Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO DIED TWICE
Rebecca Mercer had officially died four years ago.
But according to the hospital records, she had signed documents eighteen months after her supposed death.
That was impossible.
Unless someone had been using her identity.
I traveled to Savannah with Daniel, Vanessa, Emma, and my attorney.
Rebecca's old estate had been abandoned.
The house smelled of dust and rain.
Every room was empty except the library.
There, behind a false panel, we found a metal cabinet.
Inside were files.
Dozens of them.
Hospital records.
Bank transfers.
Adoption documents.
Photographs.
And one folder labeled:
PROJECT LARK.
Daniel opened it.
His face drained of color.
“What?”
I took the folder.
The first page listed my name.
The second listed Emma's.
The third listed Daniel's.
And beneath his name was a handwritten note:
Subject remains unaware of maternal substitution.
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel didn't answer.
My attorney read the next page.
Then she stopped.
“Claire…”
“What?”
“This wasn't just about Emma.”
“What else?”
“There was another baby.”
The room went silent.
I felt cold.
“What?”
The file contained two birth records from the same night.
One was Emma.
The other belonged to a baby boy.
Both records had been altered.
Both children were connected to the Mercer family trust.
Daniel sat down.
“I had a brother.”
I stared at him.
“You told me you were an only child.”
“I thought I was.”
He looked devastated.
“My parents told me he died before I was born.”
The file said otherwise.
The boy had survived.
His name was Thomas.
And he had disappeared three days after birth.
Suddenly the entire scheme made sense.
The Mercers had been manipulating births, deaths, and inheritance records for years.
But why?
My attorney turned another page.
There was a list of names.
Five children.
Five altered identities.
Five estates.
And at the bottom was a date.
NEXT TRANSFER: EMMA MERCER — AGE 18.
Emma was only five.
They had planned this years in advance.
I looked at my daughter.
She was sitting quietly on the floor, coloring.
I realized something horrifying.
Whoever had built this plan was still alive.
And they knew we had found the files.
A car engine suddenly roared outside.
Daniel rushed to the window.
A black SUV sped away.
On the passenger seat was a woman.
Blonde hair.
Silver butterfly necklace.
Rebecca's necklace.
Daniel whispered:
“That's my aunt.”
I looked at him.
“Rebecca?”
He nodded.
“But she's supposed to be dead.”
The woman turned her head.
May you like
For one second, our eyes met.
Then the SUV disappeared.
