Chapter 3: The Woman at the Cemetery
The following morning Juliette drove alone to Caroline's grave.
She had not visited in years.
Fresh white lilies covered the headstone.
Someone had been there recently.
An elderly woman stood several rows away watching her.
"You finally came."
Juliette frowned.
"Do I know you?"
The woman smiled sadly.
"No."
"But I knew your sister."
Juliette's heartbeat quickened.
"My sister died."
The woman shook her head.
"No."
"Your sister disappeared."
She handed Juliette a small silver key attached to a faded blue ribbon.
"Caroline told me..."
"...if anything happened to her..."
"...you would someday need this."
"Need what?"
"The truth."
Before Juliette could ask another question...
The woman collapsed.
Paramedics arrived within minutes.
She had suffered a fatal heart attack.
But when the police searched her belongings...
Her identification had vanished.
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It was as if she had never existed.
Except for the key now resting in Juliette's trembling hand.
