Six-year-old Lucas pointed at a homeless woman and whispered:
“Dad… that’s Mom.”
Daniel froze.
His wife, Rebecca, had died in a car accident three years earlier. He had paid for the funeral himself and attended the service beside a closed casket.
“Mom is gone, sweetheart.”
But Lucas insisted.
“It’s her. She used to sing the song about the moon.”
Daniel struggled to breathe.
Rebecca had written that song for their son when he was little. No one else knew it.
Daniel looked more carefully at the woman.
Dirty clothes. Tangled hair. A thin face…
But above her left eyebrow was a scar he knew well.
The woman lifted her head.
“Danny?” she whispered.
Only Rebecca called him that.
Three years earlier, Daniel had never seen his wife’s body. Rebecca’s brother, Mark, had explained that she had been badly injured in the crash and that he had personally arranged a private funeral.
“Rebecca?” Daniel whispered.
The woman burst into tears.
“You weren’t supposed to find me.”
Then she suddenly looked behind him and went pale.
“Daniel, take Lucas and go!”
Daniel turned around.
Standing behind them was Mark, Rebecca’s brother.
The same man who had arranged her funeral three years earlier.
Why had Daniel buried an empty casket?
And what had Mark been hiding all those years?
Daniel stared at him.
Mark stood calmly by the curb.
“Danny, take Lucas home.”
Rebecca flinched at the sound of his voice.
Daniel reacted immediately.
“What did you do? You let me believe I buried my wife!”
“This isn’t the place for this conversation,” Mark replied coldly.
Daniel pulled out his phone.
“I’m calling the police.”
At that moment, Rebecca struggled to her feet.
Lucas walked toward her.
“Mom?”
For a moment, the fear disappeared from her face.
“Oh, sweetheart…”
She dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around her son, sobbing.
Three years.
For three years, Daniel had been telling Lucas that his mother was dead.
“Tell me everything,” he demanded.
Rebecca took a deep breath.
“The crash was real. I woke up two days later in a private clinic. Mark was there. He told me that you and Lucas were dead. He even showed me photographs from what he claimed was your funeral.”
Daniel stared at his brother-in-law in horror.
Suddenly, Mark blurted out:
“You weren’t supposed to survive.”
An icy silence followed.
Mark immediately realized what he had said and stepped back.
“What does that mean?” Daniel asked.
But Rebecca grabbed his arm.
“Don’t go after him. He’s dangerous.”
Mark quickly disappeared into an alley.
Rebecca lowered her voice.
“That’s not all. The crash wasn’t an accident. Mark paid the driver.”
Daniel went pale.
“Why?”
Rebecca looked at Lucas.
“Because I wasn’t the one he wanted to kill. You were.”
Then she pulled an envelope from her old bag.
“I have proof.”
Inside was a photograph.
Daniel looked at it…
And finally understood why Mark had done everything he could to keep Rebecca alive for three years.
