Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN IN THE HOSPITAL BED
The police did not initially believe everything.
There were too many documents.
Too many unexplained events.
Too many gaps in Mariana's memory.
But Daniel had one advantage.
The evidence was real.
Detective Sarah Bennett took over the case.
She was calm, methodical, and suspicious of everyone.
She listened to Mariana's story without interrupting.
Then she watched the video.
Afterward, she sat silently for nearly a minute.
“This is serious.”
Mariana nodded.
“Can you protect Chloe?”
“We can arrange protection.”
“No.”
Mariana looked directly at her.
“I don't want Chloe hidden anymore.”
Sarah studied her.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“I've spent two years being told what was real and what wasn't.”
Her voice shook.
“I want my daughter to know she is not a secret.”
Sarah nodded.
“We'll make sure she isn't.”
Meanwhile, Lucas disappeared.
His truck was found abandoned near the airport.
His phone had been turned off.
His bank accounts were empty.
It looked like he had planned to run.
Then Sarah received a call.
A woman had been admitted to a Phoenix hospital under an alias.
She was seriously ill.
Her name was Claire Davis.
Lucas's sister.
Mariana and Daniel went with Sarah.
Claire was pale and frightened.
When she saw Mariana, tears filled her eyes.
“I am so sorry.”
Mariana stood beside the bed.
“Tell me everything.”
Claire looked at Chloe.
Then closed her eyes.
“Lucas told me you couldn't handle the truth.”
Mariana's hands curled into fists.
“What truth?”
“That Chloe survived.”
“I know.”
Claire began crying.
“He told me you were unstable. He said you would hurt yourself if you found out.”
Mariana's voice broke.
“So you helped him?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of him?”
Claire nodded.
“He threatened to take my children.”
Claire explained everything.
Lucas had convinced her to keep Chloe for several months.
Then he took the child back.
He told Claire that Mariana had been hospitalized.
He showed her fake medical documents.
“I believed him,” Claire whispered.
“Then why did Chloe come back to us?”
Claire stared at the ceiling.
“Because she found out.”
“What?”
“That Lucas was trying to sell the property.”
Mariana froze.
Claire continued.
“Chloe overheard him talking to a lawyer.”
The property.
Her mother's property.
The millions.
Lucas needed control of Mariana to obtain it.
He had created the perfect story.
A grieving mother.
A dead child.
A fragile mind.
A husband forced to protect her.
But there was one problem.
Chloe was alive.
And Chloe remembered everything.
Claire reached beneath her pillow.
She removed a small envelope.
“Chloe gave me this.”
Inside was a photograph.
On the back was written:
“Mommy will find me.”
Mariana pressed it against her heart.
She began crying.
Then Claire whispered something else.
“Lucas wasn't working alone.”
Sarah immediately leaned forward.
“Who?”
Claire shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Think.”
“I heard him talking to a man named Victor.”
Mariana looked at Daniel.
“Victor who?”
Claire closed her eyes.
“Victor Hale.”
Daniel's expression changed.
He knew the name.
Victor Hale was a major developer in Arizona.
He had tried to purchase Mariana's mother's property for years.
Sarah stood.
“This changes everything.”
That evening, police searched Lucas's office.
They found a hidden safe.
Inside were contracts.
Forged signatures.
Payment records.
And a photograph.
Victor Hale standing beside Lucas.
On the back was a date.
Three weeks before Chloe supposedly died.
But Chloe hadn't died.
May you like
Mariana had been lied to.
And now they knew who had helped build the lie.
