Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN IN THE MIRROR
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Not because of the pain.
Not because of the bandages.
Because every memory I'd ever trusted was beginning to look like a lie.
Logan had known about my father's money.
He had forged my signature.
He had married Rachel before proposing to me.
He had hired someone to destroy my face.
And somehow, he'd been involved with my father's estate.
But there was one question I couldn't answer.
Why?
If Logan wanted my money, why not simply marry me?
Why go this far?
At 2:17 a.m., my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
STOP ASKING QUESTIONS.
I stared at it.
Another message appeared.
YOUR FATHER DIDN'T DIE.
Then:
AND LOGAN ISN'T THE ONE YOU SHOULD BE AFRAID OF.
My pulse accelerated.
I called Daniel.
He answered immediately.
“Maya?”
“Someone is texting me.”
I read the messages aloud.
Silence.
Then Daniel said:
“Don't respond.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever this is knows you're investigating.”
A third message appeared.
I stared at the screen.
LOOK UNDER YOUR HOSPITAL BED.
My heart hammered.
“Daniel…”
“What?”
“Someone told me to look under the bed.”
“Don't move.”
But I was already reaching down.
My fingers touched something cold.
Metal.
I pulled out a small black envelope.
No name.
No return address.
Inside was a photograph.
I froze.
It showed a man standing beside a black Mercedes.
Older.
Thinner.
Gray hair.
But I knew that face.
I had seen it thousands of times in photographs.
My father.
Alive.
The photograph was dated six months ago.
My hands began trembling.
Then I noticed the woman standing beside him.
Rachel.
Logan's secret wife.
My stomach dropped.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written six words:
“ASK HER WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR MOTHER.”
The door suddenly opened.
I looked up.
A woman stood in the doorway.
Rachel.
She stared at my bandaged face.
Her eyes filled with tears.
Then she whispered:
“Maya…”
I couldn't speak.
She slowly stepped inside.
“I didn't know he would do this to you.”
I stared at her.
“You married him.”
She lowered her eyes.
“I know.”
“Three weeks ago.”
“Yes.”
“While he was planning our wedding.”
Rachel began crying.
But then she said something that made my blood run cold.
“I married Logan because he promised me one thing.”
“What?”
May you like
She looked directly at me.
“He promised me he would never tell you that your mother was still alive.”
