Chapter 4
1114 Words
EDEN'S POV
I lean back in my chair and stare at the city lights outside my office window, but they don’t help. Neither does the whiskey sitting untouched beside me.
Most people react when someone talks about a dead woman.
That’s normal but that isn’t what happened. Janice didn’t react to a story, she reacted to Chloe specifically.
I drag a hand across my jaw. s**t, maybe I’m overthinking it or seeing that name in the employee file got inside my head more than I realized, maybe grief is making me stupid.
Five years later and somehow Chloe still manages to find ways into places.
A knock sounds against the door. “Come in.” Richard steps inside carrying a stack of reports. “You’re still here?”
“I’m the owner.”
“But that’s not it, right.”
I glance at him. “It wasn’t supposed to be.” That earns a sigh. “Go home, Eden.” Richard drops into the chair across from me.
For a second neither of us speaks then he says exactly what I expected. “It’s the chef.” I don’t answer, his mouth twitches.
“Damn…...”
“Stop smiling.”
“I’m not smiling.”
“Liar…….” His grin widens. “You’ve spent three hours reviewing kitchen reports.”
“I’m reviewing department performance.”
“Ei ei ei buuullshit.” I throw a pen at him, he dodges easily. “You always do this.”
“Do what?”
“When something doesn’t make sense.” I don’t answer because he’s right. When a problem appears, I pick at it until it either breaks or explains itself.
Janice Soto doesn’t explain herself, that’s becoming a problem. “How long has she worked here?”
Richard blinks. “Oh so it’s about her eeeee”
“Answer the question.”
“Four years.” Interesting. “Before that?”
“Restaurants mostly.”
“Family?” Richard frowns. “Why?” I ignore the question. “Does she talk about her personal life?”
“Not really.”
Friends, relationships, Ex-husband, nobody seems to know. Nobody seems to know much about her at all. That bothers me more than it should because people leave traces, histories, stories.
Janice somehow feels unfinished like half the pages are missing. Richard studies me carefully. “What exactly are you looking for?”
I look back toward the window, the city glitters below. “I don’t know.”
JANICE’S POV
“Jack?” No answer, my pulse kicks hard. “Jack?” A second later, Jack comes sprinting around the corner wearing a cardboard dinosaur tail and absolutely no common sense.
“RAAAAR!”
I close my eyes, Jesus Christ. The breath rushes out of me before I can stop it, the tail immediately falls off and he trips over it.
Then crashes directly into the couch. I stare, he stares, neither of us moves then he grins. “Mama.” A laugh escapes before I can stop it. “What the hell are you wearing?”
“I’m a T-Rex!” Then he notice the cardboard has fell off, he stares at it. “My butt broke.”I snort, definitely my child. Jack jumps onto the couch. “I learned something today.”
“Should I be scared?”
“No mummy.” He sits up straighter. “Did you know a T-Rex couldn’t do pushups?” I blink. “No.”
“Because his arms are tiny.” He laughs so hard he nearly falls off the couch again. I stare at him while he laughs harder, eventually I start laughing too.
“School okay?”His smile softens. “Yeah.”
“What’d you do?” He immediately launches into a ten-minute explanation involving dinosaurs, volcanoes, a classmate named Noah, and an argument over whether pterodactyls count as dinosaurs.
By the end I’m more confused than when he started. Jack never seems bothered, then he suddenly jumps off the couch. “Wait.” He disappears down the hallway.
A moment later he comes running back holding a folded piece of paper. “I made this.” He shoves it into my hands.
I unfold it then stop breathing. Two stick figures, a small woman and a tall man standing beside them.
My fingers tighten around the paper, Jack watches me. “Mama?” I force air into my lungs. “Who’s that?” His smile brightens instantly. “The man from the picture.”
Everything inside me freezes. “What picture?” Jack tilts his head. “The old one.”
The room tilts slightly. “Jack.” My voice sounds strange. “Show me.” Completely oblivious, he jumps off the couch again.
Then disappears toward his bedroom. My pulse pounds harder with every second, Jack returns carrying a photograph.
My stomach drops, I thought I threw it away years ago. I know I did yet it’s sitting in his small hands.
The edges are worn like he’s been touching it often. In the photograph Chloe stands beside Eden laughing. Young, alive and beautiful.
Five years younger, five years happier. Jack points at Eden immediately. “That’s him.” I can’t speak. “He looks handsome.”
The room suddenly feels too small. “Where did you find this?” Jack shrugs. “Closet.” Of course he found it, children always find exactly what they’re not supposed to.
“Mama?” I force a smile. “What?”
“Who is he? Is he really my dad?” The question hangs between us. Not the first time, not even the second.
Jack has asked before in different ways. Why don’t I have a dad? Who’s the man in the picture? Did he know me when I was a baby?
Every time, I promised myself I’d answer when he was older, when things were easier. When I knew what to say, somehow that moment never came.
EDEN’S POV
Long after most employees leave, her personnel file lands on my desk, I open it.
Photo, employment history, previous positions, performance reviews. Everything normal, I keep reading and something nags at me.
A feeling more than a fact then I notice an archived attachment. Old documentation transferred from another system, curious, I open it.
The screen loads and a photograph appears. My entire body goes still, two women stare back at me.
Identical, same eyes, same smile, same face. One caption reads *Chloe Soto.* The other *Janice Soto.*
For a long moment I simply stare because there’s only one explanation and nobody ever told me. Nobody ever told me Chloe had a twin sister.
- Writer
