CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 10
THE WOMAN IN LISBON
The words remained on the screen.
BRING THE CAMERA TO THE OLD CARTER HOUSE.
COME ALONE.
OR SOPHIE DIES.
Ethan stared at the message.
For the first time that night, he understood something terrifying.
Celeste wasn't running anymore.
She was waiting.
And she knew exactly where he would go.
The old Carter house.
Lisbon.
The place where his memories had begun to fracture.
The place where Richard claimed Ethan had met his sister.
The place where Anna had discovered the truth.
And now—
the place where the real ledger was supposedly hidden.
Ethan turned toward Elena.
"How long?"
"Until what?"
"Until Celeste expects me there."
Elena looked at the screen.
"She gave you ten minutes."
"That was eight minutes ago."
Elena's face tightened.
"You can't go alone."
"I have to."
"No."
"I've already lost three years."
"You could lose your life."
Ethan looked toward Sophie.
"She's already lost enough."
Elena stepped closer.
"Then let me come."
"No."
"Ethan—"
"I said no."
"You don't understand Lisbon."
Ethan stopped.
"What don't I understand?"
Elena looked at him.
"That's where Celeste first met Anna."
He frowned.
"I thought Celeste met Anna at the charity dinner."
"That was the story."
"And the truth?"
"They met twenty years earlier."
Ethan's expression changed.
"Twenty years?"
Elena nodded.
"In Lisbon."
The flight was impossible.
So Ethan didn't take one.
He used his private helicopter.
The old Carter estate outside Lisbon had been abandoned for years.
According to official records, the property had been sold.
According to the security system, nobody had entered it in eleven months.
But Ethan knew better.
Somewhere inside that house was the answer.
And perhaps—
the person who had been manipulating his life.
The helicopter landed shortly after dawn.
Ethan stepped onto the wet grass.
The house looked smaller than he remembered.
He wasn't sure whether that was because he had grown older or because his memories had made the place larger than it really was.
The front door opened.
No one was there.
Ethan entered.
Dust covered the furniture.
Old paintings hung crookedly on the walls.
A grandfather clock had stopped at 3:17.
He stared at it.
Again.
3:17.
Room 17.
The same number.
Always.
Ethan walked deeper into the house.
A memory flashed.
He was young.
Not seventeen.
Older.
Twenty-eight.
Anna was standing beside him.
She was pregnant.
Ethan touched her stomach.
"Is it a boy?"
Anna laughed.
"We don't know."
"Then I'll call him Daniel."
"What if it's a girl?"
"Then Sophie."
Anna smiled.
"You've already chosen."
"Of course."
Ethan blinked.
The memory disappeared.
He grabbed the wall.
"Sophie..."
Another memory came.
Anna crying.
"You can't trust him."
"Who?"
"Richard."
"Why?"
"Because he's not working alone."
Then another flash.
Celeste.
Standing beside a younger woman.
The woman looked exactly like Anna.
But it wasn't Anna.
Ethan stared.
"Isabel."
The memory disappeared.
He walked toward the staircase.
The floor creaked.
Then he noticed something.
A photograph.
It had fallen from an old frame.
He picked it up.
Three people stood in front of the Carter house.
His father.
Celeste.
And a woman.
Ethan's breath stopped.
He recognized her.
The woman from Anna's hidden camera.
The woman behind the Black Ledger.
But there was something impossible about the photograph.
The date.
1998.
Ethan looked at the woman again.
She couldn't be Celeste.
Because Celeste was standing beside her.
Two women.
One was Celeste.
The other—
looked exactly like Anna.
Ethan whispered:
"Who are you?"
A voice answered behind him.
"You've finally come back."
Ethan turned.
A woman stood at the end of the hallway.
Older.
Elegant.
Silver streaks through her dark hair.
She held no weapon.
She simply watched him.
Ethan recognized her instantly.
Not from memory.
From Anna's photographs.
"Isabel."
She nodded.
"You shouldn't have come."
"You threatened my daughter."
"I didn't."
"Celeste did."
"Yes."
"Where is Sophie?"
"Safe."
"Where?"
Isabel looked toward the stairs.
"Under this house."
Ethan's heart stopped.
"What?"
"There's a room beneath the basement."
"Room 17?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"Room 18."
Ethan frowned.
"Then why does everyone keep saying seventeen?"
"Because seventeen was the room they wanted you to find."
"And eighteen?"
"The room they wanted you to forget."
Ethan stepped closer.
"Take me there."
Isabel didn't move.
"You need to understand Lisbon first."
"I don't have time."
"You have less time than you think."
She walked toward the dining room.
Ethan followed.
She stopped beside an old cabinet.
"Your father had enemies."
"I know."
"Your father also had partners."
"Celeste."
"Celeste wasn't his partner."
Ethan stared.
"Then who was?"
Isabel opened the cabinet.
Inside was a small box.
She removed it.
"Anna."
Ethan froze.
"Anna?"
"She worked for him."
"No."
"Yes."
"Anna worked for my father?"
"At first."
Ethan couldn't speak.
Isabel opened the box.
Inside were letters.
Photographs.
Bank records.
And a passport.
Ethan picked it up.
The name was:
ANNA MARIA CARTER
But the photograph wasn't Anna.
It was another woman.
Ethan looked at Isabel.
"Who is this?"
"Anna's twin."
He stopped.
"Anna had a twin?"
"Yes."
"What was her name?"
"Lucia."
Ethan stared at the photograph.
"Then why did she look like Anna?"
"Because she was Anna."
"What?"
Isabel smiled sadly.
"Anna was not her real name."
Ethan's head began spinning.
"What was her real name?"
"Lucia."
"Then who was Anna?"
Isabel looked directly at him.
"Anna was the identity she used after she disappeared from Lisbon."
Ethan couldn't breathe.
"Why?"
"Because she was running."
"From my father?"
"From Celeste."
"Why?"
"Because Celeste wanted her dead."
Ethan looked at the letters.
"Then why did Anna marry me?"
"Because your father ordered her to."
Ethan froze.
"What?"
"Your father needed someone close to you."
Ethan stared at the photograph.
"So Anna was spying on me."
"At first."
"And then?"
"She fell in love with you."
Ethan's eyes filled with tears.
"Did she ever love me?"
"More than anyone."
"Then why didn't she tell me?"
"Because every time she tried, someone died."
Ethan looked at her.
"Who?"
Isabel didn't answer.
Ethan opened the first letter.
Anna's handwriting.
Ethan, I know you think I betrayed you.
I didn't.
I married you because your father ordered me to watch you.
But somewhere along the way, you became the only person I wanted to protect.
Ethan closed his eyes.
A tear fell.
He opened another letter.
If something happens to me, don't trust Celeste.
Another.
If Ethan loses his memory, it's because Jonathan has agreed to help them.
Another.
Richard doesn't know the truth about his father.
Another.
Then one final letter.
The handwriting was different.
Ethan frowned.
"Whose is this?"
Isabel looked away.
"Your father's."
Ethan opened it.
Only one sentence had been written.
THE WOMAN IN LISBON KNOWS WHERE THE LEDGER IS.
Ethan looked at Isabel.
"That's you."
She nodded.
"No."
Ethan frowned.
"Then who?"
Isabel whispered:
"Celeste."
Ethan froze.
"She was the woman in Lisbon?"
"Yes."
"She wasn't working for my father?"
"No."
"Then who was she working for?"
Isabel looked toward the window.
"For someone much more powerful."
"Who?"
Before Isabel could answer, the lights went out.
A gunshot shattered the glass.
Isabel fell.
Ethan rushed toward her.
"Isabel!"
Blood covered her shoulder.
"Stay with me."
She grabbed his wrist.
"Don't..."
"Don't what?"
"Trust..."
She struggled to breathe.
"Trust who?"
Her eyes moved toward the doorway.
Ethan turned.
A shadow stood there.
A woman.
Celeste.
Ethan reached for his weapon.
Celeste smiled.
"Hello, Ethan."
"You shot her."
"No."
She pointed toward the floor.
The bullet had entered the wall.
"She was already bleeding."
Ethan looked at Isabel.
She was alive.
Barely.
Celeste walked closer.
"You found the letters."
"You knew they were here."
"Of course."
"You planted them."
"No."
"Then who?"
"Anna."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Where is Sophie?"
Celeste smiled.
"You really believe I have her."
"You threatened her."
"I wanted you to come."
"Why?"
"Because you wouldn't come for yourself."
She stepped closer.
"You came for Sophie."
Ethan raised the gun.
"Where is my daughter?"
"Safe."
"Tell me where."
Celeste looked at him.
"Room 18."
Ethan froze.
"The room beneath the house."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because that's where the truth is."
Ethan lowered the gun slightly.
"What truth?"
Celeste's expression changed.
"The truth about the night Anna died."
Ethan's voice broke.
"She died because of you."
"No."
Celeste shook her head.
"She died because she chose you."
"What does that mean?"
"She had a chance to escape."
"But she stayed."
"Why?"
Celeste smiled.
"Because she knew what you had done."
Ethan froze.
"What did I do?"
Celeste stepped closer.
"You remember killing Richard's father."
"Yes."
"You remember the ledger."
"Yes."
"You remember Anna."
"Yes."
"But you don't remember what happened afterward."
"What?"
Celeste whispered:
"You gave Anna the ledger."
Ethan stared.
"No."
"You gave it to her."
"Why?"
"Because you trusted her."
"Then why did she hide it?"
"Because she discovered the truth."
"What truth?"
Celeste looked toward the floor.
"The ledger wasn't a record of crimes."
Ethan frowned.
"Then what was it?"
"A list."
"Of what?"
"People who were going to die."
Ethan's face went pale.
"How many?"
"One hundred and twelve."
"Who?"
"Executives."
"Politicians?"
"Some."
"Judges?"
"Some."
"People in my company?"
"Most."
Ethan swallowed.
"And Anna?"
Celeste nodded.
"Her name was number one."
Silence.
Ethan's hand shook.
"Why?"
"Because she had discovered who created the list."
"Who?"
Celeste looked at him.
"Your mother."
Ethan froze.
"My mother?"
"Yes."
"She's dead."
"No."
"You showed me a fake video."
"Correct."
"Then where is she?"
Celeste smiled.
"Closer than you think."
A sound came from upstairs.
A child's voice.
"Daddy?"
Ethan's heart stopped.
"Sophie!"
He ran toward the staircase.
Celeste didn't stop him.
Ethan climbed the stairs.
"Sophie!"
He reached the second floor.
A door opened.
Sophie stood inside.
Alive.
Unharmed.
Ethan rushed toward her.
She ran into his arms.
"Daddy!"
He held her tightly.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes."
"Who brought you here?"
Sophie pointed behind him.
Ethan turned.
Nobody.
Then he noticed a woman standing at the far end of the hallway.
Not Celeste.
Not Isabel.
Not Anna.
An older woman.
Gray hair.
Pale face.
She looked at Ethan with tears in her eyes.
Ethan stopped breathing.
He knew that face.
He had seen it in childhood photographs.
In dreams.
In the memories that had been taken from him.
"Mom?"
The woman nodded.
"My son."
Ethan couldn't move.
Sophie whispered:
"Daddy, that's Grandma."
Ethan stared.
His mother stepped forward.
"I'm sorry."
He shook his head.
"You've been alive."
"Yes."
"All these years?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you come home?"
She looked toward Celeste.
"Because she wouldn't let me."
Ethan turned.
Celeste was standing at the bottom of the stairs.
She was smiling.
Ethan's mother continued:
"Celeste didn't kill your father."
Ethan froze.
"Then who did?"
His mother looked directly at him.
"You did."
Ethan's face went white.
His mother continued:
"And I was there."
The mansion fell silent.
Then she said the words that destroyed everything Ethan thought he knew:
"You didn't kill him by accident."
"You killed him because he was going to kill Anna."
Ethan stared at her.
His mother began crying.
"And I helped you hide the body."
Ethan couldn't breathe.
Then she added:
"But that's not the worst thing."
She looked at Sophie.
"The worst thing is what happened after."
Sophie clutched Ethan's hand.
"What happened?"
His mother whispered:
"Your father didn't have one ledger."
"He had two."
Ethan's eyes widened.
"Where is the second one?"
His mother looked beneath the floor.
"Room 18."
Then the lights went out again.
May you like
And from somewhere beneath the house—
came the sound of a locked door opening.
