Chapter 8 - THE FILE THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST
The old cemetery records were kept in a locked archive room beneath Rosewood Memorial.
Martha helped David get inside.
“You’re sure about this?”
David nodded.
“I need answers.”
The room smelled like dust and old paper.
They searched through boxes.
Birth records.
Burial records.
Property documents.
Then Martha found something.
A small brown envelope.
No name.
No date.
Just one word written on the front.
“Harper.”
David opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
His hands shook.
It was Claire.
Holding a newborn baby.
But the baby wasn’t Blair.
Behind the photo was a note.
“Replacement completed.”
David stepped back.
“No.”
Martha looked at him.
“What is it?”
David couldn’t speak.
Then they found another document.
A birth certificate.
The name shocked him.
The mother’s name wasn’t Claire.
The father’s name wasn’t David.
Someone had changed everything.
Someone had erased Blair’s real identity.
Martha whispered:
“David…”
He looked at the paper.
“What?”
“There’s something else.”
She pointed at the bottom.
A signature.
David recognized it immediately.
Michael Grant.
The man who was supposed to protect his family.
The man who had been controlling their lives.
The man who knew every secret.
David grabbed the file.
“We need to find Blair’s real records.”
Martha nodded.
But before they left, the lights suddenly went out.
The archive room became completely dark.
Then they heard footsteps.
Someone was inside.
David whispered:
“Who’s there?”
No answer.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
“You really should have left the past buried.”
David moved toward Blair’s file.
But before he could reach it…
the entire box disappeared from his hands.
May you like
Someone grabbed it.
And ran.
