Chapter 2: The Woman Who Came Back From the Dead

Chapter 2: The Woman Who Came Back From the Dead

AMARA

“Don’t let her inside.”

I stared at Adrian, wondering whether the man standing before me was the same man who had kissed me less than two hours ago.

“What did you just say?”

He reached for my hand.

“Amara, sweetheart, please listen—”

“Don’t sweetheart me!”

He flinched.

Good.

Because my entire world was falling apart, and he was standing there acting as though I had simply misunderstood something.

“Vanessa is dead, Adrian. I buried her five years ago!”

“I know.”

“You know?” My voice cracked. “Then explain why she’s standing outside our building!”

His jaw tightened.

“That photograph doesn’t tell the whole story.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Then tell me the story!”

For the first time since I’d met him, Adrian Cole had nothing to say.

My phone vibrated.

Unknown Number: He’s lying to you.

I looked up sharply.

“Who is sending these messages?”

Adrian’s expression changed.

“Give me your phone.”

“No.”

“Amara—”

“I said no!”

He stepped closer, but I moved away.

The hurt in his eyes almost broke me.

Almost.

“Do you trust me?” he asked quietly.

Yesterday, I would have answered without hesitation.

Today, I couldn’t.

A sudden ringing shattered the silence.

The intercom.

Adrian turned toward the hallway.

“Don’t answer it.”

But I was already moving.

“Amara!”

I pressed the button.

“Yes?”

A security guard’s voice crackled through the speaker.

“Mrs. Cole, there’s a woman downstairs asking to see you.”

My blood went cold.

“What woman?”

“She says her name is Vanessa Reed.”

The room tilted.

Adrian grabbed the intercom.

“Do not allow her upstairs. Call security immediately.”

“Sir, there’s a problem.”

“What problem?”

The guard hesitated.

“She’s already in the private elevator.”

Adrian went completely still.

Then he grabbed my shoulders.

“Listen carefully. Whatever she tells you, don’t believe her.”

Tears burned my eyes.

“Why?”

“Because she’s not here for you.”

“Then who is she here for?”

His silence answered before his lips did.

“Me.”

The elevator chimed.

I turned.

At the end of the hallway, the golden doors slid open.

A woman stepped out.

She wore a black coat over a cream dress. Her hair fell past her shoulders, and her face looked thinner than I remembered.

But those eyes.

I would recognize those eyes anywhere.

“Vanessa?”

She smiled.

“Hello, Mara.”

Nobody had called me Mara since childhood.

My knees nearly buckled.

I remembered our school uniforms, our sleepovers, the ridiculous promises we’d made about marrying brothers so we could remain family forever.

I remembered the funeral.

The white coffin.

Her mother’s screams.

And now she stood before me, breathing.

Alive.

I took one trembling step forward.

“How?”

Vanessa’s smile disappeared when she noticed Adrian behind me.

“Hello, Adrian.”

His voice was ice.

“You shouldn’t have come.”

“And miss your wedding?” She laughed softly. “That would be terribly rude.”

I looked between them.

“You know each other.”

Neither answered.

“How long?” I whispered.

Vanessa tilted her head.

“Longer than you think.”

Adrian moved in front of me.

“Leave her out of this.”

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed.

“You should have thought about that before you proposed.”

Something inside me snapped.

“STOP!”

Both turned toward me.

“I’m standing right here! I’m not some object you can fight over!”

Vanessa’s expression softened.

“Oh, Mara. You really don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

She reached into her handbag.

Adrian immediately stepped forward.

“Vanessa, don’t.”

But she had already pulled out a small envelope.

My name was written across it.

In handwriting I recognized.

My father’s handwriting.

My father had died seven years ago.

I stared at the envelope.

“Where did you get that?”

Vanessa held it toward me.

“He wanted you to have this when the time was right.”

My hands shook as I accepted it.

“How did you know my father?”

She looked at Adrian.

“Ask your fiancé.”

I turned slowly.

Adrian’s face had gone pale.

“Adrian?”

He closed his eyes.

“Amara, please don’t open it.”

I tore the envelope.

Inside was a photograph.

My father stood beside a much younger Adrian Cole.

And between them was Vanessa.

On the back, someone had written:

THE WEB — THREE FOUNDERS. ONE SECRET.

I looked up, unable to breathe.

“My father knew you?”

Adrian said nothing.

Vanessa stepped closer.

“Your father didn’t die in an accident, Mara.”

The words struck me harder than any slap.

“No.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No!” I screamed. “You’re lying!”

Vanessa’s eyes filled with tears.

“Your father discovered something he wasn’t supposed to know.”

I turned toward Adrian.

“Tell me she’s lying.”

He reached for me.

I stepped back.

“Tell me!”

His silence destroyed something inside me.

Then Vanessa whispered the words that changed everything.

“Amara, your father was murdered.”

She looked directly at Adrian.

“And your future husband knows who killed him.”