Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Gone
I stared at the photograph on my phone for almost a full minute.
I did not blink.
I did not breathe normally.
Because the picture was not from years ago.
It was not some forgotten memory hidden in an old family album.
It was taken inside my bedroom.
My bedroom.
The room where I had slept every night for eleven years.
The room where I kept my mother's jewelry.
The room where I had cried quietly when Luca's business struggled.
The room where I had believed I was safe.
The timestamp showed three minutes earlier.
Someone had been inside my house while we were standing outside.
Someone had been watching.
"Jessica?"
Rachel's voice pulled me back.
I quickly locked my phone.
"What happened?"
I looked at Luca.
He was watching me.
Not with confusion.
With concern.
Real concern.
And that scared me more than anger would have.
Because Luca only looked afraid when something mattered.
"Who sent you that?" Rachel asked.
I hesitated.
I did not know if I could trust anyone yet.
Not even the people who claimed they were helping me.
"I don't know."
Rachel studied my face.
"But you received something."
I nodded.
"A message."
Luca stepped closer.
"What message?"
I looked at him.
The man standing in front of me was still my husband.
The father of my children.
The person I had shared every major moment of my adult life with.
But now I saw something different.
A stranger wearing a familiar face.
"Why do you care?"
His expression changed.
"Because this involves my family."
I almost laughed.
"My family was standing outside with suitcases because of you."
He looked away.
For a second, I saw guilt.
Only for a second.
Then it disappeared.
Rachel held out her hand.
"Jessica, show me."
I looked at her.
Then unlocked my phone.
I showed her the message.
Her expression changed when she saw the photograph.
She zoomed in.
Then looked at the timestamp.
"This was taken today."
"I know."
"From inside the house."
"I know."
She looked toward the front door.
Then toward Luca.
"Who else has access?"
Luca immediately answered.
"No one."
Rachel turned to him.
"Think carefully."
"I said no one."
His voice was sharper.
Too sharp.
Rachel did not react.
"Mr. Bennett, people often believe they control a property because they live there. Ownership and access are different things."
Luca clenched his jaw.
"I am not hiding anyone."
Nobody responded.
Because nobody believed him.
A few seconds later, the front door opened.
Fiona appeared.
"Mom?"
I immediately walked toward her.
"Sweetheart, what happened?"
She looked behind me.
Then whispered:
"Someone was upstairs."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
Leo appeared behind her.
His small face looked scared.
"I heard footsteps."
Luca suddenly moved toward the door.
"What are you talking about?"
Fiona grabbed my arm.
"Mommy, I thought it was you."
I looked at Rachel.
She immediately signaled to the security officers.
They moved toward the house.
Luca stepped in front of them.
"Wait."
Rachel looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because this is my home."
The words came out automatically.
But this time nobody believed them.
Rachel calmly replied:
"No. It is Jessica's home."
That sentence hit him harder than I expected.
Because for the first time, everyone around him heard what I had known for less than an hour.
He was not in control.
The security officers entered first.
Rachel followed.
I stayed outside with the children.
But I could not stop looking at the windows.
At my bedroom window.
The curtains were slightly open.
Someone had been there.
Someone had stood there and watched everything happen.
My phone vibrated again.
Another message.
I looked down.
Unknown number.
This time there was no text.
Only a video.
I pressed play.
At first, the screen was dark.
Then the camera adjusted.
I saw my bedroom.
The same angle as the photograph.
Someone had placed the phone somewhere hidden.
The video showed Luca entering the room.
Not today.
Earlier.
I looked at the date.
Three weeks ago.
My stomach tightened.
The recording continued.
Luca walked toward my closet.
He opened a drawer.
A drawer where I kept old documents.
Then he pulled out a folder.
My hands became cold.
I had never seen that folder before.
The video zoomed closer.
Luca opened it.
Inside were papers.
A lot of papers.
Then he said something.
The audio was quiet.
I turned up the volume.
His voice came through.
"I need to know what Margaret left her."
I stopped breathing.
The video continued.
Luca looked through the documents.
Then he made a phone call.
A woman's voice answered.
I could not see her.
But I heard her.
"Did you find it?"
Luca whispered:
"Not yet."
The woman replied:
"Then keep looking. Jessica cannot know."
My blood went cold.
The video ended.
I looked up.
Luca was standing in the doorway.
He had seen my face.
He knew.
"Jessica."
I stepped back.
"Who was she?"
His face changed.
"What?"
"The woman on the phone."
Silence.
That was enough.
I did not need an answer.
Rachel came outside.
"What happened?"
I looked at her.
"My husband has been searching through my things."
Luca immediately shook his head.
"No."
"You went through my closet."
"I was looking for something."
The honesty surprised all of us.
Rachel narrowed her eyes.
"What were you looking for?"
Luca looked at me.
Then away.
"I don't know."
I stared at him.
"You just admitted it."
He ran his hand through his hair.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
Again.
That same silence.
That same hesitation.
The same person who always had an answer suddenly had none.
Rachel took a step forward.
"Mr. Bennett, I think we need to discuss this somewhere private."
"No."
Luca looked directly at me.
"I need to explain."
"Then explain."
His voice lowered.
"Your aunt knew things."
I froze.
"What things?"
He looked toward the house.
"Things about me."
The answer made no sense.
"My aunt barely knew you."
His face changed.
"That's what you think."
A chill went through me.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, Rachel's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her expression changed instantly.
"Excuse me."
She stepped away.
I watched her.
The call lasted less than thirty seconds.
When she returned, she looked serious.
"Jessica."
"What?"
She held the phone tightly.
"That message you received."
"Yes?"
Rachel looked at Luca.
Then back at me.
"The sender's name has been identified."
My heart started racing.
"Who?"
Rachel hesitated.
Then said:
"The message came from an account that belonged to..."
She stopped.
The front door behind us slowly opened.
Everyone turned.
Nobody had touched it.
Nobody moved.
A shadow appeared inside the hallway.
Then a woman's voice whispered my name.
"Jessica..."
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
I had not heard it in years.
Rachel dropped her phone.
May you like
Luca stepped backward.
And the woman standing inside my house was someone who was supposed to be dead.
