Chapter 20 - THE WOMAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD|
Six weeks later, Claire stood beside the window of her New York apartment, watching the first snow of the season drift across the street.
Her pregnancy had reached fourteen weeks. The nausea had eased, her energy was returning, and she had begun to believe that she could build a peaceful life without constantly waiting for the next crisis.
The divorce proceedings were moving forward. Vincent had not contacted her directly. Through their attorneys, he had agreed to keep his financial disclosures transparent and to cooperate with any lawful arrangements concerning the child.
He had also stepped back from several family businesses while investigators examined the records connected to Anthony.
No charges had been announced, and the questions surrounding Isabella's death remained unresolved.
Claire was learning to live with uncertainty.
Then the email arrived.
It came from Rachel Dunn, with a single sentence in the subject line.
We have a confirmed sighting.
Claire opened it immediately.
The witness statement described a woman matching Isabella's appearance living under a different name in a coastal town in Maine. The woman had worked at a small medical office and was last seen two months earlier. Investigators had not yet located her, but they had confirmed that the identity she used had been created shortly after the reported accident.
Claire read the statement twice.
Her phone rang.
Margaret.
“Have you seen Rachel's email?” Margaret asked.
“Yes.”
“Do you think it's her?”
“I don't know.”
Margaret's voice shook.
“I have spent six years preparing myself to learn that my daughter is dead. Now I'm terrified that she might be alive.”
Claire understood.
Hope could be cruel when it arrived after years of grief.
“We'll let the investigators do their work,” she said. “We won't assume anything until they confirm it.”
Margaret agreed, though neither woman sounded convinced.
That afternoon, Claire attended a meeting with Jonathan. He reviewed the latest divorce documents and explained that the investigation would remain separate from the marital case.
“Whatever happens with Isabella, it doesn't change your right to end your marriage,” he reminded her.
“I know.”
“And whatever happens with Vincent, you are allowed to make decisions based on what is best for you and your child.”
Claire nodded.
She had finally learned that a complicated past did not require her to sacrifice her future.
At home that evening, she placed the latest ultrasound photograph on the table. The baby was growing. The image showed a small profile, a curved forehead, and the beginning of a face.
Claire smiled.
“Your father knows about you now,” she whispered. “He's trying to learn how to be someone you can trust. I don't know what that will look like yet.”
She touched the photograph.
“But you don't have to wait for anyone to become happy.”
Her phone vibrated.
A message from Vincent, delivered through Jonathan.
I hope you're well. I won't ask for a reply. I only want you to know that I am continuing to cooperate with the investigation, and I will respect whatever boundaries you set.
Claire read it, then set the phone down.
She did not reply.
Not because she wanted to punish him.
Because silence, for once, was her choice.
Later that night, she received a call from an unknown number.
She almost ignored it, but something made her answer.
“Hello?”
A woman spoke in a low, careful voice.
“Is this Claire?”
“Who is this?”
“My name is Isabella.”
Claire's entire body went still.
“Isabella Hayes?”
A long silence followed.
“Yes.”
Claire gripped the edge of the table.
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you that yet.”
“Are you safe?”
“I think so.”
The woman's breathing sounded shallow, as if she were speaking from a place where every word carried risk.
“I heard that Margaret has been asking questions,” Isabella continued. “And I heard that Sophia has been talking to investigators.”
“Is Sophia your daughter?”
Another silence.
Then Isabella whispered, “She was supposed to be.”
Claire's blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
“I don't have time to explain everything. Anthony lied about the accident, but he wasn't the only one. There are people who believe I died, and people who need me to stay dead.”
“Why are you calling me?”
“Because I heard you were pregnant.”
Claire's hand moved instinctively to her stomach.
“How do you know that?”
“Because Vincent told someone he wanted to become a father. And because I know what happens when the Moretti family decides a child is a weakness.”
Claire felt fear rise in her chest.
“If you know something, you need to tell the investigators.”
“I will. But first, you need to know one thing.”
The line crackled.
“Claire, the night I disappeared, I wasn't trying to escape Vincent.”
Claire could barely breathe.
“Then who were you escaping?”
Before Isabella could answer, another voice sounded in the background.
A man's voice.
“Who are you talking to?”
Isabella gasped.
The call ended.
Claire stared at her phone, unable to move.
Then a message arrived from the same unknown number.
Do not trust Vincent's uncle. Do not trust the man who claims he died.
Claire read the words again.
Anthony Moretti was alive. She knew that.
So who was the dead man Isabella meant?
Her phone rang again, but this time the number was hidden.
Claire answered without speaking.
A man whispered her name.
“Claire Moretti?”
“Yes.”
“You need to listen carefully. Isabella is not the only person who survived that night.”
The line went dead.
Outside, snow covered the street in a quiet white blanket.
Claire stood alone in the apartment, one hand pressed to her stomach, the other gripping the phone.
She had left Chicago to escape a marriage built on secrecy.
She had never imagined that the truth would follow her across the country—or that the man she had once loved might be connected to a mystery far more dangerous than either of them understood.
For the first time in weeks, Claire felt the old fear return.
But this time, she did not reach for Vincent.
She reached for her attorney.
Because whatever waited beyond the next door, she would face it on her own terms.
May you like
And somewhere in the darkness, a woman who had been declared dead was finally ready to tell the truth.
To be continued.
