Chapter 26 The Woman Upstairs
The scream came again.
Short.
Sharp.
Then silence.
Audrey looked toward the staircase.
“Who is up there?”
James caught her arm.
“Don't move.”
“Someone is trapped.”
“I know.”
“Then we have to help her.”
James shook his head.
“That is exactly what Richard wants.”
Another shot struck the wall.
Dust scattered across the floor.
Marcus crouched beside the window.
“They're surrounding the house.”
Graham checked the rear entrance.
“Six men in front. Three behind.”
Ethan looked at James.
“You knew this was coming.”
James's expression was grim.
“I knew Richard would come.”
“You brought us here anyway.”
“I needed you here before he found the house.”
Ethan's voice hardened.
“You used us.”
“Yes.”
The honesty seemed to anger Ethan more than an excuse would have.
“You haven't changed.”
James looked at his son.
“I've changed more than you know.”
Another scream came from upstairs.
Audrey pulled away from James.
“I am going up there.”
Ethan stood.
“I'll come with you.”
James blocked him.
“No.”
Ethan stared.
“Move.”
“You don't understand what you're walking into.”
“Then explain.”
James looked toward the staircase.
“The woman upstairs is the reason Richard has spent twenty-seven years controlling this family.”
Audrey's heart began to race.
“Who is she?”
James hesitated.
“I don't know.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I know her identity.”
“Then who?”
James looked at Audrey.
“She is Mara's surviving child.”
Anna stepped forward.
“That means she's my sister.”
James shook his head.
“No.”
Anna's face tightened.
“Then who is she?”
James answered quietly.
“Your mother.”
Silence.
Anna stared at him.
“My mother died.”
“Mara died.”
Anna's voice trembled.
“So did I.”
James shook his head.
“You were never Mara's daughter.”
Audrey looked at Anna.
The room seemed to tilt.
James continued.
“Mara had one biological daughter.”
He looked at Audrey.
“And one adopted daughter.”
Audrey's eyes widened.
“Anna?”
James nodded.
“Anna was adopted.”
Anna stared at him.
“By whom?”
James didn't answer.
Richard's voice came through the broken windows.
“James!”
Another shot struck the ceiling.
“You don't have much time.”
James looked toward the stairs.
Then at Audrey.
“You need to hear this before Richard gets inside.”
Audrey's voice was steady.
“Tell me.”
“Mara gave birth to one child.”
“Who?”
“Lydia.”
Lydia stepped backward.
“No.”
James nodded.
“You are Mara's daughter.”
Lydia's face went blank.
Audrey looked at her.
“You're my sister.”
Lydia shook her head.
“No.”
James continued.
“Anna was taken from another family and raised under Mara's protection.”
Anna's eyes filled.
“So I was never part of the trust.”
“No.”
“Then why did Richard want me?”
“Because he believed you were.”
Anna looked at Audrey.
“And Audrey?”
James lowered his eyes.
“Audrey was Claire's biological daughter.”
Audrey froze.
“What?”
James shook his head.
“Claire gave birth to you.”
“But you said—”
“I was wrong.”
Audrey stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
He reached into his coat.
“I expect you to see the evidence.”
He handed her a folder.
Inside was a hospital record.
Claire Parker.
Mother.
Audrey Parker.
Child.
Everything matched.
Audrey read it twice.
Then a third time.
Her hands shook.
“But Mara?”
“Mara helped Claire escape Richard's control.”
“Then why did everyone tell me Mara was my mother?”
“Because Richard needed a reason to keep looking for you.”
Audrey's mind raced.
All the memories.
The photographs.
The false records.
The twin story.
The yellow ribbon.
Every answer seemed to create another question.
She looked at Lydia.
Lydia was crying silently.
“You're my sister.”
Lydia nodded.
“I think so.”
“You knew?”
“No.”
“Why didn't you remember me?”
“Because Richard erased the records.”
James interrupted.
“And because Lydia was only four when Mara gave her to Claire.”
Lydia looked at him.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Richard was still watching.”
Lydia wiped her face.
“So all these years…”
“You were protecting the wrong person.”
She stared at Audrey.
Audrey understood.
Lydia had spent years believing she was protecting Audrey because she was Mara's daughter.
But now she was learning that Audrey was her sister through Claire.
The truth had become almost impossible to hold.
Then the woman upstairs screamed again.
Audrey looked up.
“We still need to help her.”
James nodded.
“Yes.”
“Who is she?”
“I don't know.”
Ethan looked at his father.
“You said she was Mara's surviving child.”
“I said that was what Richard believes.”
Ethan stared.
“So you don't know.”
“No.”
“Then what do you know?”
James looked toward the ceiling.
“She has been hidden in this house for years.”
Audrey's voice tightened.
“By whom?”
James answered:
“By Claire.”
Audrey's heart stopped.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“Claire hid someone here?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
James looked at her.
“Because the girl was the only person who knew where Mara hid the original trust documents.”
Audrey stared.
“The real trust.”
“Yes.”
Richard's voice echoed outside again.
“James!”
A loud crash shook the front door.
“You cannot keep her from me.”
James turned to Marcus.
“Get them out through the cellar.”
Marcus nodded.
Ethan grabbed Audrey's hand.
“Come on.”
Audrey looked at James.
“What about you?”
“I'll hold them.”
“No.”
James looked at his son.
“You've spent seven years believing I abandoned you.”
“I was wrong.”
“No.”
James's expression softened.
“You were a child.”
Ethan swallowed.
“And now?”
“Now you're a man.”
James stepped closer.
“I won't ask you to forgive me.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Good.”
“Just survive.”
The front door splintered.
Men rushed inside.
Marcus raised his weapon.
“Go!”
They ran.
The cellar was narrow and damp.
Audrey followed Ethan.
Lydia and Anna came behind them.
Graham locked the door.
Gunfire echoed above.
Audrey looked at Ethan.
“Your father is still up there.”
“I know.”
“Will he survive?”
“I don't know.”
They reached the far wall.
Marcus pressed a hidden switch.
A passage opened.
Cold air rushed through.
Lydia looked back.
“What about James?”
Marcus's face was grim.
“He knew the risk.”
They entered the passage.
A heavy door closed behind them.
For several seconds, only their breathing could be heard.
Then a distant explosion shook the tunnel.
Audrey stopped.
“James.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
Marcus looked at him.
“He chose this.”
Ethan opened his eyes.
“He shouldn't have had to.”
“No.”
Marcus nodded.
“He shouldn't.”
They continued.
The passage ended at an old boathouse beside the river.
A vehicle waited nearby.
Caleb stood beside it.
“You took your time.”
Marcus frowned.
“Where were you?”
“Making sure the road was clear.”
“Anyone follow you?”
“No.”
Caleb looked toward the tunnel.
“Where's James?”
Ethan didn't answer.
Caleb understood.
“I'm sorry.”
Ethan nodded.
“Let's go.”
Audrey stopped.
She looked toward the river.
Something had been bothering her.
A memory.
A small wooden boat.
Claire standing on the bank.
A little girl beside her.
A yellow ribbon.
Audrey whispered,
“The woman upstairs.”
Everyone looked at her.
“I've seen her before.”
Lydia frowned.
“When?”
“Not recently.”
Audrey closed her eyes.
“She was in my childhood memories.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“What did she look like?”
“I don't know.”
Audrey concentrated.
“She was holding something.”
“What?”
“A photograph.”
“Of whom?”
Audrey opened her eyes.
“Me.”
Anna's face changed.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
Audrey looked toward the house.
“She knew me.”
Lydia stepped closer.
“Then we have to go back.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
“She may be trapped.”
“We don't know who she is.”
“I do.”
Audrey looked at him.
“I remember her voice.”
“What did she say?”
Audrey's face went pale.
“She called me by another name.”
Ethan frowned.
“What name?”
Audrey swallowed.
“Not Audrey.”
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It was Anna's phone.
She looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Anna.”
Anna's face went white.
“Who is this?”
The voice answered:
“Your mother.”
Anna dropped the phone.
Audrey picked it up.
“Who is this?”
The woman whispered:
“Don't trust James.”
The call ended.
Ethan looked at Audrey.
“What did she say?”
Audrey hesitated.
“Don't trust James.”
Marcus immediately looked toward the house.
“Then we have a bigger problem.”
A vehicle appeared on the road.
Headlights approached rapidly.
Caleb reached for the door.
“Get inside.”
The vehicle stopped.
A man stepped out.
James.
Blood covered one side of his shirt.
Ethan rushed toward him.
“Dad!”
James caught himself against the car.
“I got out.”
Ethan helped him inside.
“What happened?”
“Richard.”
“Where is he?”
“Gone.”
Marcus frowned.
“With the woman?”
James looked at him.
“Yes.”
Audrey's heart sank.
“Where did he take her?”
James looked at Audrey.
“He didn't.”
“What?”
James took a breath.
“She went with him.”
Lydia stared.
“Why would she?”
James looked at Audrey.
“Because Richard told her something about you.”
“What?”
James's expression was grim.
“He told her that you were the reason Mara died.”
Audrey went still.
“That isn't true.”
“I know.”
“Then why would she believe him?”
James looked toward the river.
“Because Richard has spent twenty-seven years making sure she does.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“We find her.”
James nodded.
“Yes.”
Audrey looked at him.
“Where?”
James reached into his coat.
He pulled out a photograph.
It showed an old coastal mansion.
On the back was an address.
Audrey recognized the place.
“The Calloway summer house.”
James nodded.
“Richard will take her there.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Why?”
James's answer was quiet.
“Because that's where he keeps the last piece of the truth.”
They drove through the night.
The coastal road was almost empty.
Audrey sat beside Ethan.
Neither spoke.
She looked at the photograph.
The woman upstairs.
The woman who knew her.
The woman Richard had taken.
Somewhere inside Audrey's mind, a memory was trying to surface.
A child's bedroom.
A window.
Two girls sitting on the floor.
One of them was Audrey.
The other had dark curls.
They were holding hands.
Then a man entered the room.
Richard.
He carried a suitcase.
He looked at Audrey.
Then at the other girl.
And said:
Only one of you can leave.
Audrey gasped.
Ethan turned.
“What happened?”
“I remember.”
“What?”
“We were together.”
“Who?”
“Me and the girl.”
She looked at him.
“She wasn't my sister.”
“Then who was she?”
Audrey's voice trembled.
“She was my best friend.”
Ethan frowned.
“Who?”
Audrey stared ahead.
Then she remembered the name.
“Clara.”
The car went silent.
James looked back from the passenger seat.
His face changed.
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
James whispered,
“Because Clara died twenty years ago.”
Audrey's phone suddenly lit up.
A message appeared.
You finally remembered me.
Another message followed.
Now remember who pushed me out of the window.
Audrey stared at the screen.
Then a final message appeared.
It wasn't Richard.
It was Claire.