.
"You told me our family was gone," I said.
Amelia looked down.
"I lied."
The honesty hurt more than another lie would have.
"Why?"
"Because if you knew the truth, you would have searched for answers."
"And?"
"And they would have found you."
I laughed quietly.
Not because it was funny.
Because I couldn't believe my life had become this.
"Amelia, someone shot me in front of a room full of people."
"I know."
"Someone knew my real name."
"I know."
"Dominic Mercer knows."
That made her expression change.
For the first time, she looked genuinely terrified.
"He knows?"
I watched her carefully.
"You know him?"
Amelia didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
The Mercer family.
The Vale family.
Two names that had never belonged in the same conversation.
I had spent eight years believing my past was buried.
But now I realized something worse.
It had been waiting.
"Tell me everything," I said.
Amelia sat down slowly.
For the first time, she looked older.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like she had carried a weight too heavy for one person.
"Your father wasn't killed because of money."
I listened.
"He discovered something."
"What?"
Amelia looked at the door.
Then lowered her voice.
"Something about the Mercer empire."
My heart stopped.
"Dominic?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"Not Dominic."
That confused me.
"Then who?"
"Someone inside his family."
The room felt colder.
"Someone who wanted control."
I remembered Dominic's face in the ballroom.
The way everyone obeyed him.
The way people feared him.
"You expect me to believe a Mercer tried to destroy my family?"
"I expect you to understand that Dominic isn't the monster everyone believes he is."
I stared at her.
"You sound like you know him well."
Amelia looked away.
Too quickly.
I noticed.
Because I always noticed small things.
That was how I survived.
"You worked with him."
"No."
The answer came too fast.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Amelia."
She closed her eyes.
"I knew Dominic before you did."
A silence followed.
"How?"
She didn't respond.
And suddenly I understood.
This wasn't just about me.
It never had been.
There were pieces of the story missing.
Pieces everyone was protecting.
Before I could ask another question, my phone vibrated.
Both of us looked at it.
Another unknown message.
My hands shook as I picked it up.
One image appeared.
A photograph.
A photograph of Amelia standing outside Blackthorne House three days before the shooting.
My blood turned cold.
Below the picture was a message.
"Ask your sister why she came back."
I looked up.
Amelia had seen it.
And the fear on her face told me everything.
"You knew someone was watching us."
She didn't deny it.
"Yes."
"How long?"
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"Since before you arrived at Blackthorne House."
I felt betrayed.
"Then you knew this would happen."
"No."
She stood quickly.
"I knew something would happen."
The difference didn't comfort me.
"Why didn't you warn me?"
"Because I didn't know who to trust."
The hospital room door suddenly opened.
Both of us turned.
Dominic Mercer stood there.
His expression was unreadable.
But his eyes went directly to Amelia.
Not me.
Not the phone.
Her.
And in that moment, I knew.
Dominic didn't look surprised.
He looked like he had been waiting for this meeting.
"Amelia Vale."
Her face lost all color.
Dominic stepped into the room.
"You should have stayed dead."
The words hit harder than any bullet.
I looked between them.
"You know each other."
Neither answered.
Dominic closed the door behind him.
Then he placed a small object on the table.
A silver necklace.
One I hadn't seen in eight years.
One that belonged to my father.
My hands started shaking.
"Where did you get that?"
Dominic looked at Amelia.
"She never told you?"
Amelia whispered:
"Dominic..."
But he continued.
"Your sister wasn't the only person who survived that night."
I stared at the necklace.
Then at Dominic.
Then at Amelia.
Because there was one question I suddenly needed answered.
The question that could change everything.
"Who else was alive?"
Dominic reached into his coat pocket.
He pulled out an old photograph.
And placed it face down on the table.
Then he slowly turned it over.
My breath disappeared.
May you like
Because the person in the picture was impossible.
And beneath the photograph was a name I hadn't heard in eight years.
