The Woman Who Should Be Dead
1124 Words
Episode 3: The Woman Who Should Be Dead
The silver ring lay on the floor between Emma and Alexander.
Neither of them moved.
The emergency lights painted the hallway in a dim red glow.
Emma stared at the ring.
“That's the same one from the photograph.”
Alexander nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“Someone brought it here deliberately.”
“I know.”
A security officer came running from the other end of the hallway.
“Mr. Hayes!”
Alexander turned.
“What happened?”
“The main entrance has been locked from the outside. We've checked every exit. Nobody should have been able to leave.”
Emma's heart raced.
“Then whoever left the ring is still inside.”
Alexander immediately looked at the security officer.
“Lock down the entire building.”
“Yes, sir.”
The officer hurried away.
Alexander picked up the ring using a handkerchief.
Emma noticed a tiny mark engraved inside it.
“There's something written there.”
Alexander looked closer.
His expression changed.
“What does it say?” Emma asked.
He didn't answer.
“Alexander?”
He finally whispered, “C.”
“Clara?”
He nodded.
Emma felt a chill.
“But if this belonged to Clara, how did it get here?”
“I don't know.”
A loud sound suddenly came from the conference room.
Alexander immediately stepped in front of Emma.
“Stay behind me.”
They moved carefully toward the room.
The door was slightly open.
Alexander pushed it wider.
Nobody was inside.
But the large screen at the front of the room was turned on.
A video was playing.
Emma stared at it.
A woman appeared on the screen.
She had long dark hair and a serious expression.
Alexander stopped breathing.
“Clara.”
Emma looked at him.
“You know her?”
“Yes.”
The woman in the video looked directly into the camera.
“Alexander, if you're watching this, then something has happened to me.”
Alexander stepped closer to the screen.
Clara continued.
“I don't know who I can trust anymore. Your father was right. Someone inside Hayes Global has been moving money through secret accounts.”
Emma's eyes widened.
Clara looked frightened.
“I found evidence, but they know I have it.”
The video suddenly froze.
Alexander stared at the screen.
“Play it again.”
The security officer tried.
Nothing happened.
“The file has been corrupted,” he said.
Alexander turned around.
“Find out who uploaded it.”
“Yes, sir.”
Emma looked at Alexander.
“She's alive.”
He shook his head.
“That video could be eight years old.”
“But someone played it tonight.”
“Exactly.”
Emma suddenly noticed something on the table.
A small black flash drive.
She picked it up.
“This wasn't here before.”
Alexander took it from her.
There was a label attached to it.
**FOR EMMA.**
Emma stared.
“Why would Clara leave something for me?”
Alexander looked at her.
“I don't know.”
He connected the flash drive to the computer.
A single document appeared.
**THE PROMISE.**
Alexander hesitated.
“Don't open it,” Emma said.
He looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because whoever wants us to find this may be setting a trap.”
Alexander nodded.
For once, he listened.
The security officer suddenly spoke.
“Mr. Hayes, we have a problem.”
“What?”
“The building's security system has been completely compromised.”
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
“Can you restore it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Someone has administrator access.”
Emma looked at Alexander.
“Someone inside the company.”
He nodded.
“Exactly.”
A notification appeared on the computer.
A new file had arrived.
Alexander opened it.
The screen displayed an old newspaper article.
The headline read:
**BUSINESSMAN AND WIFE KILLED IN TRAGIC CAR ACCIDENT.**
Beneath it was a photograph of Alexander's parents.
Emma looked at him.
“This was your parents' accident.”
“Yes.”
A second headline appeared.
**LEGAL ASSISTANT CLARA MORGAN MISSING AFTER DISAPPEARANCE.**
Emma's eyes widened.
Then another photograph appeared.
It showed Clara standing beside Alexander's older brother, Daniel.
Emma stared at the screen.
“Your brother knew Clara.”
Alexander said nothing.
Another message appeared:
**YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THE WRONG PERSON.**
Then:
**DANIEL DIDN'T DIE.**
Emma's heart stopped.
Alexander stepped backward.
“No.”
A final sentence appeared.
**HE'S COMING FOR YOU.**
The screen suddenly went black.
At that exact moment, the lights returned.
Everyone looked toward the conference room door.
A man was standing there.
He wore a dark coat.
His face was partly hidden by the shadows.
Alexander stared at him.
The man's eyes met his.
“Hello, little brother.”
Alexander went completely still.
Emma looked between them.
“Daniel?”
The man smiled.
“Yes.”
Alexander's face turned pale.
“You're dead.”
Daniel stepped into the light.
“That's what I wanted everyone to believe.”
Emma couldn't move.
Daniel looked at her.
“So you're Emma.”
“How do you know my name?”
Daniel smiled.
“Because I've been watching you.”
Alexander immediately moved in front of her.
“You stay away from her.”
Daniel laughed.
“Still protecting everyone, Alexander.”
“You were behind the messages.”
“Some of them.”
“The break-in?”
“Yes.”
“The photograph?”
“Yes.”
Alexander's fists tightened.
“Why?”
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“Because you refuse to remember what happened eight years ago.”
“I remember everything.”
“No.”
Daniel looked at Emma.
“Your brother remembers what he wants to remember.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“Tell me what you want.”
Daniel looked at him for several seconds.
“I want you to keep the promise.”
“What promise?”
Daniel smiled again.
“The promise you made to Clara.”
Then he turned and walked away.
Security officers rushed after him.
But within seconds, Daniel disappeared.
Emma looked at Alexander.
“What promise did you make?”
Alexander didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on the empty hallway.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
“Alexander…”
He froze.
Emma heard it too.
The voice continued.
“You promised you would find me.”
Alexander's face lost all color.
“Clara?”
The call ended.
Emma stared at him.
Alexander slowly lowered the phone.
For eight years, he had believed Clara was dead.
But now he had heard her voice.
And somewhere in the city, the woman he had promised to find was alive.
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