“I’m not Harper. You’ve got the wrong person, ma’am!” Brenda bumps into a woman who looks just like her late son’s wife. She visits her son’s grave in the cemetery, but things get complicated when she stumbles upon her daughter-in-law’s grave a few feet away. Brenda meets with her son’s best friend, Jake, looking for answers. But when he starts acting suspiciously, Brenda devises a plan to unravel the mystery.
“My precious boy… I’m finally going to see you, darling,” whispered Brenda, 60, through tears, holding close to her heart the framed photo of her late son, Christopher.
Deprived of the presence of her only son, Brenda lived tormented by the memories of her beloved son, who had died in a tragic accident a year ago.
Bearing the weight of a grief beyond words, Brenda prepared to get off at the subway station in the new city. The heartbroken mother had traveled hundreds of miles alone to visit her son’s grave that day…
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Christopher was only 27 when fate snatched him away, leaving Brenda facing an endless abyss of grief. When he disappeared, Brenda’s world was shrouded in darkness, and her health began to decline.
She was rushed to the hospital for rigorous treatment and therapy. And after spending 12 agonizing months in the clinic, Brenda arrived in the city where Christopher had lived, died, and been buried.
Wiping away her tears, Brenda stepped off the subway car and onto the platform. A small flower kiosk nestled in the bustling train station caught her eye.
Determined to buy flowers for Christopher’s grave, Brenda approached the stall and chose a bouquet of white roses.
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“Thank you, dear! Please keep the change,” Brenda smiled as she took the bouquet of flowers.
As Brenda headed for the exit, a familiar face emerged from the crowd, stopping her in her tracks. It was a young woman who looked remarkably like her widowed daughter-in-law, Harper, whom Brenda had planned to meet after visiting the cemetery.
Brenda looked closely and was convinced it was indeed her daughter-in-law, heading somewhere from the subway station. So she hurried to follow the young woman to surprise her.
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“Harper! Harper, darling… wait… it’s me, Brenda!” She walked as fast as she could, waving her hand. “Harper? Just wait a minute!” She patted the woman’s shoulder from behind and gasped.
The young woman stopped and turned around, startled. “Harper? I’m not Harper. You’ve got the wrong person, ma’am.” She said goodbye arrogantly and pulled Brenda’s hand away.
“Aren’t you Harper? But how is that possible? You look a lot like my son’s wife,” Brenda said, disheartened.
“That’s enough, ma’am. I’m not Harper. I have to go…” The woman said abruptly to Brenda. Before Brenda could understand what was happening, the girl turned and hurried away.
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“How strange!” Brenda thought. ” My eyes can’t be deceiving me. It’s Harper! She has the same eyes… the same hair color… and the same voice.”
“Hey! Wait… Harper! We need to talk…”
But by then, the lady had already slipped away into the crowd, and Brenda couldn’t catch her. With a deep sigh, Brenda walked over to a taxi stand outside the station and hailed one to go to the cemetery.
“Does she really hate me that much?” Brenda wondered as she settled into the back seat. “Why is Harper avoiding me… and pretending not to know me at all? What did I do to her?” The encounter on the subway haunted her the entire ride.
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“Ma’am… we’ve arrived,” said the taxi driver as he stopped at the cemetery gate, pulling Brenda out of her thoughts.
She got out of the taxi, her gaze fixed on the gate, and turned to the driver. “Please wait here… I won’t be long.” With a deep, painful sigh, Brenda entered the cemetery, flowers in hand.
The silence was unsettling as Brenda cautiously made her way along the row of graves, searching for Christopher’s final resting place. A wave of emotion washed over her as she approached his grave and knelt with the flowers.
“My baby… Oh, Christopher. Mommy’s here… I came to see you…” Brenda burst into tears as she ran her trembling hands over Christopher’s headstone. Suddenly, a wave of disbelief washed over Brenda as her gaze shifted to another grave located right next to Christopher’s.
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The epitaph engraved on the tombstone horrified Brenda, and she couldn’t believe her eyes when she read the words:
“In loving memory of
Harper C.
January 8, 1995 – December 3, 2020
Always loved, always missed.
Rest in peace.
“Oh my God… Harper… my Chris’s wife… she passed away a week ago? How come nobody told me?” Brenda exclaimed, unable to believe what she was seeing.
A disturbing question immediately arose in her mind: “If Harper is dead, who was the girl on the subway?”
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Brenda was pulled from her thoughts when she heard someone raking dry leaves not far from her son’s grave. It was the cemetery groundsman. As soon as Brenda saw him, she went over to him, hoping he might know something about Harper’s funeral.
“Excuse me,” Brenda said, hurrying toward the man, who stopped and looked at her. “Do you know anything about the funeral of the woman buried there?” she asked, pointing toward Harper’s grave.
The man raised an eyebrow. “Are you referring to the new tomb over there… next to the one with the huge cross?”
“Yes, that’s the one I mean… Do you know how she died? Can you tell me about the funeral… or if you know anything about all this?”
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With a casual flick of his lighter, the man lit a cigarette and sighed, exhaling a puff of smoke into the air. “Oh, yeah! I know… the funeral was last week. It was pretty strange.”
“Strange?” Brenda frowned doubtfully.
“Yes… There weren’t many people. Just the funeral home employees. They simply brought the coffin. They buried it. And immediately left after cementing a simple headstone. It wasn’t even a proper funeral.”
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“That’s strange…” Brenda murmured. “Did anyone visit her grave after that? I mean… her friends. Or anyone who knew her?”
“No, ma’am… not that I know of,” the man replied. “I work here all day. My house is nearby… see that shack? That’s where I live. I keep an eye on the cemetery all the time. As far as I know, no one has ever visited that woman’s grave.”
“Okay… thanks,” Brenda said and turned away. Nothing made sense to her.
Curious to unravel what had happened to her daughter-in-law and caused her mysterious death, Brenda decided to meet with Jake, her late son’s best friend and business partner, who lived in the same city. After spending some time at her son’s grave, Brenda immediately took a taxi to Jake’s house.
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“I’m coming… just a moment!” a faint voice echoed from the other side of the door after Brenda rang the doorbell. She stood anxiously at Jake’s door and sighed, recognizing his voice.
Moments later, the door burst open and Jake froze. He was taken aback to see his best friend’s mother unexpectedly standing in his doorway, smiling at him.
“Mrs. Sutton?” Jake exclaimed.
Brenda nodded with a warm smile. “Hi, honey! How are you? I just arrived in town this morning… I visited Christopher’s grave. And I thought I’d pay you a surprise visit.”
“I’m fine… um… come in, please,” Jake said, stepping aside and opening the door fully, gesturing for Brenda to enter. For some reason, Jake was nervous and unusually surprised by her unexpected visit, and Brenda could sense his unease.
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When she walked in, she saw luggage in the living room. There was a half-packed suitcase, and she immediately turned to Jake.
“Mrs. Sutton! I’m so glad you came,” she said. “I was just packing.”
“Packing your bags? Are you going somewhere?” Brenda asked.
“Uh, yeah… I’m moving out of this state, Mrs. Sutton. It’s been a tough year since Chris died,” Jake said, a strange disappointment and concern etched on his face.
“The company is bankrupt… I have nothing left to do here. So I decided to sell this house and move somewhere far away from all the mess I’ve been dealing with.”
“What do you mean the company’s going bankrupt, Jake?” Brenda raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on? I saw Harper’s grave next to my son’s. I had no idea Harper had passed away. No one told me anything. You could have at least called, couldn’t you? And that’s what brought me here. Tell me… what happened to my daughter-in-law? How did she die?”
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“Well, you know…” Jake said, his tone tinged with disappointment. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Sutton. I can no longer manage this business. The company’s downfall and the death of your daughter-in-law, Harper, are connected.”
“I don’t understand… What do you mean?” Brenda asked, dreading the answer.
“Look, Mrs. Sutton, I… I didn’t want to upset you. After Chris passed away, you were very distraught and heartbroken. And later, I learned that you would be spending a year in the hospital. I decided not to tell you anything. I… I was afraid that your condition would worsen if you found out about the company’s financial crisis and what Harper did,” Jake said, further tormenting Brenda.
“What’s wrong, Jake? Please tell me. What did he do? I want to know everything.”
Jake took a deep breath. “Well, after Chris died, the company passed into Harper’s hands. But she refused to run it because she didn’t know anything about the business. So, by mutual agreement, I took over running the company because I was already Chris’s partner.”
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“To be honest, the company’s business hit rock bottom after his son’s death. We were already on the verge of bankruptcy. That’s when Harper stepped in. He suggested looking for investors and taking out loans to revive the company,” Jake explained.
“But… you said Harper refused to get involved in the business,” Brenda stated, raising her suspicion.
“I know, Mrs. Sutton. But we were all desperate to find a solution. We wanted to save the company. So we went along with Harper’s idea. But just a week ago, it all fell apart. Harper withdrew five million dollars and fled the city. It was the loan money. It was very stupid of her… because the police started looking for her all over town.”
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Brenda gasped in disbelief. “Oh my God! I can’t believe it. Did Harper steal the loan money?”
She was furious with her daughter-in-law. It was too hard to accept that her late son’s wife had destroyed all his hard work after his death.
“I know, Mrs. Sutton. We never expected you to betray us like that. But you paid the price for your betrayal,” Jake added.
“What do you mean?” Brenda became anxious.
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Pouring hot coffee into Brenda’s cup, Jake then revealed the tragedy that had struck that part of town a week earlier. “The police discovered a burned-out car that had crashed into a cliff near the woods. It was Harper’s car. It then came to light that Harper had been in a tragic accident on the way there and had died instantly.”
“What? Oh my God…” Brenda exclaimed, shocked.
“The car burned due to the impact of the collision. The police were only able to recover the completely charred body of a woman with Harper’s gold pendant engraved with the ‘H’. There were charred remains of one hundred dollar bills. The rest of the money had burned completely… and the case was closed as an accidental death.”
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“Jesus… Harper ruined everything. But wait… what about Christopher’s hard work? It doesn’t make sense that the company went bankrupt after his death. I know my son worked very hard for this company. There had to be some way to save it.”
“I understand your frustration, Mrs. Sutton,” Jake said. “Chris’s contributions were invaluable. But you see… circumstances spiraled out of control. And whatever Harper did, he paid a heavy price for it. But his funeral was held with dignity. Many guests attended. Even some of his friends. Everyone mourned his tragic death… despite the evil he did to us all.”
“Harper’s funeral?” Brenda began to suspect. She remembered the cemetery gardener telling her that no one had attended Harper’s funeral. Something seemed incredibly suspicious to Brenda. Jake’s anxiety and restlessness, coupled with his sudden decision to leave town, only fueled her doubts.
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“When does your flight leave, Jake?” Brenda broke Jake’s silence.
“Early tomorrow morning… at 6 a.m.,” he said.
Brenda nodded, and a plan formed in her mind. “Well, do you mind if I spend the night here?” she asked. “I don’t know much about this place… I’m a little hesitant about renting a hotel room alone for tonight.”
Jake remained thoughtful for a moment while Brenda stared intently into his eyes. “Oh, well… Of course, Mrs. Sutton! This is the guest room… Make yourself at home,” he replied.
“Alright, then! I’m exhausted, darling. I just want to call it a night. Goodnight, Jake. See you in the morning,” Brenda said as she headed to the bedroom.
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She turned off the lights in the guest room, but didn’t go to sleep. Instead, she waited anxiously for the lights in Jake’s room to go out so she could go out and look for a clue—anything—that might help her piece things together.
That same night, she quietly entered Jake’s room and found him fast asleep. With a heavy sigh, Brenda went to the living room, where Jake kept his luggage.
She meticulously searched through Jake’s belongings. Her hands trembled with a mixture of anxiety and fear. What if Jake pretended to be asleep? What if he caught her snooping? The consequences haunted Brenda. But she was determined to stop at nothing to uncover the truth.
At the stroke of midnight, Brenda’s search for the truth turned into her worst nightmare when her hands rummaged through the depths of the luggage. She discovered two fake passports hidden in a secret compartment.
“Sarah? Oh, really? Who are you trying to fool, Harper?” Brenda was stunned when one of the passports contained a photograph of her daughter-in-law, Harper, supposedly “dead,” but with a completely different name. Her astonishment grew when she picked up the other passport.
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“John?” Brenda’s face twisted with suspicion as she revealed Jake’s photograph with a different name.
Brenda was extremely worried. “Fake passports? What’s going on here? Are they involved in something deeper… something I can’t even imagine?” Then she discovered two plane tickets to London booked under false names.
A strange feeling coursed through Brenda’s gut. She realized that Jake and his accomplice Sarah, who was actually Harper, were up to something dirty. Something had to be done.
He quickly put the luggage back in its place and hurried to the pharmacy at the end of the nearby street.
“Excuse me… could you give me something strong to help me sleep?” Brenda asked the pharmacist, and minutes later she returned to Jake’s house with the pills.
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When Jake rushed downstairs at 5 a.m. to get ready to leave for the airport, he found Brenda already in the kitchen.
“Good morning, Jake! I made you breakfast, dear. Sit down and enjoy it before you leave on your trip,” Brenda said with a warm smile.
“Thank you, Mrs. Sutton. You’ve been very kind…” Jake sat down as Brenda tried to hide her nervousness.
“Here’s your orange juice!”, he placed a glass on the table.
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“Ah… I desperately needed something cold. My head’s been hurting since last night,” Jake took a sip. “It tastes good… uhm… good…”
About ten minutes later, he started yawning and looked at Brenda. “That’s weird… I suddenly feel a little dizzy,” he said as Brenda smiled wickedly.
She had added sleeping pills to Jake’s juice because she knew it was the only way to bring the truth to light.
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“Are you feeling okay, Jake? Maybe you should lie down and rest for a while,” Brenda said.
Struggling to keep his eyes open, Jake yawned and agreed. Another ten minutes later, he was fast asleep on the couch, just as Brenda had wanted.
She paced back and forth, waiting for the next thing to happen. “Why is she taking so long? It’s five thirty,” Brenda murmured quietly. She knew Harper couldn’t fly without a passport and plane ticket.
So she kept staring at Jake’s phone on the table, waiting for Harper to call or text. Suddenly, Jake’s phone rang, breaking the stillness of the room.
But the phone on the table wasn’t the one ringing. Brenda was puzzled as she listened intently to the ringing. It was coming from Jake’s backpack pocket.
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It rang for the seventh time, the caller’s name, “Sarah,” flashing on the screen. But Brenda never answered. Finally, a message notification appeared on the screen.
“How could you fall asleep, you idiot?”
“Did you forget that today is the flight to London?”
“I’m going to take a taxi and come to your house right now.”
“Come… I’m waiting for you… HARPER!” Brenda smiled wickedly as she hid behind the front door, waiting for her daughter-in-law’s arrival.
About thirty minutes later, Brenda looked through the peephole and saw a taxi pull up outside. She knew it was time to call the police.
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“Hello… I’m calling to report a robbery… yes, I’ll give you the address…”, Brenda gave the dispatcher Jake’s address and some other details.
“Of course, ma’am. Help is on the way,” the operator said.
The door creaked open and Harper walked in. Brenda couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw her face. It was her daughter-in-law, very much alive.
“Jake! Are you kidding me? It’s not time to sleep. We’re going to be late. Get up!” Harper barked at an unconscious Jake lying on the sofa. It was then that a familiar voice spoke from behind her, startling her.
“ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMEONE, HARPER?” Brenda said, striking Harper hard on the head with a vase as soon as he turned around.
A startled Harper collapsed to the floor and lost consciousness. Moments later, Brenda heard police sirens outside Jake’s house and rushed out.
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“Good heavens, officer! Thank you for coming,” Brenda rushed to say to the sheriff.
“Someone reported a break-in and robbery at this address,” the police officer said.
“Oh, it’s me. You have to see this… please come with me,” Brenda said as she hurried inside and pulled the two fake passports and plane tickets out of Jake’s bag.
“Fake passports? We know you… but we thought you died in the car accident a week ago… And you are?” the agent turned to Brenda.
“I am his mother-in-law… she is the wife of my late son,” Brenda said sadly.
Jake and Harper were put in the ambulance and taken to the hospital. Later, they were taken to the police station for questioning.
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“Jake, you can’t hide the truth anymore. We have proof. It’s time to confess. Tell me… where is the $5 million?” the detective asked Jake in the interrogation room.
But Jake refused to confess. “There’s nothing to say… I don’t know anything,” he argued. Meanwhile, Harper decided to confess when he learned that his sentence could be reduced if he told the truth.
“We bribed a morgue employee and stole the body of a dead homeless woman. We put the body, along with my gold chain, in the driver’s seat of my car… and poured gasoline on it. We set the car on fire, burning the body with it… then we rammed the car from behind, sending it tumbling down the cliff to make it look like an accident.”
“And what about the money they stole?” the detective stared intently into Harper’s eyes.
“The five million has already been transferred to our new bank accounts… we thought everything was covered… the new passports, the bank accounts, the flight… Jake and I thought we could get away with it. But…” Harper paused and collapsed, burying his head in his handcuffed hands.
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