Chapter 6: The Woman in the Photograph
The name written on the back of the photograph was not Rebecca.
It was Rachel.
I stared at the faded picture until the letters blurred.
Rachel.
Rebecca.
Two women who looked so similar that, from a distance, I wouldn’t have known the difference.
The same dark hair.
The same sharp eyes.
The same small smile that never seemed to reach them.
I looked at Harper.
“Where did you get this?””
She hugged herself.
“Rebecca dropped it.””
“When?””
“The day she got mad at me.””
My chest tightened.
“Why?””
Harper looked toward Ben’s hospital room.
“Because I saw Rachel.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“Where?””
“In our house.””
I waited.
Hoping she would explain.
Hoping there was another answer.
A misunderstanding.
A child’s imagination.
Anything.
But Harper’s face told me there wasn’t.
“Tell me everything.””
She rubbed her fingers together nervously.
“Rebecca told me never to go into her bedroom closet.””
“Okay.””
“One night, I heard her talking.””
“With who?””
Harper swallowed.
“Someone who sounded like her.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
“She sounded like Rebecca, but different.””
The hallway around us became strangely quiet.
“She was crying,” Harper continued.
“She said, ‘You promised you wouldn’t come back.’”
I felt a chill.
“What happened next?””
“Rebecca said, ‘You ruined everything the first time. I won’t let you ruin this.’”
I stared at my daughter.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Harper looked down.
“Because the next morning Rebecca told me that if I ever lied about what I heard, she would make sure nobody believed me.””
My hands curled into fists.
The woman I married had been threatening my daughter.
And I had been defending her.
A nurse stepped out of Ben’s room.
“Mr. Carter?””
I stood immediately.
“Is he okay?””
“He’s stable.””
The word still didn’t feel like enough.
Stable meant alive.
It didn’t mean safe.
The nurse looked at Harper.
“She’s been asking about him every few minutes.””
I smiled sadly.
“She loves her brother.””
The nurse nodded.
“She’s lucky to have you.””
The words hurt.
Because I wasn’t sure I deserved them.
Later that afternoon, Detective Daniels arrived with new information.
He placed a folder on the table.
“We identified the woman in the photo.””
I looked at him.
“Rachel?””
He nodded.
“Rachel Morgan.””
My stomach tightened.
“Rebecca’s sister?””
“Yes.””
“What does she have to do with this?””
Daniels opened the folder.
“Rachel has a history.””
I flipped through the documents.
Police reports.
Court records.
Hospital records.
Then I saw the date.
Four years earlier.
The same year Harper’s mother died.
“What happened?””
Daniels looked serious.
“Rachel was involved in an incident.””
“What kind?””
He hesitated.
“An incident involving a child.””
I looked up.
“What child?””
He slid one final page toward me.
A name.
A photograph.
A little boy.
My hands started shaking.
Because the boy in the picture looked familiar.
Too familiar.
“Who is this?””
Daniels looked at me.
“His name was Ethan Morgan.””
I stared.
Morgan.
The same last name.
“Rachel’s son?””
“Yes.””
“What happened to him?””
The detective lowered his voice.
“He died.””
I felt sick.
“How?””
Daniels looked at the file.
“An accident involving a bathtub.””
My entire body went cold.
The room seemed to spin.
A bathtub.
A child.
A woman who looked exactly like my wife.
I stood.
“No.””
Daniels watched me carefully.
“Mr. Carter, there’s something else.””
“What?””
“The night Ben was hurt, your wife’s phone records show she made three calls.””
“To who?””
He looked at the paper.
“Rachel Morgan.””
I looked at Harper.
She was staring at the photograph.
Then she whispered:
“Daddy…”
“What?””
“She wasn’t alone.””
My heart pounded.
“What do you mean?””
Harper pointed at the picture.
“Rachel came to our house before.””
I froze.
“When?””
“The day Mommy’s necklace disappeared.””
A memory flashed through my mind.
A missing necklace.
A fight.
Rebecca accusing Harper of taking it.
Harper crying for hours.
I had thought it was just another misunderstanding.
But now…
“Where is that necklace?””
Harper looked toward the stairs.
“Rebecca gave it to Rachel.””
My phone rang.
Detective Daniels answered his own phone.
His expression changed instantly.
“What?””
He walked away.
Then returned seconds later.
“We have a problem.””
“What?””
He looked directly at me.
“Rachel Morgan is missing.””
A cold silence filled the room.
May you like
Then Daniels said the words that changed everything.
“And Rebecca wasn’t the only person who lied about what happened four years ago.””
