Chapter 14 - The Husband’s First Lie
Victor’s car spun across the wet road and stopped against a concrete barrier.
Elise’s ears rang. Nora had struck her shoulder against the door, but she remained conscious.
Victor restarted the engine.
The other vehicle blocked the road ahead.
A gray-haired man stepped out.
Malcolm Hale looked like an older, colder version of Victor. He carried no umbrella and showed no concern for the rain.
“Give me the ledger,” he called.
Victor lowered the window slightly.
“You told me it was destroyed.”
“I told you what kept you obedient.”
Elise studied Malcolm’s face.
She had seen him before.
Not at her wedding or during the years she had known Victor. She had seen him in the corner of a childhood photograph, watching as her mother pushed her on a swing.
Malcolm approached the car.
“Elise,” he said gently, “your mother asked me to protect you.”
“You erased me.”
“I gave you a life.”
Nora leaned forward.
“What did you give me?”
Malcolm’s expression became indifferent.
“A temporary name.”
Nora opened the door and stepped into the rain.
Victor shouted for her to return, but she held up one of the hospital bracelets.
“Which child was born that night?”
Malcolm looked at the bracelet.
“None of you.”
The words silenced them.
“The original baby died before sunrise,” he continued. “Three unidentified girls were brought into the clinic during the following week. Rebecca Ward agreed to let us use her daughter’s record.”
Elise felt the ground shift beneath her.
Malcolm extended his hand.
“Give me the ledger and I will tell you where Rebecca is.”
“My mother is dead.”
“No,” Malcolm said. “The woman you buried was not Rebecca.”
A second vehicle entered the highway.
May you like
The woman in the red coat stepped out.
Malcolm looked genuinely afraid.
