Chapter 6 - The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
A woman stepped into my hospital room and whispered: "Claire, I know who tried to kill you."
When Jennifer removed her hood, Daniel stopped pretending he was innocent. But she placed a small envelope on my bed with one word written across it: "Evidence."
I finally met the woman my husband wanted me to hate.
The woman who had been trying to save me.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Daniel stood near the door.
Robert stood beside me.
And the woman everyone believed had disappeared for years stood in front of us.
Jennifer.
She looked different from the photograph.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
Her eyes immediately went to me.
Not Daniel.
Not Robert.
Me.
"I'm sorry."
Those were the first words she said.
I didn't know how to react.
A part of me wanted to scream.
A part of me wanted answers.
And another part of me was terrified that everything I knew about my life had been a lie.
"You were alive."
My voice sounded smaller than I expected.
Jennifer nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"Then why did everyone think you were gone?"
Her eyes moved toward Daniel.
And Daniel looked away.
That single movement told me more than any explanation could.
Jennifer noticed.
"He never told you."
It wasn't a question.
I looked at Daniel.
"Told me what?"
Daniel immediately stepped forward.
"Claire, don't listen to her."
Jennifer laughed quietly.
A painful laugh.
"The same words."
Daniel froze.
"The same words you used eight years ago."
I looked between them.
"What happened eight years ago?"
Nobody answered.
Then Jennifer placed the envelope on the bed.
"Everything started here."
I looked at the envelope.
"What's inside?"
"The reason Daniel married you."
My heart tightened.
I didn't touch it.
Not yet.
Because I already knew.
Whatever was inside would destroy the last piece of the life I thought I had.
Daniel walked toward the bed.
"Claire, she's manipulating you."
Robert stepped between us.
"Stay where you are."
Daniel glared at him.
"You have no idea what you're involved in."
Robert smiled coldly.
"Actually, I know more than you think."
Jennifer looked at me.
"Daniel didn't plan to marry you because he loved you."
I closed my eyes.
Even though I already suspected it.
Hearing it hurt differently.
"He needed access."
"Access to what?"
"Your father's company."
My eyes opened.
"What?"
Jennifer nodded.
"Your father built a successful investment firm. Everyone knew Thomas Bennett had one weakness."
I swallowed.
"Me."
She looked down.
"Yes."
The word hurt.
Because it was true.
My father had always protected me.
And Daniel knew that.
He knew exactly what kind of man my father was.
A man who would give everything to keep his daughter safe.
"He approached you because he knew your father would eventually trust him."
I shook my head.
"No."
Jennifer looked at me sadly.
"Claire."
She opened the envelope.
Inside were documents.
Photos.
Bank records.
Messages.
She placed the first photo in front of me.
It was Daniel.
Standing outside my father's office.
Before I had even met him.
I stared at the date.
Seven years ago.
"What is this?"
"Proof that Daniel was already investigating your family before he met you."
My hands started shaking.
I looked at Daniel.
"You knew who I was."
He didn't answer.
"You knew my father."
Still nothing.
"You knew everything."
Daniel finally spoke.
"Claire, I can explain."
I looked at him.
"No."
My voice surprised even me.
"You can’t explain years of lies."
The room became silent.
Jennifer continued.
"When Daniel realized your father would never approve of him if he knew his real intentions, he changed his plan."
"What plan?"
"Become the person you trusted most."
I remembered our first meeting.
How charming he was.
How patient.
How he always seemed to know exactly what to say.
At the time, I thought it was love.
Now I wondered if it was preparation.
Jennifer pointed at the documents.
"He studied you."
I felt sick.
"He knew your habits. Your fears. Your family."
Daniel looked angry now.
"Stop."
Jennifer ignored him.
"He knew exactly how to make you believe he was different."
I looked at Daniel.
"And Jennifer?"
Her expression changed.
Pain appeared.
"I found out."
"When?"
"Three months before your wedding."
I froze.
"Three months?"
Jennifer nodded.
"I confronted him."
"What happened?"
"He threatened me."
Daniel immediately interrupted.
"That's a lie."
Jennifer looked at him.
"You said nobody would believe a woman who disappeared."
My breathing stopped.
Disappeared.
The word everyone used.
The word that suddenly sounded different.
"You didn't leave."
Jennifer shook her head.
"No."
"Then what happened?"
She looked down.
"I was forced to disappear."
The room went silent.
I felt cold.
"By who?"
Jennifer looked at Margaret's name on one of the documents.
My heart sank.
"His mother?"
Jennifer nodded.
"Margaret knew everything."
I looked at Daniel.
"Your mother knew?"
He said nothing.
And again...
Silence was the answer.
I felt something inside me break.
Not because Margaret hated me.
I expected that.
But because Daniel had watched me sit at family dinners with someone who had been planning against me.
He had watched me smile.
He had watched me trust them.
Jennifer reached for another document.
"This is the most important part."
She placed it in front of me.
A medical report.
My medical report.
But this one was different.
At the bottom was a signature.
A doctor's signature.
And another name beside it.
Margaret Bennett.
I stared.
"Why is your mother's name here?"
Daniel moved instantly.
"Don't."
Jennifer looked at me.
"Because she wasn't just helping Daniel take your property."
My heart raced.
"What else?"
Jennifer took a breath.
"She was making sure you wouldn't live long enough to discover the truth."
The room became silent.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't speak.
My entire body felt numb.
All those months.
The weakness.
The bruises.
The exhaustion.
The fear.
It wasn't random.
Someone had wanted me slowly disappearing.
Daniel whispered:
"Claire..."
I looked at him.
And for the first time...
I saw him as a stranger.
Jennifer reached into her bag.
"There is one more thing."
"What?"
She pulled out a small recording device.
"This is the conversation that proves everything."
Robert looked at it carefully.
"When was this recorded?"
Jennifer looked at Daniel.
"The night before Claire's first hospital visit."
Daniel's face changed.
Jennifer pressed the button.
A voice filled the room.
Margaret.
Clear.
Cold.
"Once the diagnosis becomes official, Claire won't have the strength to fight."
My blood turned cold.
Then Daniel's voice answered.
"How long?"
Margaret replied:
"Three days."
The recording stopped.
Nobody spoke.
Because we all heard it.
They knew.
They knew my condition.
They knew my timeline.
They knew everything.
Daniel stepped backward.
For the first time...
He looked like someone who had lost control.
My phone suddenly vibrated.
A message appeared.
From my father.
Only four words.
"Don't trust Jennifer yet."
I looked up.
Jennifer was watching me.
And before I could ask why...
Robert's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed immediately.
Then he looked at me.
"Claire..."
I knew from his expression.
Something had happened.
"What?"
Robert slowly lowered the phone.
"Your father was attacked."
The room went silent.
Jennifer reached for the door.
May you like
And before she could leave, someone outside said her name...
"Jennifer."
