Chapter 4 - THE STOLEN NAME
I needed an ally.
I couldn't go to the local police.
Hudson Falls was a Mercer town.
The hospital,
the precinct,
the recovery center—Margaret’s name was on half the buildings.
I called Elias Thorne.
Elias was Daniel’s best friend,
and a lawyer who had specialized in maritime law.
He was the one who had helped me navigate the initial investigation.
He had stayed by my side for months,
the only one who seemed to share my grief.
When he picked up,
his voice was thick with sleep.
“Natalie?
Is everything okay?
It’s nearly midnight.”
“Elias,”
I said,
and the name felt like a lifeline.
“Daniel is alive.”
Silence.
A long,
stretching silence that made me wonder if the line had gone dead.
“Natalie,
we’ve talked about this,”
he said gently.
“The anniversary is coming up,
and you’re stressed.”
“I’m at Cedar Vale,”
I said.
“I have a video.”
“I saw him,
Elias.”
“And he was holding a baby.”
“A baby registered under my name.”
The silence this time was different.
It was the silence of a man calculating.
“Stay where you are,”
he said,
his voice suddenly sharp and professional.
“Send me the video.
Now.”
I sent it.
I waited in the dark car,
watching the headlights of passing trucks.
Ten minutes later,
my phone rang.
“God,”
Elias whispered.
“It’s him.”
“That scar...
that’s from the prop of the boat.”
“Natalie,
listen to me very carefully.”
“If the baby is registered as yours,
that means legally,
that child is your heir.”
“Margaret is setting up a scenario where you 'pass away' peacefully.”
“The 'confused' widow commits suicide in her grief.”
“The baby inherits everything.”
“And Daniel and this woman take over your life as the grieving husband and the new wife.”
My blood turned to ice.
It wasn't just about the money.
It was a total replacement.
They were going to erase me from the world.
“Where are you?”
Elias asked.
“I’m at a diner on Highway 9.”
“Don’t go home,”
he warned.
“Margaret will have people there already.”
“Meet me at the old cabin in Lake George.”
“We need to go over the trust documents.”
“We need to find out exactly how deep this goes.”
I started the car.
I knew the cabin.
It was where Daniel and I had spent our honeymoon.
A place of ghosts and broken promises.
But it was the only place they wouldn't look.
Or so I hoped.
As I pulled out of the parking lot,
I saw a black SUV pull in.
It had dark tinted windows.
It didn't have a front plate.
May you like
I didn't wait to see who was inside.
I floored the accelerator and vanished into the night.
