Chapter 14 - The Missing Woman's NameThe woman buried beneath Julianne's headstone finally had a name.
Donna Pike.
Thirty-one years old.
Reported missing three days before Julianne's accident.
Donna had been living in a shelter outside Providence after leaving an abusive boyfriend.
No relatives had claimed her.
Her disappearance received little attention.
Dental comparison confirmed the identification.
Adrian felt sick.
Someone had taken a woman the world was unlikely to search for and turned her into Julianne Mercer.
Emma insisted they find Donna's surviving family.
They located a younger sister in Ohio.
Rachel Pike flew to Boston.
When Adrian told her the truth, Rachel wept.
“For twenty-four years I thought she just disappeared.”
Adrian apologized.
Rachel shook her head.
“You didn't put her there.”
“Someone using my family's power did.”
He offered to pay for Donna's reburial.
Rachel agreed on one condition.
“Her name goes on the stone.”
“It will.”
As they left, Emma remained behind.
Rachel asked:
“You're Julianne's daughter?”
Emma nodded.
Rachel studied the ring.
“Then both our families lost women because somebody decided they didn't matter.”
Emma never forgot that sentence.
The mystery was no longer merely about finding her mother.
Donna Pike deserved justice too.
The following morning, Adrian received an encrypted email.
One sentence.
STOP DIGGING OR ANOTHER WOMAN WILL END UP IN THE WRONG GRAVE.
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Attached was a photograph.
Emma leaving her apartment.
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