Chapter 27 - The Woman in the Photograph
Diane couldn't move.
“No.”
Evan stared at her.
“Mom?”
“No.”
“You said you didn't know where Lucas was.”
“I don't.”
“Then who is the woman?”
“I don't know!”
The investigator looked at me.
“Could Victor have found someone pretending to be Diane?”
“Maybe.”
“Could Lucas be confused?”
“He said her name.”
Diane began shaking.
“I never met him.”
“But he thinks he has.”
Anna whispered:
“Then someone is using your identity.”
Diane looked at her.
“Why?”
“To control Lucas.”
That made sense.
But there was something else.
Victor knew exactly what would break us.
He had given Lucas our number.
He had used Diane's name.
He wanted us to panic.
The investigator sent officers to every place Diane had ever lived.
Then he received a call.
“Sir, we found something.”
He listened.
His expression changed.
“What?”
“There is a woman at the old Brooks property.”
Diane looked up.
“What woman?”
The investigator ended the call.
“She says she's Diane Brooks.”
Everyone went silent.
We drove there immediately.
The old house had been vacant for years.
The gate stood open.
A light was on in the kitchen.
The investigator raised his weapon.
We entered.
A woman stood beside the table.
Same height as Diane.
Same hair.
Same voice when she spoke.
“You shouldn't be here.”
Diane stared.
The woman stared back.
Then she smiled.
“Hello, Diane.”
Diane's face drained.
“Who are you?”
The woman laughed.
“You really don't remember.”
“What?”
The woman touched her neck.
A scar showed beneath her collar.
Evan stepped closer.
“Mom?”
Diane grabbed his arm.
“That isn't me.”
The woman smiled.
“No.”
She looked at me.
“But I know who you are.”
The investigator ordered her to put her hands where he could see them.
She complied.
“Name?”
She smiled.
“Rebecca.”
“Rebecca what?”
“Rebecca Hale.”
The investigator's expression changed.
I saw it.
“You know her.”
“I know the name.”
“Who is she?”
He didn't answer.
Rebecca did.
“Dr. Bell's daughter.”
Anna whispered:
“Oh my God.”
Rebecca laughed.
“My father died believing David destroyed our family.”
“What did David do?”
“He exposed him.”
“For what?”
“Baby trafficking.”
The room went silent.
“Your father wasn't just a doctor,” Rebecca said.
“He sold children.”
Diane covered her mouth.
“No.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“He sold yours.”
“Where is Lucas?”
“You still think Victor has him.”
“Doesn't he?”
Rebecca smiled.
“Victor doesn't even know where Lucas is.”
That stunned all of us.
“Then who does?”
Rebecca looked directly at me.
“You.”
“What?”
She stepped closer.
“Lucas was never taken from Victor.”
I shook my head.
“That makes no sense.”
“David moved him.”
“Where?”
“He put him in a private guardianship program.”
“With who?”
Rebecca smiled.
“Someone you already know.”
Evan's face tightened.
“Who?”
She reached into her coat.
The investigator raised his weapon.
Rebecca slowly removed a photograph.
She placed it on the table.
I stared.
It showed Lucas at eight years old.
Standing beside a woman.
The woman was Rachel.
Our Rachel.
The same Rachel who had been helping us investigate everything.
Evan went pale.
“Rachel?”
I couldn't breathe.
The investigator grabbed the photograph.
“Where is she?”
Rebecca laughed.
“She's been helping Victor for years.”
“No.”
The woman pointed at the photograph.
“Look at the date.”
I did.
Eight years ago.
Rachel had been in the background of Lucas's life the entire time.
Protecting him?
Or hiding him?
The investigator's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“Rachel is gone.”
I felt my stomach drop.
“Where?”
“The station.”
“What do you mean?”
“She disappeared from the interview room.”
Rebecca smiled.
“She was never your ally.”
Anna stepped forward.
“Then why did she bring us the hospital records?”
Rebecca's expression changed.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
“She didn't.”
A cold silence filled the room.
I looked at the photograph again.
Rachel was standing beside Lucas.
And on Lucas's wrist was a bracelet.
The same bracelet Diane had been wearing the night we found her.
I looked at Diane.
She noticed too.
“That was mine.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Lucas gave it to her.”
Diane began crying.
“Why?”
Rebecca whispered:
“Because he remembers his mother.”
Then the back door slammed.
Someone ran.
The investigator shouted.
We chased the footsteps into the yard.
But the person was already gone.
Only one thing remained in the grass.
A second photograph.
This one showed Lucas standing beside Victor.
May you like
On the back was one sentence.
He knows why David lied.
