The Woman Who Was Never Dead

Chapter six:

“Dad!” I stormed into the house, heart racing, folder still clutched in my hands. “We need to talk. Now.”

He came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel. “Isla, I—”

“You lied to me.” I threw the folder onto the table. “All my life.”

He stared at it. Slowly picked it up. His fingers trembled.

“You knew Scarlett was my mother,” I said, voice sharp. “And you let me think she was dead. That Caroline was—”

“She was your mother in every way that mattered,” he cut in.

“Biologically, no!” I snapped. “You made me live a lie, Dad. Do you have any idea what that does to a person?”

“I did what I had to. Scarlett made me promise—”

“Oh, save it!” I backed away, shaking. “Promise? Or threat? Because this all smells like guilt and secrets.”

“I protected you!” he shouted suddenly. “Scarlett wasn’t safe! She wasn’t good for you!”

“You took away my choice,” I said, quietly now. “You took her away from me.”

He sighed. “She left, Isla. She didn’t want you pulled into her world.”

“But that’s still my choice,” I said.

A heavy silence fell.

Then a knock.

Three slow, deliberate taps.

We both turned toward the door.

“Who—?”

“Stay here,” Dad said, heading for it.

But I followed. My heart pounded as he opened it.

And there she was.

A woman in a long black coat, tall, elegant. Her hair was jet-black, streaked with silver. Eyes sharp as glass.

“Hello, Ron,” she said

Dad froze. “Scarlett.”

I gasped. “You’re… alive?”

She turned her eyes on me.

And I knew.

I knew even before she spoke.

“My daughter,” she whispered. “You look just like I imagined.”

Inside the House – Moments Later

I sat stiffly on the edge of the couch. Scarlett stood near the fireplace, her fingers brushing along the mantel like she owned the place.

“You faked your death?” I said finally.

“I had to,” she replied calmly. “There were people looking for me. Dangerous people. Your father agreed it was best I disappear.”

“Don’t blame this on him,” I snapped. “He lied, yes. But you left.”

“I didn’t have a choice!” Her voice cracked for the first time. “I was pregnant with you when I made my enemies. They wouldn’t have stopped. I had to vanish.”

I shook my head. “And now you’re back. Why?”

Scarlett looked at me with eyes that held too many years of pain.

“Because Liam found the picture. Because your digging woke the past. And now… they know you exist.”

“What do you mean, ‘they’?”

She took a breath. “The people I ran from. The people who wanted me dead. They know about you now, Isla. And they’ll come.”

Dad cursed under his breath. “I told you this would happen.”

“I didn’t come to argue,” Scarlett said, turning to him. “I came to warn her. To protect her.”

“Bit late for that,” I muttered.

Scarlett stepped closer. “You may hate me now. You have every right. But I never stopped loving you. I watched from a distance. I know everything. Your graduation. Your heartbreaks. Liam.”

At his name, my eyes narrowed. “Did you plan that too?”

She blinked. “What?”

“Me and Liam,” I said. “You knew I’d fall for him.”

“No,” she said slowly. “But now I understand why your father hated the idea. You were never supposed to cross paths.”

“Yet we did,” I whispered. “And now everything’s a mess.”

Scarlett stepped forward again. “Let me help you.”

I rose from the couch. “You’re a stranger to me.”

“I’m your mother.”

“No. You’re the ghost of a woman I never knew. You don’t get to walk in after twenty years and claim me.

Scarlett’s lips trembled. “Please—”

“I need time,” I said, backing away. “Time to understand who I even am.”

She nodded slowly. “Then take it. But remember… the storm is coming, Isla. And you’ll need all the truth to survive it.”

Later That Night – Liam’s Mansion

“I met her,” I said as Liam poured me a glass of water.

He paused. “Scarlett?”

“She showed up at the house. Alive. Calm. Like she hadn’t just destroyed my entire life.

He handed me the glass. “And how do you feel?”

“Confused. Angry. Hurt. Every possible emotion at once.”

He sat beside me, careful, quiet.

“She said people are coming,” I added. “That I’m in danger now.”

“She’s not wrong,” Liam said. “Her enemies… were mine too. I tried to leave that world behind.”

“And now I’m being dragged into it.”

He looked at me. “I’ll protect you.”

I met his gaze. “You already are. Even when I don’t know who I am anymore.”

“You’re Isla,” he said gently. “You’re smart. Strong. Beautiful. Fierce. Scarlett’s blood might run through you, but she doesn’t define you.”

For the first time that day, I smiled.

And yet, in the shadows of my mind, one question echoed louder than all—

What if the storm she spoke of… has already begun?

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