“What do you mean?” Darla leaned forward, keeping herself open to show as much of herself and retain innocence.
“Well, the shooter knew a lot of details about you, personal details. We think he had been stalking you for a while and singled out your group today. The men you were with were the only victims, and with everything he told us, it seems he has been obsessed with you for quite some time,” John continued.
Darla relaxed. “Well, I am glad the police arrived when they did. There is no telling what he would have done to me if successful with his plan.”
My secret is still safe.
“Right, well if you remember ever seeing him lurking around in your past, please contact me at the station. We have enough on him to keep him locked away for a long time, but any additional charges we can put on him will ensure he gets no chance of parole.” Johnson tipped his hat as he stood.
Wagner closed his notebook and returned it to the pocket it came from, and the two men made their way to the door.
“We truly are sorry for your loss, and please let us know if we can assist you with anything.” Johnson opened the door.
Darla considered for a moment asking for their help with retrieving the vault key that would allow her to access the VanHugh fortune. But a precinct full of men made her uneasy.
I have learned that men hold all the power,she thought.Then again, they always have.
Darla put her hand on the open door allowing the officers to pass through and for her to close and lock it behind them.
She sighed in relief that they were gone. This was by far the most complicated switching yet, and she knew that she would need to be more careful if she were to make another switch in the future.
The past ones worked pretty seamlessly since the other party involved were able to disappear so to speak. Now that the accusation was out in the world, she knew more in-depth planning would need to take place for anyone she needed to take the place of.
After climbing into bed, she allowed the soft sheets to caress her youthful skin. She yawned as her body physically reacted to the late hour and from the traumatic events of the day.
“I’ll take Meg up on her offer. Then I will go to the key location, then off to the bank to claim what is rightfully mine,” Darla whispered softly into the dark as she drifted peacefully to sleep.
Meg and Darla rodein silence on the way to the park the next morning. Darla was thankful for it. She wasn’t in the mood to converse in a menial way. Her head ached from tossing and turning all night.
What began as a peaceful night of sleep turned into nightmares as the faces of those in her past jumped and danced around changing from one person to the next in a mutilating fashion.
She was deep in thought on how she would handle getting to the VanHugh fortune. The war on the horizon had left the VanHugh corporation in a state of stalemate.
Their orders were business as usual, but with war efforts, the government was attempting to secure new contracts, and no one was authorized to execute them on behalf of the company.
It was going to be a struggle to be taken seriously once she did lay claim, being the tender age of twenty years old.
They arrived at the park in less than fifteen minutes, and thankfully Meg pulled right up to Darla’s car so that she wouldn’t have to try and guess which one was hers. She had very little details about the new life she had stepped into, and the sooner she could take her place in the inheritance, the sooner it would be accepted that she had little knowledge about her life.
“Darla,” Meg put her hand on Darla’s arm as she made her way to exit the vehicle. “I really am sorry about everything you went through yesterday. You know, us librarians are our own little family. If there is anything at all you need, please let me know.”
Darla smiled softly at the old woman who offered condolences to the wrong person.
“Thank you, I will,” Darla replied before opening the car door all the way to get out.
The sun was bright, unaware of the horrors that unfolded just one day before at the same place she was now at. She took a deep breath before putting the car key to the door.
She had never learned how to drive, but she hoped that she had watched her previous driver enough to know how it was done.
The car unlocked easily. She wasn’t sure why she thought it might reject her, as if it knew she was a fraud. She climbed in quickly and placed her hands on the wheel. Darla didn’t make much money, but she seemed to own quite an array of nice belongings.
She reached over to grab her purse from the passenger seat, a thought suddenly striking her, and shuffled through until she found her wallet. Inside was the checkbook and deposit slips. Luckily, it was the same bank she did business with in her previous life. The checkbook balance page showed that her bank account held just under $900,000 dollars.
The amount itself didn’t shock her. The VanHugh fortune, estate, and company altogether amounted to over $50 million. She was shocked to see this amount for a lowly librarian, though.
She flipped back through until she found where a large deposit had been made, and she thought back to how the old Darla reacted when asked about her parents.
Must have been an inheritance from them.
