“Someone called the facility two weeks ago. They asked whether I had received any visitors or made contact with either of my daughters. The caller identified himself as Richard Bennett.””

My father had known I was investigating.

He might even have known I was getting close to the truth.

“Mom, I need proof. Something I can take to the police.””

“I have documents. But the most important evidence is in a safety deposit box in Hartford. It contains the original hospital records, the guardianship order, and a recording Richard made when he thought no one else was listening.””

“What did he say?””

My mother went silent.

Then she whispered, “He admitted he knew what happened to our first daughter.””

I looked at the photograph still displayed on my phone.

Two baby girls lay side by side in a hospital nursery.

One had been given my name.

The other had been given Madison’s.

Except neither name might have belonged to the girl who carried it.

“Where is the safety deposit box?””

“Box 814 at Hartford Trust. Your mother’s maiden name is on the original authorization.””

“Your maiden name?””

“Catherine Miller.””

I repeated it quietly.

“Catherine Miller.””

“Eleanor, listen carefully. You must go with Peter Lawson. He knows how to access the documents legally. Do not trust anyone your father sends.””

“Peter is already helping me.””

“Good. Then call him now.””

A faint sound came through the line.

A door opening.

My mother’s breathing changed.

“Mom?””

“I have to go.””

“Wait! How do I contact you again?””

“I’ll call you tomorrow. Use a phone Richard doesn’t know about.””

“Mom, please. Don’t disappear again.””

For a moment, she said nothing.

Then her voice softened.

“I never stopped looking for you, sweetheart.””

The call ended.

I sat motionless in the car until my phone screen went dark.

Then I called Peter Lawson.

He answered on the second ring.

“Eleanor?””

“My mother is alive.””

Silence.

“Are you certain?””

“She called me. She told me about the safety deposit box.””

Peter exhaled slowly.

“Then we need to move carefully. Where are you?””

“Outside my father’s house.””

“Leave immediately. Don’t go inside for anything.””

“I need to get Madison.””

“Not until we know whether she’s safe.””

“She is my sister.””

“And if Victoria knows you’ve spoken to your mother, she may use Madison to control you.””

I hated that he was right.

I started the car.

“Where should I go?””

“My office. I’ll meet you there in forty minutes. Bring whatever documents you managed to take from the safe.””

As I pulled away, I glanced once more at the mansion.

A figure stood in the upstairs window.

Madison.

She pressed her hand against the glass, then raised something small and silver.

The locket.

I knew she was trying to tell me something.

Before I could turn around, my phone vibrated.

A message from an unknown number appeared.

Your sister isn’t the only person Victoria is holding.

A second message followed.

Ask Peter Lawson what happened to the original Eleanor Bennett.

I slammed on the brakes.

The car behind me honked.

I barely heard it.

The original Eleanor Bennett.

My name.

My face.

My birth certificate.

My entire life.

I called Peter again.

He answered immediately.

“Eleanor, where are you?””

“Who was the original Eleanor Bennett?””

There was no response.

“Peter?””

His breathing grew shallow.

“Where did you hear that name?””

“Answer me!””

He lowered his voice.

“Come to my office. Now.””

“Is she dead?””

“I can’t explain over the phone.””

“Was she my sister?””

Peter’s silence was all the answer I needed.

Then he said, “Eleanor, there is something your mother never told you.””

“What?””

“The girl who died in October 2009 wasn’t a stranger.””

My hands began to shake.

“Who was she?””

Peter whispered the words I had spent my entire life dreading.

“She was the daughter your father was supposed to protect.””

Then the line went dead.

And as I stared at my phone, I realized that finding my mother had not brought me closer to the truth.

It had opened a door to something far worse.

May you like

Because if I wasn’t the original Eleanor Bennett, then who had been living my life for the past seventeen years?

And why had everyone agreed to let her disappear?

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