CHAPTER 4 — THE WITNESS WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO SPEAK
CHAPTER 4 — THE WITNESS WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO SPEAK
Linda's face became perfectly calm.
Almost frighteningly calm.
"Rosa."
The elderly housekeeper lowered her eyes.
"I... I was bringing tea."
Linda smiled.
"Come in."
Rosa obeyed.
She had worked for the Whitman family for twenty-six years.
She had watched Natalie grow up.
She had also watched everything change after Caroline died.
Linda closed the office door.
"You heard something?"
Rosa hesitated.
"...No."
Linda stepped closer.
"You've never been good at lying."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally Rosa whispered,
"Miss Natalie... she's alive, isn't she?"
Linda's smile disappeared.
Boston.
Richard finally obtained temporary visitation rights after Arthur threatened legal action against the hospital.
When he entered Natalie's room, she was asleep.
Peaceful.
Fragile.
Older than the daughter he had buried.
He quietly sat beside her bed.
No speeches.
No dramatic promises.
He simply held her hand.
After several minutes, Natalie stirred.
Without opening her eyes, she murmured,
"...Dad?"
Richard's throat tightened.
"I'm here."
A single tear escaped from beneath her closed eyelids.
"I kept waiting."
His heart shattered.
"For what?"
"You were always late..."
Richard buried his face in her hand.
"I'm sorry."
It was the first apology he had truly meant in years.
Natalie's fingers suddenly tightened around his.
Images flashed through her mind again.
A woman screaming.
Glass shattering.
Rain.
A cliff.
Someone opening the passenger door.
Then...
Linda.
Standing above her.
Looking directly into her eyes.
Saying calmly,
"From today onward, Natalie Whitman no longer exists."
Natalie gasped awake.
"No!"
Machines began beeping wildly.
Doctors rushed inside.
Richard stood helplessly against the wall.
Natalie looked directly at him.
For the first time...
There was recognition.
Real recognition.
Her lips trembled.
"...Dad..."
Before she could say another word, the heart monitor suddenly flatlined for two terrifying seconds.
A doctor shouted,
"She's crashing!"
As medical staff fought to stabilize her, Arthur noticed something strange.
A nurse was quietly unplugging Natalie's IV bag.
Not replacing it.
Removing it.
Arthur intercepted her.
"Where are you taking that?"
The nurse froze.
"I... I received new instructions."
"From whom?"
She looked terrified.
Then whispered,
"...Mrs. Collins."
Arthur grabbed the IV bag before she could leave.
Later testing would reveal that someone had added a powerful drug not listed anywhere in Natalie's medical chart.
Someone had tried to make sure she never remembered the truth.
And somewhere across the city, an anonymous phone vibrated.
A single text appeared on the screen.
She recognized him.
May you like
The reply came only seconds later.
Then finish what we started two years ago.
