Chapter 2 - THE MOTHER WHO KNEW HER DAUGHTER SURVIVED
Leo stared at Rebecca.
“No.”
His mother rose from her chair.
“Leo—”
“Did you know?”
Rebecca looked at Sofia.
That hesitation was enough.
Leo’s face changed.
“Mom.”
“I can explain.”
Sofia’s voice became almost inaudible.
“How long?”
Rebecca swallowed.
“Sofia…”
“How long did you know I survived?”
The police officers stopped escorting Victoria.
Even the detective realized the confession had just widened.
Rebecca looked around at hundreds of guests.
“This is not the place.”
Sofia laughed.
The sound was painful.
“You let them hold my memorial in this place.”
Rebecca closed her eyes.
Sofia continued.
“You let Leo stand beside an empty coffin.”
“I didn’t know where you were.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Rebecca opened her eyes.
“Three days.”
Leo stared.
“You knew for three days?”
“Before the memorial.”
Silence.
Then Sofia shook her head.
“No.”
Rebecca began crying.
“A hospital called me.”
“What hospital?”
“St. Catherine’s County Medical.”
“That’s where I was.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t come?”
Rebecca’s face twisted.
“I tried.”
“You knew I was alive and let me believe nobody came looking for me.”
Rebecca rushed toward her.
“Sofia, please.”
Sofia stepped backward.
“Don’t touch me.”
Rebecca stopped.
The words seemed to hurt more than a slap.
Detective Marcus Hale moved closer.
“Mrs. Bennett, why did the hospital contact you?”
Rebecca wiped her tears.
“They found my number in Sofia’s emergency contacts.”
“And what did you tell them?”
She hesitated.
Leo’s stomach tightened.
“Mom?”
Rebecca whispered:
“That there had been a mistake.”
Sofia stared.
“What mistake?”
Rebecca couldn’t look at her.
“The woman who called said Sofia was confused. She had no identification. Her face was injured.”
Leo’s anger rose.
“What did you tell them?”
Rebecca finally said it.
“I told them my daughter Sofia Bennett had died.”
Sofia closed her eyes.
Emma began crying again.
Leo looked at his mother as though she were a stranger.
“You told a hospital your living daughter was dead?”
Rebecca’s voice broke.
“Victoria told me it was dangerous.”
Every head turned toward the handcuffed bride.
Victoria smiled bitterly.
“There it is.”
Rebecca shouted:
“You told me someone was trying to kill her!”
“Someone was.”
Victoria looked at Sofia.
“Me.”
A gasp swept through the crowd.
Rebecca staggered backward.
Victoria continued.
“But Rebecca didn’t know that then.”
Leo’s expression hardened.
“So Victoria convinced you to leave Sofia unidentified in a hospital?”
Rebecca shook her head.
“She said the crash wasn’t random. She said whoever caused it might finish the job if Sofia’s name entered the system.”
“And you believed her?”
“She showed me photographs.”
“What photographs?”
Rebecca looked toward Victoria.
“Pictures of someone watching the hospital.”
Sofia’s expression changed.
“Someone was watching.”
Detective Hale turned.
“You saw them?”
“A black SUV parked across the street every day.”
Victoria stopped smiling.
Sofia continued.
“The same SUV appeared outside the motel after I was discharged.”
Leo frowned.
“What motel?”
Sofia looked at him.
“The hospital released me under a temporary identity. A social worker helped me find somewhere safe.”
“You never called me?”
“I did.”
Leo stopped.
“What?”
“Eleven times.”
His face emptied.
“I never received them.”
“I left messages.”
Leo slowly turned toward Victoria.
She said nothing.
Sofia continued.
“I emailed you too.”
Leo’s breathing changed.
Victoria had managed his phone frequently.
Scheduled his meetings.
Answered messages when he was busy.
She knew his passwords.
“You deleted them.”
Victoria looked at the floor.
Leo stepped closer.
“You deleted my sister’s messages.”
No answer.
“You made me think she hated me.”
Victoria finally whispered:
“You were happier without her.”
Leo almost lunged toward her.
Detective Hale blocked him.
“Sir.”
Leo stopped himself.
Sofia opened the folder.
“There’s more.”
She removed several printed screenshots.
“Victoria found me four days after I left the hospital.”
Leo stared.
“How?”
Sofia looked at Rebecca.
“Mom gave her the motel address.”
Rebecca covered her mouth.
“No.”
“You texted it.”
“I thought she was helping.”
Sofia placed the screenshot on a nearby table.
Rebecca’s number.
Victoria’s number.
ROOM 214. SHE’S USING THE NAME SARAH MILLER. PLEASE KEEP HER SAFE.
Rebecca nearly collapsed.
“Oh God.”
Sofia’s eyes filled.
“That message told her exactly where to find me.”
Leo whispered:
“What happened?”
Sofia looked down at the baby.
“She came while I was sleeping.”
The room went silent.
“I woke up because Emma was screaming.”
Emma buried her face against Sofia.
“She took the baby,” the girl whispered.
Sofia nodded.
“I had given birth six days earlier after the crash triggered early labor.”
“She took my daughter from the bassinet.”
Leo’s jaw clenched.
“And Emma followed.”
“Yes.”
Emma looked at Detective Hale.
“I hid in the back of the car.”
Everyone stared at her.
She continued.
“She drove behind the hotel.”
Victoria’s face tightened.
“She put the baby near the trash bins.”
Emma’s lower lip trembled.
“She said nobody would find her before morning.”
Leo looked like he might be sick.
Detective Hale immediately radioed another officer.
Then he turned toward Victoria.
“You may want an attorney.”
Victoria laughed strangely.
“I definitely want an attorney.”
As police began leading her away, Sofia spoke.
“Wait.”
Hale stopped.
Sofia removed one final photograph.
A black SUV.
The same SUV that had been outside the hospital.
The license plate was visible.
Rebecca saw it.
Her knees nearly gave out.
Leo caught her arm.
“Whose car is that?”
Rebecca didn’t answer.
“Mom.”
She stared at the photograph.
Then whispered:
“It belonged to your father.”
May you like
Leo froze.
Their father had been dead for nine years.
