The Forgotten Murmurs

"Val!" Nicolas's voice cut through my nightmare. "You're screaming."

I jolted up in bed. "The crash—I saw—"

"What crash?"

"Nothing. Just a dream."

The bathroom mirror flickered between faces.

"Look at yourself," Adrian's voice echoed in my head. "Playing pretend in my sister's body."

A child's voice called from down the hall. "Mama!"

The twins stood in their cribs, pointing.

"Tía Val says hello," they said together.

Elena backed toward the door. "Señora, something's not right with them."

"What do you mean?"

"The way they speak together. The things they know." She crossed herself. "I need to make a call."

"Stay right there."

"I'm sorry, Señora. This can't wait." Her heels clicked away.

In the kitchen, whispers followed.

"Did you see her face this morning?" Maria asked another maid.

"Shh, she'll hear you."

"She's changed since the accident."

The coffee cup slipped. Blood dripped from my cut hand.

"Here," Nicolas appeared with a towel. "Let me—"

His touch sparked a vision. The garden. A secret meeting.

"You saw that," he grabbed my arm. "How?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't lie." His grip tightened. "What's happening to you?"

"Nothing. Let go."

"You're not her anymore, are you?"

A noise from the library interrupted us. Elena stood at Valentina's desk.

"Looking for something?" I asked.

She jumped. "Just organizing old papers."

"In my private desk?"

"Señora Salvatore, your memory loss concerns us all."

"Us?"

"The family."

Books suddenly flew from shelves. Elena ran.

That evening, Adrian studied me over dinner.

"You seem different," he said.

"How so?"

His phone buzzed again.

"Aren't you going to answer that?"

"Just business." He smiled coldly. "How are the twins?"

"They miss their aunt."

His hand tightened on his glass. "Interesting choice of words."

In the garage, Dr. Ruiz passed me an envelope.

"The brake lines were cut," she whispered. "And these marks—"

"Defensive wounds?"

"She fought someone before the crash."

The basement archive held more secrets. Valentina's journal burned in my hands.

"The DNA test confirms it," I read aloud. "The baby isn't—"

Screams interrupted from above. I ran to the nursery.

Elena stood over the cribs with holy water.

"Get away from them!"

"Testing their sensitivity," she said. "Like their mother's."

"Out. Now."

In the courtyard, Nicolas found me.

"I've been seeing things," he confessed. "Since you came back."

"What things?"

Gravel crunched.

"Hide," he pulled me into shadows.

Adrian walked past with a woman carrying a camera.

The security room footage showed the truth. Elena's pendant glinted as she sabotaged the car.

Dawn broke as I laid out the evidence.

"Seven days," I told Valentina's reflection. "Until the C-section."

"You'll both die again," her voice whispered in my head.

"Not this time."

"They're watching."

"Let them."

"The twins know."

"They'll be protected."

"Nicolas suspects."

"He can help."

"If you tell him—"

"I know. I'll lose everything."

"Again."

The mirror cracked between us.

"When did you first know?" Nicolas's voice came from the doorway.

I spun around. "Know what?"

"That you weren't the same." He stepped closer. "That you weren't her."

"I am her."

"No." His fingers traced the cracked mirror. "My wife never spoke to reflections."

"Your wife kept secrets."

"Like the DNA test?"

My breath caught. "You knew?"

"I suspected." He pulled out a folded paper. "Found this in her old coat."

"When?"

"The day before the accident." His jaw tightened. "The day she was supposed to meet me here."

"To tell you about—"

"The baby." He pressed his hand against my stomach. "Our baby."

The touch sent another vision crashing through us both.

"Stop fighting it," he whispered. "Show me what you see."

Valentina's memory flooded in: "Nicolas, the baby—it's yours. Adrian knows. Elena's been watching. They're going to—"

The vision cut off as someone knocked.

"Señor Salvatore?" Elena's voice carried through the door. "Adrian requests your presence."

"Now?"

"It's about the twins' protection ceremony."

Nicolas's eyes met mine. "What ceremony?"

"The one Adrian suggested," Elena answered. "For their safety."

"Tell him I'll be there shortly."

Footsteps retreated.

"Don't let them near the twins," I grabbed his arm. "The water she used—it wasn't holy."

"What was it?"

"A test. For abilities they inherited."

"From their mother?"

"From their real father."

His phone buzzed. Dr. Ruiz's message lit up the screen: "Second autopsy report found. Meeting in 20."

"Go," I pushed him toward the door. "I'll watch the twins."

"Isabella—" He froze.

"What did you call me?"

"Valentina." He corrected quickly. "I said Valentina."

But his eyes held recognition.

In the twins' room, Sofia gripped my hand.

"Mama's not mama," she whispered.

Luna nodded. "But she's ours now."

"Better than before," Sofia added.

"Smarter," Luna agreed.

"Stronger."

"Safer."

"How do you know?" I knelt between them.

They touched my face together. "We see both of you."

A shadow moved in the hallway.

"Someone's listening," Luna warned.

Sofia pointed to the closet. "Hide."

Elena's voice drifted in. "The girls are special, Adrian. Like their real father."

"Nicolas doesn't know?"

"About his abilities? Or about being their father?"

"Either."

"Valentina never told him." Elena laughed softly. "She died first."

"And now?"

"Now we have a problem." Keys jingled. "She's not who she seems."

"Explain."

"The twins sense it. And if they do—"

"Handle it."

"The protection ceremony?"

"Tonight." Adrian's footsteps moved away. "Make it look natural."

"And Nicolas?"

"Let him watch his family die. Again."

The closet door creaked as they left.

My phone lit up. Nicolas: "Autopsy shows poison. Same type used on—"

The message cut off.

Another text followed: "Don't drink anything they offer. Getting proof now."

The twins clutched my hands.

"They're coming back," Sofia whispered.

"With the bad water," Luna added.

"Like before."

"When real mama—"

"Enough." I pulled them close. "No one's dying tonight."

"Promise?"

Valentina's voice echoed in my head: "You can't save them alone."

"I'm not alone," I whispered back.

Her presence stirred. "Then let me help."

"How?"

The twins gasped as my reflection shifted.

"Like this," Valentina's voice came from my lips.

Power surged through us both—past and present, two souls sharing one body, driven by the same fierce need to protect.

Nicolas burst in. "The ceremony—it's a trap. They're going to—"

He stopped, staring at my changed face.

"I know," Valentina and I spoke together. "We're ready."

His eyes widened with understanding. "Both of you?"

"Yes."

"Then let's end this."

The twins smiled in unison. "Finally."

Thunder cracked outside as night fell.

Elena's heels clicked down the hall, bringing death disguised as protection.

But this time, we were waiting.