PART 3 \u2014 THE WOMAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
\n\u201cShe says you\u2019re not the first woman Marcus and his mother locked in that basement.\u201d
\nFor several seconds, I couldn\u2019t speak.
\nMy newborn daughter slept against my chest, one tiny fist curled beneath her chin, completely unaware that the world she had just entered was still collapsing around us.
\n\u201cWhat do you mean, not the first?\u201d
\nDetective Ruiz pulled the chair closer to my hospital bed.
\n\u201cMarcus\u2019s sister\u2019s name is Evelyn.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\nOr at least, I thought I knew.
\nMarcus had told me about Evelyn on our third date.
\nHe said she died when she was nineteen.
\nA car accident.
\nHe even cried when he told me.
\nI remembered reaching across the restaurant table and holding his hand.
\nI remembered thinking his grief made him seem gentle.
\nHuman.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Now that memory made me sick.
\nRuiz placed the recent photograph beside the evidence bag.
\n\u201cEvelyn is thirty-seven years old. She lives under another name about ninety miles from here.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cShe\u2019s been hiding.\u201d
\n\u201cFrom Marcus?\u201d
\nRuiz paused.
\n\u201cFrom Marcus and their mother.\u201d
\nMy daughter made a soft noise.
\nI instinctively pulled her closer.
\nRuiz noticed.
\n\u201cSo far, Evelyn has only given us a preliminary statement. She was terrified when officers approached her.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy would she be terrified of police?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause she thought Marcus had sent them.\u201d
\nA chill moved through me.
\n\u201cSent them to do what?\u201d
\nRuiz didn\u2019t answer immediately.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t need to.
\nI looked down at my daughter.
\nThe baby\u2019s breathing was soft and steady.
\nFor three weeks, I had dreamed about holding her.
\nI had imagined dying without ever seeing her face.
\nNow she was here.
\nAlive.
\nSafe.
\nAnd suddenly I understood that Marcus had been rehearsing what he did to me long before he ever met me.
\n\u201cWhat happened to Evelyn?\u201d
\nRuiz folded her hands.
\n\u201cWhen she was seventeen, their mother began telling relatives Evelyn had become unstable.\u201d
\nMy stomach tightened.
\nThat word.
\nUnstable.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Marcus had used it about me.
\n\u201cShe told people Evelyn was violent,\u201d Ruiz continued. \u201cShe said Evelyn stole money, disappeared for days, attacked Marcus, threatened herself and others.\u201d
\n\u201cWas any of that true?\u201d
\n\u201cEvelyn says no.\u201d
\nI stared at Ruiz.
\n\u201cWhat does she say happened?\u201d
\nRuiz glanced at my daughter.
\n\u201cShe says their mother and Marcus started locking her in the basement as punishment.\u201d
\nI stopped breathing.
\n\u201cThe same basement?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nThe hospital room suddenly felt colder.
\nI could smell it again.
\nConcrete.
\nRust.
\nRotten fruit.
\nMarcus\u2019s cologne.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I could hear his shoes on the stairs.
\n\u201cHow long?\u201d
\n\u201cAt first, hours. Then overnight. Eventually days.\u201d
\nI closed my eyes.
\n\u201cWas there a cage?\u201d
\n\u201cNot initially.\u201d
\nThat word was somehow worse.
\nInitially.
\nMeaning the cage came later.
\nRuiz continued carefully.
\n\u201cEvelyn says Marcus built the first enclosure when he was twenty-one.\u201d
\nMy eyes opened.
\n\u201cHe built it?\u201d
\n\u201cShe says he told their mother it would keep Evelyn from running away.\u201d
\nI remembered Marcus standing outside my cage.
\nSmiling.
\nWatching me eat.
\nHe hadn\u2019t invented that cruelty for me.
\nHe had perfected it.
\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t Evelyn tell anyone?\u201d
\n\u201cShe tried.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat happened?\u201d
\n\u201cHer mother convinced everyone Evelyn was mentally ill.\u201d
\nOf course.
\nThe same strategy.
\nThe same lie.
\nRuiz leaned forward.
\n\u201cAccording to Evelyn, whenever she tried to tell relatives or neighbors what was happening, her mother said Evelyn was confused. Marcus backed up every story.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd people believed them.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nI looked away.
\nI understood that better than Ruiz could possibly know.
\nPeople believed Marcus because believing him was easier.
\nNobody wanted to imagine a monster living in a beautiful house.
\nThen Ruiz said, \u201cEvelyn also mentioned another woman.\u201d
\nI looked back.
\n\u201cWhat woman?\u201d
\n\u201cShe doesn\u2019t know her full name.\u201d
\nMy pulse quickened.
\n\u201cShe remembers Marcus bringing a young woman home when Evelyn was twenty. Her name may have been Rebecca or Becca.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat happened to her?\u201d
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u201cDid Marcus hurt her?\u201d
\n\u201cEvelyn says the woman stayed in the house for several weeks.\u201d
\n\u201cStayed?\u201d
\nRuiz\u2019s expression told me that wasn\u2019t the right word.
\n\u201cShe heard screaming from downstairs.\u201d
\nI pulled my daughter closer.
\n\u201cDid Evelyn see her?\u201d
\n\u201cOnce.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did she look like?\u201d
\n\u201cDark hair. Early twenties. Small tattoo on her left shoulder.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd then?\u201d
\n\u201cOne morning she was gone.\u201d
\nMy mouth went dry.
\n\u201cGone where?\u201d
\n\u201cMarcus told Evelyn she went home.\u201d
\nI stared at Ruiz.
\nNeither of us believed that.
\n\u201cWas she his girlfriend?\u201d
\n\u201cPossibly.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd nobody reported her missing?\u201d
\n\u201cWe\u2019re checking.\u201d
\nI turned toward the window.
\nMorning was beginning to lighten the sky.
\nSomewhere outside this hospital, normal people were waking up.
\nMaking coffee.
\nDriving to work.
\nPacking lunches.
\nAnd police were searching my house for evidence of women who might have suffered there years before me.
\n\u201cHow did Evelyn escape?\u201d
\nI asked.
\nRuiz took a breath.
\n\u201cShe stabbed Marcus.\u201d
\nI looked at her.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cWith a broken piece of glass.\u201d
\nDespite everything, something almost like pride moved through me.
\n\u201cGood.\u201d
\nRuiz didn\u2019t smile, but her eyes softened.
\n\u201cShe ran barefoot for almost four miles before a truck driver found her.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd then?\u201d
\n\u201cShe gave police a false name.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cShe believed her mother would find her.\u201d
\n\u201cShe was seventeen?\u201d
\n\u201cTwenty-two by then.\u201d
\nFive years.
\nFive years trapped inside that house.
\nMy throat tightened.
\n\u201cWhat did Marcus tell everyone?\u201d
\n\u201cThat Evelyn had died.\u201d
\n\u201cHow?\u201d
\n\u201cA car accident overseas.\u201d
\nI remembered the story perfectly.
\nMarcus said Evelyn had moved to Europe.
\nHe said she died outside Barcelona.
\nThere had even been a photograph of a memorial candle on his mother\u2019s mantel.
\nNo body.
\nNo funeral I had ever attended.
\nJust a story.
\nAnd everyone accepted it.
\n\u201cWhy keep photographs of her?\u201d I asked.
\nRuiz\u2019s expression changed.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s something we\u2019re trying to understand.\u201d
\nI looked at the photograph from the suitcase.
\nEvelyn stood beside the smaller cage.
\nShe looked painfully thin.
\nTerrified.
\nBut something bothered me.
\n\u201cWho took this?\u201d
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u201cMarcus?\u201d
\n\u201cPossibly.\u201d
\nI studied the image.
\nThen I noticed something behind Evelyn.
\nA mirror.
\nAnd inside the reflection was part of a person holding the camera.
\nI pointed.
\n\u201cThere.\u201d
\nRuiz took the photograph.
\nHer eyes narrowed.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d
\nOnly part of the photographer was visible.
\nAn arm.
\nA shoulder.
\nA hand holding the camera.
\nAnd on that hand was a ring.
\nI knew that ring.
\nGold.
\nLarge.
\nA dark red stone in the center.
\nMy stomach dropped.
\n\u201cHis mother.\u201d
\nRuiz looked at me.
\n\u201cYou recognize it?\u201d
\n\u201cShe wears that ring every day.\u201d
\nRuiz immediately stood.
\n\u201cI need to get this to evidence.\u201d
\nShe reached for the photograph.
\n\u201cWait.\u201d
\nSomething else had caught my attention.
\nNear the bottom corner of the image.
\nA date.
\nAnd beneath the date, written in blue ink, were two words.
\nI leaned closer.
\n\u201cWhat does that say?\u201d
\nRuiz tilted the photograph toward the light.
\nHer expression changed.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nShe didn\u2019t answer.
\n\u201cDetective.\u201d
\nShe finally showed me.
\nThe handwriting was faded.
\nBut readable.
\nGOOD GIRL.
\nI felt nauseated.
\nMarcus\u2019s mother had taken the photograph.
\nAnd afterward, someone had written those words across it.
\nA reward.
\nFor obedience.
\nI looked at my sleeping daughter.
\nA violent certainty settled inside me.
\nWhatever happened next, those people would never come near her.
\nNever.
\nRuiz gathered the evidence.
\n\u201cYou should rest.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cLena\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cI want to speak to Evelyn.\u201d
\n\u201cThat may not be possible yet.\u201d
\n\u201cPlease.\u201d
\nRuiz studied me.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s frightened.\u201d
\n\u201cSo am I.\u201d
\nSilence.
\nThen I said, \u201cBut she survived them.\u201d
\nRuiz slowly nodded.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll ask.\u201d
\nShe left.
\nI thought that would be the last revelation of the morning.
\nIt wasn\u2019t.
\nTwenty minutes later, my sister entered carrying coffee she knew I couldn\u2019t possibly drink.
\nShe looked exhausted.
\nHer eyes were swollen from crying.
\n\u201cYou should sleep,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cSo should you.\u201d
\nShe sat beside me.
\nFor a while, neither of us spoke.
\nShe touched the baby\u2019s tiny foot.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s beautiful.\u201d
\nI smiled for the first time.
\n\u201cWhat are you naming her?\u201d
\nI had chosen a name months ago.
\nMarcus hated it.
\nHe wanted our daughter named after his mother.
\nHe insisted.
\nI had pretended to agree because disagreeing had become dangerous.
\nNow I looked at my sister.
\n\u201cHope.\u201d
\nHer eyes filled.
\n\u201cHope?\u201d
\nI nodded.
\n\u201cBecause he doesn\u2019t get to name anything in my life anymore.\u201d
\nMy sister leaned forward and kissed my forehead.
\nThen she started crying.
\n\u201cI thought you were dead.\u201d
\n\u201cI almost was.\u201d
\n\u201cI should\u2019ve come sooner.\u201d
\n\u201cYou came.\u201d
\n\u201cI should have known.\u201d
\n\u201cStop.\u201d
\nShe looked at me.
\n\u201cHe fooled everyone.\u201d
\nI swallowed.
\n\u201cEven me.\u201d
\nMy sister shook her head.
\n\u201cNo. He didn\u2019t fool you forever.\u201d
\nBefore I could answer, someone knocked.
\nDetective Ruiz stepped inside.
\nHer face told me something had happened.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cWe searched the nursery more thoroughly.\u201d
\nMy stomach tightened.
\n\u201cAnd?\u201d
\n\u201cWe found a hidden compartment beneath the closet floor.\u201d
\nMy sister reached for my hand.
\n\u201cWhat was inside?\u201d
\nRuiz looked at both of us.
\n\u201cVideotapes.\u201d
\nMy entire body went cold.
\n\u201cHow many?\u201d
\n\u201cForty-three.\u201d
\nMy sister whispered, \u201cJesus.\u201d
\nRuiz continued.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re labeled by date.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s on them?\u201d
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve only reviewed portions.\u201d
\nShe paused.
\n\u201cSome show Evelyn.\u201d
\nI closed my eyes.
\n\u201cSome appear to show the unidentified woman she mentioned.\u201d
\nRebecca.
\nBecca.
\nWhatever her name was.
\n\u201cAnd?\u201d
\nRuiz hesitated.
\nThat hesitation terrified me.
\n\u201cWhat else?\u201d
\n\u201cOne recording is recent.\u201d
\n\u201cHow recent?\u201d
\n\u201cThree months ago.\u201d
\nBefore Marcus imprisoned me.
\nI stared at her.
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s on it?\u201d
\nRuiz stepped closer.
\n\u201cYou.\u201d
\nMy heart stopped.
\n\u201cMe?\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re sleeping.\u201d
\nMy sister stood.
\n\u201cThat bastard.\u201d
\nRuiz continued.
\n\u201cThe camera appears to have been hidden inside your bedroom.\u201d
\nI remembered waking sometimes and finding Marcus staring at me.
\nI remembered feeling watched even when he wasn\u2019t home.
\n\u201cHow long?\u201d
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nI wanted to vomit.
\n\u201cWhy record me sleeping?\u201d
\nRuiz looked uncomfortable.
\n\u201cThat isn\u2019t the part that concerns us most.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat is?\u201d
\n\u201cIn the recording, Marcus enters the room.\u201d
\nMy sister squeezed my hand.
\n\u201cHe stands beside the bed for several minutes.\u201d
\nI waited.
\n\u201cAnd?\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019s talking to someone.\u201d
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\n\u201cWe can\u2019t see them.\u201d
\nMy skin prickled.
\n\u201cWhat does he say?\u201d
\nRuiz opened a notebook.
\n\u201cWe transcribed part of it.\u201d
\nShe looked at me.
\n\u201cHe says, \u2018She\u2019ll be ready soon.\u2019\u201d
\nThe room went silent.
\nMy sister whispered, \u201cReady for what?\u201d
\nRuiz continued.
\n\u201cThen the unidentified person asks about the baby.\u201d
\nMy arms tightened around Hope.
\n\u201cWhat about my baby?\u201d
\nRuiz hesitated.
\n\u201cLena, we don\u2019t know the context.\u201d
\n\u201cTell me.\u201d
\n\u201cThe person asks, \u2018And after she delivers?\u2019\u201d
\nMy mouth went dry.
\n\u201cAnd Marcus says?\u201d
\nRuiz looked directly at me.
\n\u201cHe says, \u2018Mother already found a family.\u2019\u201d
\nEverything inside me stopped.
\nMy sister stood so quickly the chair fell backward.
\n\u201cWhat family?\u201d
\nRuiz raised a hand.
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nI stared down at Hope.
\nMy beautiful little girl.
\nMy daughter.
\nMy baby.
\nThey hadn\u2019t planned to keep me alive.
\nThat much suddenly seemed obvious.
\nBut perhaps Marcus hadn\u2019t planned to keep Hope either.
\n\u201cWas he going to sell her?\u201d
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know that.\u201d
\n\u201cGive her away?\u201d
\n\u201cWe\u2019re investigating every possibility.\u201d
\nI kissed the top of Hope\u2019s head.
\nThen another thought hit me.
\n\u201cIf they had a family waiting\u2026\u201d
\nRuiz understood before I finished.
\n\u201cThere may be other people involved.\u201d
\nI looked at her.
\n\u201cHow many?\u201d
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen can I speak to Evelyn?\u201d
\nRuiz hesitated.
\n\u201cActually, that\u2019s why I came back.\u201d
\nMy pulse jumped.
\n\u201cShe agreed?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\nRuiz looked toward the door.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s here.\u201d
\nMy breath caught.
\n\u201cShe came to the hospital?\u201d
\n\u201cShe insisted.\u201d
\nMy sister looked at me.
\n\u201cAre you sure you want this?\u201d
\nI looked at Hope.
\nThen at the evidence bag.
\nThen at the photograph of the woman Marcus had spent years pretending was dead.
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nRuiz opened the door.
\nA woman stood in the hallway.
\nShe was thin.
\nDark-haired.
\nOlder than the girl in the photograph.
\nA pale scar ran from beneath her ear toward her collarbone.
\nShe stared at me.
\nI stared back.
\nFor several seconds, neither of us moved.
\nThen her eyes dropped to Hope.
\nHer face crumpled.
\n\u201cOh God.\u201d
\nShe covered her mouth.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nEvelyn stepped backward.
\nRuiz caught her arm.
\n\u201cWhat is it?\u201d
\nEvelyn pointed at my daughter.
\nHer entire hand was shaking.
\n\u201cThat blanket.\u201d
\nI looked down.
\nHope was wrapped in a pale yellow blanket a nurse had brought from the belongings police recovered from my house.
\n\u201cWhat about it?\u201d
\nEvelyn began crying.
\n\u201cWhere did you get that?\u201d
\n\u201cIt was in the nursery.\u201d
\nShe shook her head violently.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nMy heart began hammering.
\n\u201cEvelyn, what is it?\u201d
\nShe came closer.
\nSlowly.
\nLike she was approaching a ghost.
\nThen she touched the embroidered corner.
\nThree tiny blue flowers.
\nA crescent moon.
\nAnd beneath them, almost invisible unless you knew where to look, two stitched initials.
\nE.M.
\nEvelyn\u2019s initials.
\nShe looked at me.
\n\u201cThat blanket belonged to my daughter.\u201d
\nNobody spoke.
\nI felt as though the floor had vanished beneath my bed.
\n\u201cYour daughter?\u201d
\nEvelyn nodded.
\nTears streamed down her face.
\n\u201cThey told me she died.\u201d
\nMy arms tightened around Hope.
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\n\u201cSeventeen years ago.\u201d
\nRuiz immediately pulled out her phone.
\nBut Evelyn grabbed my wrist.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s something you need to understand.\u201d
\nHer eyes were wild now.
\nTerrified.
\n\u201cThe family Marcus mentioned on that recording?\u201d
\nI nodded.
\nEvelyn swallowed.
\n\u201cThat wasn\u2019t the first family.\u201d
\nMy skin went cold.
\n\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d
\nShe looked toward Detective Ruiz.
\nThen back at me.
\n\u201cMy mother didn\u2019t start helping Marcus because of you.\u201d
\nHer voice broke.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s been finding families for years.\u201d
\nMy sister whispered, \u201cFamilies for what?\u201d
\nEvelyn stared at Hope.
\n\u201cFor babies.\u201d
\nSilence swallowed the room.
\nThen Evelyn said something even worse.
\n\u201cAnd if that blanket was still in their nursery, there\u2019s only one reason.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat reason?\u201d
\nShe squeezed my wrist.
\n\u201cBecause they were planning to do to you exactly what they did to me.\u201d
\nBefore anyone could answer, Detective Ruiz\u2019s phone rang.
\nShe looked at the screen.
\n\u201cExcuse me.\u201d
\nShe stepped into the hallway.
\nSeconds later, I heard her voice change.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nEvelyn looked at me.
\nRuiz reentered the room.
\nHer face had gone pale.
\n\u201cWhat happened?\u201d I asked.
\nShe stared at Evelyn.
\nThen at me.
\n\u201cOfficers just finished searching the property behind your house.\u201d
\nMy heartbeat climbed.
\n\u201cWhat did they find?\u201d
\nRuiz swallowed.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s an old storm shelter beneath the garden shed.\u201d
\nI knew the shed.
\nMarcus never allowed me near it.
\nHe said the floor was unstable.
\nRuiz continued.
\n\u201cThe entrance was covered with concrete.\u201d
\nMy sister whispered, \u201cOh my God.\u201d
\n\u201cThey broke through.\u201d
\nI could barely breathe.
\n\u201cAnd?\u201d
\nRuiz looked directly at me.
\n\u201cThe shelter isn\u2019t empty.\u201d
\nEvelyn went completely still.
\n\u201cHow many?\u201d she whispered.
\nRuiz\u2019s expression answered before her mouth did.
\nThen she said, \u201cWe don\u2019t know yet.\u201d
\nI held Hope tighter.
\n\u201cWhat do you mean you don\u2019t know?\u201d
\nRuiz took one slow breath.
\n\u201cBecause there are several rooms down there.\u201d
\nMy blood turned to ice.
\n\u201cAnd one of the doors,\u201d she continued, \u201cis locked from the outside\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n