Chapter 5 - The Woman Daniel Buried on Paper
The story had already been prepared.
Arthur found it online before sunrise.
A small obituary appeared on a funeral home website.
AVA BENNETT MILLER.
Beloved wife.
Tragically passed following complications associated with childbirth.
No mention of twin daughters.
No mention that I was alive.
I stared at my own death announcement from Elias’s kitchen.
Daniel had even selected a photograph from our wedding.
I looked happy in it.
I remembered that day.
Daniel had cried when I walked down the aisle.
At the time, I thought those tears meant love.
Now I wondered whether he had simply been relieved that Mercer’s plan was working.
Elias sat across from me.
“You need to eat.”
“I’m reading my obituary.”
“You can do both.”
I looked at him.
For the first time, I noticed he looked tired too.
His shirt had been changed.
There was a small cut above his eyebrow from the attack.
“You got hurt.”
“It is nothing.”
One of the twins made a soft sound from the nearby bassinet.
His eyes immediately shifted toward her.
That tiny movement touched something inside me.
Daniel had never looked at them that way.
Not once.
Arthur entered carrying documents.
“We found the filing.”
“What filing?”
He placed several papers on the table.
“Daniel submitted a petition claiming you died intestate.”
I stared.
“He is trying to become administrator of your estate.”
Elias gave a humorless smile.
“Fast worker.”
Arthur nodded.
“If nobody challenges it, he could gain authority over certain assets before anyone discovers the trust structure.”
“But I’m alive.”
“That creates a problem for him.”
Elias stood.
“It creates a larger problem for Mercer.”
Arthur agreed.
“The private dinner tonight is likely intended to reassure investors.”
I looked between them.
“What happens if I appear?”
Arthur almost smiled.
“Chaos.”
Elias did not smile.
“No.”
I turned toward him.
“No?”
“You are not walking into a room full of Mercer’s associates.”
“They think I’m dead.”
“That is precisely why they might want to correct the mistake.”
Anger rose inside me.
For years, Daniel had made every decision.
Where we lived.
Who I saw.
What money I could spend.
When I could leave the apartment.
Now another man was telling me where I could go.
Maybe Elias saw something change in my expression.
His voice softened slightly.
“I am not Daniel.”
“Then don’t make decisions for me.”
Silence.
Arthur carefully looked away.
Elias studied me.
Then nodded.
“Fair.”
I had not expected that.
He pulled out a chair.
“If you insist on confronting them, we do it intelligently.”
“How?”
Elias’s eyes became cold.
“We let Mercer finish telling everyone you are dead.”
He placed the obituary in front of me.
“Then you walk through the door.”
That night, I stood inside a private elevator wearing borrowed black clothes.
Elias stood beside me.
The doors began opening.
Beyond them, Daniel’s voice filled the ballroom.
“My wife tragically passed away.”
I stepped forward.
“No, Daniel.”
May you like
Every face turned toward me.
“You just wished I had.”
