Chapter 10 - THE LINGERING THREAD
Two years passed.
I didn't buy a mansion. I bought a quiet, single-story ranch on a lake in northern Wisconsin. My dad loved it. He spent his days fishing and failing to fix a perfectly good boat engine.
I went back to work at a local clinic. Part-time.
Life was beautifully, wonderfully boring.
Until a Tuesday in November.
I was at the grocery store, deciding between two brands of coffee, when my phone vibrated.
I didn't recognize the international number.
I hesitated, the old instincts flaring up.
I answered. “Hello?”
“Rachel.”
It was Daniel.
His voice sounded deeper, calmer than I remembered.
“Daniel! How are you? How are Sofia and Lily?”
“They’re good, Rachel. They’re really good. Lily is nine now. She speaks fluent German.”
I smiled. “That’s amazing. It’s so good to hear your voice.”
There was a long pause on the line.
Too long.
“Daniel? Is everything okay?”
“Rachel, I need you to listen to me very carefully.”
My grip tightened on the phone. “What’s wrong?”
“We received a letter today,” Daniel said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “It was mailed to our P.O. Box in Zurich.”
“From who?”
“That’s the thing, Rachel. It wasn't signed.”
“What did it say?”
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Daniel took a shaky breath.
“It said: 'Julian was a good actor. But he wasn't the only twin.'”
