Chapter 9: The Second Woman

Amelia stared at her father, waiting for him to explain what he meant. The room suddenly felt smaller, and the recording of her mother's voice continued to echo in her mind.

“Dad, what do you mean my mother wasn't the only woman who left the clinic?”

Richard looked towards the window before answering.

“Three years ago, the night you disappeared, two women were admitted to Rosewood Clinic. One was you. The other was Victoria.”

Amelia frowned. “Why would Victoria be admitted to the same clinic?”

“That's what I've been trying to understand.”

Alexander was still on the phone.

“Amelia, are you with your father?”

“Yes.”

“Don't leave that house until Daniel and I arrive. There's something else I haven't told you.”

“What?”

He hesitated.

“The hospital recorded a second identity for the woman admitted under Victoria's name. The photograph attached to the record looks remarkably like you.”

Amelia slowly lowered herself into a chair.

“What are you saying? That someone used my identity twice?”

“Possibly. Daniel is checking the original documents.”

Richard suddenly reached for the phone.

“Alexander, you need to stop investigating this.”

There was a pause.

“Mr Carter?”

“You heard me. Leave the clinic records alone.”

“Why? What are you hiding?”

Richard ended the call.

Amelia stood immediately.

“Why did you do that?”

“Because you don't understand the danger.”

“Then make me understand!”

Richard walked towards the table and picked up the recorder.

“Your mother discovered something about Victoria before she died. Something that made her afraid to leave you alone with that family.”

Amelia's expression tightened.

“What did she discover?”

Richard looked at the recorder as if he wished he had never played it.

“Victoria had a daughter before Alexander.”

Amelia blinked.

“What?”

“She was young when she gave birth. The child was raised away from the Hayes family, and very few people knew about her existence.”

Amelia shook her head.

“What does that have to do with me?”

Richard opened his mouth, but his phone began ringing.

He checked the screen and immediately rejected the call.

A message appeared.

You should not have shown her the recording.

Richard switched off his phone.

Amelia stared at him.

“Who sent that?”

“Someone who knows where I am.”

“Then we should leave.”

Richard nodded and began gathering the documents. Amelia picked up the photograph of her father and Victoria, examining it again.

Something caught her attention.

In the background, Victoria was standing beside a young girl wearing a white dress.

Amelia brought the photograph closer.

“Dad, who is this?”

Richard glanced at it.

His expression changed.

“Where did you find that?”

“It was inside the envelope.”

He took the photograph from her and examined it carefully.

“That's Victoria's daughter.”

“What's her name?”

Richard swallowed.

“Evelyn.”

Amelia searched her memory, but the name meant nothing to her.

“Where is she now?”

“I don't know. She disappeared shortly before your wedding.”

Amelia frowned.

“Another person disappeared? Why does everyone connected to this family keep disappearing?”

Richard didn't answer.

Instead, he walked towards an old cabinet and removed a small metal box. Inside were several documents and a photograph of two young women standing together.

One was Victoria.

The other was Amelia's mother.

On the back, someone had written:

The girls must never discover what happened between them.

Amelia turned the photograph over again.

“Which girls?”

Richard looked at her.

“Victoria's daughter and you.”

Before Amelia could ask another question, headlights flashed through the living room window.

A car had stopped outside.

Richard quickly closed the metal box.

“Stay here.”

He moved towards the curtains and looked outside. A black vehicle was parked near the gate, but its headlights had gone off.

Amelia's phone vibrated.

It was a message from Daniel.

We found the second hospital file. Amelia, you need to see this immediately.

A photograph followed.

It showed a hospital record with two patient names.

The first was Amelia Carter.

The second was Evelyn Hayes.

But it was the final section that made Amelia's hands tremble.

Under the heading Emergency Contact, both records carried the same name.

Alexander Hayes.

She looked up at her father.

“Why was Alexander listed as the emergency contact for Victoria's missing daughter?”

Richard closed his eyes.

Then he said something Amelia wasn't prepared to hear.

“Because Alexander was engaged to Evelyn before he ever met you.”

Amelia stared at him.

Her phone rang again.

This time, it wasn't Daniel.

It was Alexander.

She answered, but before she could speak, his strained voice came through.

“Amelia, don't believe anything your father tells you. I just found Evelyn.”

A pause followed.

Then he added quietly:

“She is standing in my office, and she says she remembers being your sister.”