Chapter 3: The Woman Behind Sarah
Arthur stared at his wife.
Or at least the woman he believed was his wife.
For ten years, he had shared a home with her.
He had trusted her.
Loved her.
Built a family with her.
But now, standing in that basement, everything felt like a lie.
“Where are my children?” Arthur asked.
Sarah didn’t answer.
Instead, she slowly walked toward the hidden room.
“You always thought you knew me,” she whispered.
“But you never asked enough questions.”
Arthur clenched his fists.
“Who are you?”
For the first time, Sarah’s calm expression disappeared.
A crack of emotion appeared on her face.
“My name isn’t Sarah.”
The words hit harder than any scream could have.
Arthur felt the room spinning.
“What?”
She looked at the photographs around them.
“My sister was Sarah.”
Arthur froze.
The woman standing in front of him continued.
“We were identical twins. Everyone always compared us. Everyone loved her more.”
Her voice became colder.
“Sarah had the perfect life. The perfect husband. The perfect children.”
Arthur’s heart pounded.
“No…”
“She died two years ago.”
Silence.
Arthur refused to believe it.
“That’s impossible.”
The woman stepped closer.
“She died in a car accident. But before she died, she told me something.”
Arthur stared at her.
“She told me she was afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
The woman smiled faintly.
“Of you.”
Arthur felt the air leave his lungs.
“What are you talking about?”
“She believed you were hiding something.”
The woman opened another folder.
Inside was a recording device.
A voice played.
Sarah’s voice.
Arthur listened as his dead wife spoke.
“If you’re hearing this, then she has taken my place…”
Arthur’s face turned pale.
“She is dangerous.”
The recording continued.
“She doesn’t want my life. She wants everything I had.”
Arthur looked at the woman standing in front of him.
The woman wearing his wife’s face.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from upstairs.
Both of them turned.
The children.
Arthur ran toward the stairs.
But before he reached the door, the woman whispered:
“You still don’t understand, Arthur.”
He stopped.
“What?”
Her eyes filled with fear.
“I didn’t lock your children away from me.”
A pause.
“I locked them away from Sarah.”
Arthur turned slowly.
May you like
And for the first time, he wondered if the monster had been standing beside him all along…
or if he had been protecting the wrong person.
