Chapter 8 - The Woman Who Escaped Before Me
Finding Claire Morrison was not easy.
Her name existed.
But her life had vanished.
No social media.
No recent address.
No public records.
It was like she had disappeared from the world.
But people always leave traces.
And eventually…
I found one.
A small charity organization.
A woman working there.
A woman named Claire.
I drove there alone.
I didn’t know what I expected.
A dramatic confession.
A broken woman.
Someone angry.
Instead…
I found someone calm.
Someone who looked at me and immediately knew why I was there.
“You married Julian.”
It wasn’t a question.
I stopped.
“How do you know?”
Claire looked at me.
“Because I used to be you.”
Those words hurt more than I expected.
I sat across from her.
“I need answers.”
She looked away.
“For years, I tried to forget.”
“But I never really did.”
“What happened?”
Claire was silent for a long time.
Then she spoke.
“Julian was perfect at the beginning.”
“He knew exactly what to say.”
“He made me feel protected.”
“Important.”
“Chosen.”
I listened carefully.
“Then what changed?”
Her eyes became darker.
“The wedding was when everything changed.”
My breath caught.
“The wedding?”
She nodded.
“After we were officially engaged, his family started controlling everything.”
“What I wore.”
“Who I talked to.”
“How I spent money.”
“What I was allowed to do.”
I looked down.
Because I recognized the pattern.
Claire continued.
“At first, I thought it was normal.”
“I thought every powerful family had rules.”
“But then Julian changed.”
“He became colder.”
“Crueler.”
“Exactly like you saw.”
I swallowed.
“What happened the night you disappeared?”
Claire looked directly at me.
“I found documents.”
“What documents?”
“Proof that Julian and Victoria had been planning marriages for years.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“They weren’t looking for love.”
“They were looking for control.”
My heart sank.
Claire continued.
“They wanted women who were independent but easy to isolate.”
“Women with money.”
“Women with connections.”
“Women who could strengthen their family.”
I felt sick.
“So I was chosen?”
Claire nodded.
“Yes.”
“You were.”
I stared at her.
“Why me?”
She looked at me carefully.
“Because you were stronger than they expected.”
A strange silence filled the room.
Then Claire reached into a drawer.
She pulled out an envelope.
“I kept this for years.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew one day someone else would need it.”
She handed it to me.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
From Julian.
To Victoria.
My hands shook as I opened it.
The first sentence destroyed everything.
May you like
“Mother, I found the perfect woman to replace Claire.”
I stopped breathing.
