CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET IN THE SAFE
The next morning, Anna hired a private investigator named Daniel Cross.
Former homicide detective.
Thirty years of experience.
Three days later he arrived at the hospital carrying a thick folder.
"You need to see this."
Anna opened it.
Inside were photographs.
Bank statements.
Medical records.
And one shocking DNA report.
"What is this?" she whispered.
Daniel looked grim.
"Emma wasn't the first Whitmore wife."
Anna's stomach dropped.
"What?"
"Carter had another wife six years ago."
"That's impossible."
"He paid millions to bury the story."
Daniel slid another photograph across the table.
A smiling blonde woman.
Laura Bennett.
Age twenty-six.
Declared dead after falling down a staircase.
Anna stared at the image.
Laura's injuries looked horrifyingly familiar.
Broken ribs.
Head trauma.
Internal bleeding.
Exactly like Emma.
Then Daniel revealed the worst part.
"Laura was four months pregnant when she died."
Silence.
A terrible silence.
Anna could barely breathe.
"Are you saying..."
"I'm saying your daughter may have uncovered whatever happened to Laura."
Another document emerged.
A photocopy of a journal page written in Emma's handwriting.
The final sentence was highlighted.
If anything happens to me, investigate Laura Bennett. Victoria knows the truth.
Anna's blood turned to ice.
This wasn't a random act of violence.
May you like
Emma had gotten too close to a secret.
And someone wanted her buried beside Laura.
:::
