Chapter 10
I dropped the phone.
It couldn't be.
Cara was dead.
I'd held her when she died.
I'd planned her funeral.
I'd buried her.
This had to be a mistake.
Or a cruel joke.
"Mr. Carter?" the nurse's voice came through the phone. "Are you still there?"
"I'm here," I said. My voice was shaking. "What did you say?"
"Jane Doe," she repeated. "She was brought in last night. Unconscious. Dehydrated. Malnourished. When she woke up, she asked for you. Ethan Carter. She says her name is Cara Bennett. Or Cara Carter now, she says. She says she's your wife."
My heart was pounding.
"I'll be right there," I said.
I ran to the hospital.
My mind was racing.
It couldn't be Cara.
But what if it was?
What if she hadn't died?
What if she'd somehow survived?
What if everything I'd been through in the past few months had been a lie?
I ran into the hospital room.
And there she was.
Lying in the bed.
Thin.
Pale.
But alive.
Cara.
She looked at me.
And she smiled.
That smile.
"Hi, Ethan," she said.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't speak.
"You're dead," I whispered. "I buried you."
She looked sad.
"I know," she said. "And I'm so sorry. I had to do it. I had to make everyone believe I was dead. For Lily. For you."
"What are you talking about?"
"Robert's people," she said. "They were still watching. Even after he died. Victoria wasn't working alone. There were others. People who wanted the money. People who would have hurt Lily. Hurt you. To get what they wanted. I had to make them believe I was gone. That there was no one left to come after. That the only person standing between them and Lily was you. And you could protect her."
I stared at her.
"The funeral," I said. "The casket."
"Empty," she said. "Maya helped me. We staged everything. The death certificate. The funeral. The burial. It was all part of the plan. I've been in hiding. Waiting. Until Victoria was arrested. Until the estate was settled. Until it was safe."
I felt dizzy.
I sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Maya knew," I said. "Elaine knew."
"They knew," she said. "They helped me. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I couldn't. If you knew, you might have acted differently. You might have given it away. I had to make it real. I had to make you grieve. Because only real grief would convince them I was really gone."
I looked at her.
The woman I'd loved.
The woman I'd married.
The woman I'd mourned.
And she was alive.
"You let me grieve," I said. My voice was broken. "You let me think you were dead. For months. I held our daughter while she cried for her mother. And you were alive. You were watching."
Tears ran down her face.
"I know," she said. "And I'm so sorry. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Every night I wanted to come to you. To hold you. To hold Lily. But I couldn't. I had to make sure you were both safe. That nobody would ever come after you again."
She reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
"Ethan, please—"
"Don't," I said. I stood up. "I need to think. I need to… process this."
I walked out of the hospital room.
I walked down the hallway.
And I kept walking.
I didn't stop until I was outside.
Until I was breathing fresh air.
Cara was alive.
My wife was alive.
The woman I'd mourned for months.
The woman I'd buried.
Was alive.
And she'd let me suffer.
She'd let our daughter suffer.
For a plan.
I didn't know what to feel.
Relief?
Anger?
Joy?
Betrayal?
All of it.
Everything at once.
I got in my car.
I drove home.
Lily was in the living room with Elaine.
"Daddy!" she said. "Where were you? Grandma Elaine was teaching me how to make cookies."
I looked at her.
My daughter.
Who'd lost her mother.
Or so she'd thought.
And now her mother was alive.
"Lily," I said. "I need to tell you something."
Elaine looked at my face.
She knew.
Of course she knew.
She'd been part of the plan.
"Go ahead," she said quietly.
I knelt down in front of Lily.
"Baby," I said. "Your mommy… she's alive."
Lily stared at me.
Her eyes went wide.
"Really?"
"Really," I said. "She's at the hospital. She's okay. She's been hiding. To keep us safe. But now it's safe. And she wants to see you."
Lily didn't say anything.
She just stared at me.
And then she started crying.
"Mommy is alive?" she whispered.
"She's alive," I said.
She threw her arms around my neck.
"I want to see her," she said. "I want to see her now."
I held her.
And I looked at Elaine.
She was crying too.
"Go," she said. "Take her to Cara."
I drove back to the hospital.
Lily was bouncing in her seat.
Crying.
Laughing.
Unable to believe it.
We walked into Cara's hospital room.
Cara was sitting up in bed.
Waiting.
She saw Lily.
And she broke down.
Lily ran to her.
"Mommy!"
Cara held her.
Tightly.
Like she'd never let go.
"I'm here, baby," she said. "Mommy's here. I'm never leaving you again. Never."
I stood in the doorway.
Watching them.
Mother and daughter.
Reunited.
It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
And the most painful.
Because I didn't know where I fit anymore.
Cara looked up at me.
Over Lily's shoulder.
Her eyes were full of love.
And regret.
And hope.
"Ethan," she said. "Please. Can we talk?"
I nodded.
I walked into the room.
And I sat down.
And for the first time in months, I looked at my wife.
Really looked at her.
Alive.
Breathing.
May you like
Real.
And I didn't know if I could ever forgive her.
