Caleb, a wealthy businessman, stumbles upon his office cleaner who bears a striking resemblance to his late mother, who was thought dead for 28 years. When a DNA test reveals the woman to be his biological mother, Caleb decides to seek answers from his father, who had lied to him about her death.
It was a busy Monday morning. Caleb, 29, was sitting in his office, looking at his company’s annual report on his laptop. Suddenly, a cleaning lady, a woman in her 50s, walked in with cleaning supplies.
“Excuse me, sir… I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to bother you. I’m going to mop the floor in five minutes,” she said, as Caleb looked up and experienced the greatest shock of his life: the woman before him bore an uncanny resemblance to his late mother, who had died 28 years earlier…
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“My God… that’s incredible,” Caleb exclaimed. “It’s okay… come in, please,” he said, his gaze stalking the woman as he moved through the office. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before… but your face looks very familiar.”
The woman smiled and turned around. “My name is Michelle, sir. I started working here recently. This town is pretty small… maybe you’ve seen me somewhere. But I only moved here two weeks ago.”
“I’m Caleb,” he said, his eyebrows furrowing in suspicion. “Michelle, I don’t understand why I get this strange feeling when I see your face… but maybe it’s true,” he added as he picked up his coffee cup, only to accidentally spill it on his laptop.
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“Damn it… not again!” Caleb jumped back.
“Don’t worry, sir… I’ll clean it up for you,” Michelle dropped the mop and hurried over to Caleb’s desk to clean up the mess. She rolled up her sleeves and began wiping down the laptop with a rag. It was then that Caleb’s eyes fell on a peculiar scar on her left arm.
“There you go… your computer is clean!” Michelle said as she turned to Caleb.
“This scar… Wow, how did you get it?” he asked.
“Oh, this scar…? Well, you might think this is strange. But I don’t remember anything that happened to me over twenty years ago. I have amnesia… I don’t even remember my name. When I saw the name ‘Michelle’ on a billboard, I adopted it as my own… and I don’t remember how I got this scar.”
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Caleb’s heart started racing. “What about your relatives… and friends?” he asked Michelle, simultaneously looking at his left arm with the oval burn mark.
“I have no one!” Michelle said, disappointed. “No one came looking for me in all these years… Not even when I was in the hospital. I was living a nomadic life, and I finally found a job here, in this city.”
A strange feeling crept into Caleb’s gut. He knew he was entertaining a strange theory. But Michelle’s scar and her uncanny resemblance to his dead mother stirred his emotions. “Michelle, you won’t believe this. But you look a lot like my late mother, whom I’d only ever seen in an old photograph,” he revealed.
“What? I look like your late mother? Oh, wow… really?” Michelle stopped dead in her tracks.
“Yeah… you look a lot like my mom… she died 28 years ago, according to my dad,” Caleb replied. “She had the exact same scar you have. I know this is going to sound crazy. But can we go to the hospital and get a DNA test done together? I don’t know why I’m even saying this… but something’s bothering me. Something doesn’t seem right… And I want to find out if anything’s off…”
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Michelle thought for a few seconds. Like Caleb, she was curious to find out if they were related and agreed to take the test with him.
As they drove to the City Hospital in Caleb’s car, a gloomy, deathly silence reigned between them. On one hand, Caleb was worried about getting a positive result. He knew he’d have to figure out a lot of things and tie up a lot of loose ends if Michelle turned out to be his biological mother.
“But what if I’m just assuming things?” Caleb thought. “What if it’s just a coincidence… what if my mom is really dead… and Michelle isn’t my biological mother and is just her doppelganger?”
As Caleb drove down the busy highway and stopped in the middle of heavy traffic, he stared at Michelle in the rearview mirror, her eyes eerily familiar.
Something in her eyes compelled Caleb to delve into his memories. He sat back behind the wheel, recalling the fateful day he made a heartbreaking discovery about his mother while repairing the roof with his father, William…
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12 years ago, when Caleb was 17…
“And… like that! Look! Just turn the claw hammer and pull out the rotten board!” Caleb’s father, William, was showing him how to get rid of old, rotten wooden planks. That Saturday afternoon, they were making minor repairs around the house together.
“That was a good plank… it’s firewood!” William said as he gathered all the worn-out planks from the lawn. Caleb was bored with the endless repairs his father taught him every weekend.
“Dad, why can’t we hire some carpenters?” he smiled contentedly. “…and pay them to do all this stuff? It’s so tiring…and boring.”
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William chuckled as he ripped off another plank. “Champion, if we pay other people money for simple things we can do ourselves, we’ll go broke like your Uncle Dexter. In fact, we’ll get really lazy… again, like your Uncle Dexter! Now back to work… And start ripping up the floorboards in the attic. They need replacing, too.”
“Yes… whatever you want!” Caleb squared his shoulders. He climbed into the attic, and as he pulled back one of the floorboards, he noticed some worn paper underneath.
Curiosity got the better of Caleb, and he picked it up. It was a wrinkled old photograph of an unknown woman holding a baby.
“That’s weird… who’s the woman in this picture? I’ve never seen her before…” Caleb wondered as he turned the photo over and saw a signature on the back that read: “Baby Caleb with mommy. Happy birthday, honey :)”
“Caleb with Mom?” Caleb fretted.
Those words stunned him. It made no sense to mention his name on the back of a photo of a stranger because, first of all, the woman in the photo didn’t look like his mother, Olivia. And besides, she had a strange oval scar on her left arm that Caleb had never seen on his mother, Olivia’s, arm.
Haunted by the unknown, Caleb took the photo and went down to the attic, turning to his father to find out.
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“Dad, what is this? Who is it?” Caleb approached William, who was busy making pencil marks on the new wooden planks.
“What…?” William turned around startled.
“I found this while removing the plank in the attic… Who is it?”
Anxiety flashed across William’s eyes, and his face turned ashen… as if he’d seen a ghost. “Where did you get that?” he asked, unease etched across his face.
“Dad… I asked you what this is. Who is this woman… And what does ‘Caleb with Mom’ mean on the back of this photo? That baby she’s holding… is that me?” Caleb replied.
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William was astonished and took the photo from Caleb’s hands. He looked at it again and again. Unease covered his face, and William knew he could no longer hide the truth from his son.
“Come with me,” he dropped the hammer and marched into the kitchen.
Caleb hurriedly followed his father. William grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and sat at the dining room table, anxiously tapping the glass with his fingers as he looked at his son.
“Caleb, believe me when I tell you this,” William gulped, his tone thick with agony. “All my life… I’ve only wished you well. I… wanted you to be happy… wanted you to grow up to be a successful man… to achieve great things. I… and my wife, Olivia, always wanted the best for you.”
Caleb was desperate to stem the flow of tears. But his eyes betrayed him. “Your wife, Olivia? Does that mean Olivia isn’t my mother?” he asked sadly.
William solemnly bowed his head. His silence answered Caleb’s question. But William was forced to confess the truth that struck Caleb like a thunderbolt. “Yes, dear… Olivia isn’t your real mother. Your biological mother died twenty-eight years ago… I… I’m sorry, son. I didn’t mean…”
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Caleb was paralyzed with shock at the revelation, and the truth seemed to have overturned everything he thought he knew about his mother. “How did she die?” William broke his silence, desperate to know more about his mother’s fate.
“A car accident…” William replied, his voice cracking with grief. “It wasn’t anyone’s fault. Fate betrayed us… and your mother was destined to leave us that day. It was an unfortunate, dark day in my life… one I can never forget. You were just a baby. You needed a mother. I moved on with Olivia not because I wanted a wife. I wanted to bring you a mother.”
Caleb shuddered. But after hearing his father’s words, he took the news like a grown man.
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“Dad… I understand that you wanted the best for me. That you didn’t want me to go through the pain of losing my mother,” she said, placing her hand on William’s shoulder. “But you should have told me sooner… And I would have understood everything.”
William gripped Caleb’s hand tightly, unable to hold back his tears.
“It’s okay, Dad. Can you take me to her grave? I’d like to go there,” Caleb said.
“Of course, darling!” William agreed with a smile. “We’ll go there tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure!” Caleb said and walked away while William gulped down his beer and sat down.
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Caleb and his father arrived at the cemetery the next afternoon. The silence of the graves was eerie as the boy trailed behind his father along the crumbling sidewalk. Suddenly, William stopped before an overgrown grave with the epitaph “Sarah J.” carved into the crumbling headstone.
“Well, hello, Sarah,” William said, lighting a cigarette. “Our son is here… he’s come to visit you!”
Caleb knew it was useless to suppress his emotions. So he let them spill from his eyes. He fell to his knees and sobbed bitterly as his hands brushed against the overgrown headstone.
William walked away toward his car, leaving his son alone at the grave. An hour passed, and Caleb still sat by his mother’s grave, telling her about all the good and bad things that had happened in his life while she was gone.
“Goodbye, Mom,” he stood up to leave. “I’m sorry again. Dad just told me about you. I’m still in shock… I’ll visit you often. I promise.”
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The loud honk of a car behind his SUV brought Caleb back to his senses. Traffic had cleared, and Michelle leaned forward from the back seat to check everything was okay.
“Sir, we’re running late. I think we should move on,” he said.
“Oh, yeah! Yes, Michelle,” Caleb replied. “Sorry. I was just… thinking. We’re almost there.”
“If you really are my mother, that only means one thing: I’ve been visiting the grave of a complete stranger for twelve years,” Caleb thought as he hit the gas and sped toward the hospital.
Two minutes later, he pulled into the hospital parking lot and rushed in with Michelle. He lunged at a nurse at the front desk as Michelle hurried after him.
“Excuse me, nurse… We’d like a maternity DNA test done immediately,” Caleb said. “I want the results as soon as possible. I’m willing to pay any additional amount. It’s urgent. I want the results today.”
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A couple of hours passed as Caleb and Michelle waited anxiously in the waiting room for the test results. “What’s the last thing you remember from your past, Michelle?” he asked, breaking the silence.
Michelle pressed her lips together. “I remember opening my eyes in the woods. A lumberjack said he’d found me floating in the river,” she recounted. “…and then in a hospital… when the doctors told me I had amnesia. And now, this new life!”
Caleb’s mind began to torment him. There were no fragments of his past that Michelle could remember or make peace with. At that moment, the nurse approached them and handed him a file.
“Motherhood rate… 99.99%!” Caleb exclaimed as he read. “That means… you’re my MOTHER!”
She felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. Michelle trembled as Caleb threw himself into her arms and cried. “You’re my mom, Michelle!” Caleb said. “But why did Dad lie to me and tell me you died in an accident back then?” he pondered. “I have an idea. Come with me…” he said as they walked out of the hospital.
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An hour later, Caleb and Michelle were looking out the car window from across William’s mansion. “Are you ready?” he asked her.
“Yes!” she replied.
“Do you remember everything I’ve told you? You know what you have to say to him, right?” Caleb asked.
“Yes, I remember everything. Don’t worry,” Michelle replied with a confident smile and got out of the car. She was nervous, but she gathered her courage as she approached the front door of William’s mansion and knocked.
The door creaked open. “Good evening!” Michelle greeted William, who froze when he saw her.
“Jennifer?” he exclaimed.
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“Jennifer? No, uh, it’s Michelle,” Michelle replied with a giggle. “I’m from Mayflower Cosmetics… I just wanted to offer your wife a gift set valued at $150.”
“What? Are you kidding me? How is that possible?” William retorted, composing his anxiety almost immediately.
Michelle smiled. “Oh, I guess you’ve got me confused with someone else,” she replied confidently. “Maybe we’ve met before… or we’ve seen each other in life that I don’t remember! The thing is, I have amnesia. I don’t remember anything that happened to me over 20 years ago.”
“Amnesia?” William stammered after a long, nervous pause. “Oh, maybe you’re right! I probably mistook you for someone.” Michelle nodded as William looked her up and down. “Doesn’t matter! You just reminded me of an old friend… By the way, I’m William.”
William reached out, and Michelle’s stomach was already churning with fear. “Michelle… like I told you!” She shook William’s hand, and at that moment, he noticed the oval scar on her left arm. He remembered his late wife had a similar scar in the same place.
“No… this can’t be real,” William was terrified as he looked into Michelle’s eyes.
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“Look, Michelle, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything,” William said. “I’m sorry for my behavior. I didn’t mean to seem insensitive, you know. My wife isn’t home right now. Maybe you have something for men?”
“Oh yes, I have!” Michelle replied.
“Great! Hey, can you join me for coffee? I might as well see what you’ve got,” William said, smiling as he invited Michelle over.
“Well, why not?” she exclaimed and followed him inside.
“I was wondering… Michelle, how long have you been in this city?” William asked as Michelle took off her coat and put it on the hanger.
“Two weeks!” she replied. “I don’t know much about this place yet… Oh, can I use the bathroom to wash my hands? I can’t touch cosmetics with greasy hands, and my hands are a little sweaty…”
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“Yeah, right! The bathroom is right there… behind you. Only two weeks?” William said, his eyes glued to Michelle’s every move. “Welcome to our city! I’m sure you and your family will love it here.”
Michelle turned around and smiled. “Oh, thanks! I don’t have any family as such. I live in a small rented house south of Main Street—it’s at the end of that alley. To be honest, the rents here are crazy—landlords have no regard for single women with amnesia!” Michelle joked as she soaped her hands.
William led her into the kitchen, which was eerily dark and quiet. Michelle was uneasy. The gleaming knives on the shelf heightened her fear. But she decided to remain calm, as Caleb had told her.
“Hey, it’s really dark here,” he turned to William. “Do you mind if I turn on the light?”
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“Of course not!” William replied. “The switch is inside the…”
But before he could finish, he saw Michelle open the kitchen cabinet next to the door and flip the light switch. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw her do that.
“Michelle?” William said. “I must say… you have great intuition. None of our guests were able to locate the switch until we told them it was in the closet by the door.”
Michelle stopped dead in her tracks. A strange, unsettling feeling fluttered in the pit of her stomach as she picked up her bag and stepped back. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how this happened. This place feels familiar. I don’t understand how. I guess it’s just another crazy day. I think I should go now.”
“Hey, wait a minute… Come back here…” William ran after Michelle. But when he left his house, he saw her getting into a cheap, old car.
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“Wow, that was close!” Michelle said to Caleb as she settled into the car. “Caleb, it seems that worked! At first, I thought I’d opened the wrong cabinet… but thank goodness I found the light switch!”
“Great! Everything’s going well,” Caleb said. “And don’t worry. I’ll be there before you do. And yes… he’s following you.”
About twenty minutes later, Caleb stopped several yards from Michelle’s house. He saw Michelle get out of the car and get in. Moments later, he saw his father’s car pull up in front of Michelle’s door. After a momentary pause, the car turned around and sped off.
“Mom, do what I say,” Caleb called to Michelle from the car. “I’ll be back in half an hour, okay? Lock all the doors. And don’t forget what I just told you… Tonight is going to be a game changer… and the truth will reveal itself!”
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It was three in the morning. Caleb was sitting in a car borrowed from a friend, waiting quietly across the road from Michelle’s house. The night was still. The high-pitched chirping of crickets broke the silence as Caleb looked around.
Suddenly, bright headlights illuminated the still street, and Caleb saw his father’s car pull up in front of Michelle’s door. He hid his face under his hood and watched William get out of the car.
In the dimly lit night, William cautiously crept into the secluded backyard of Michelle’s house. He looked around. It was eerily quiet and dark, and an open window on the balcony caught his eye.
With a cautious and calculated move, William climbed the pipe leading to the balcony and slipped through the open window. As he entered the bedroom, the soft glow of moonlight illuminated Michelle’s silhouette lying on the bed.
A loud, stifled scream escaped William’s lips as he pulled a gleaming knife from his leather jacket and stealthily approached the bedhead. Aiming for the stomach and chest, William stabbed the figure several times…
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Suddenly, the bedroom door burst open and the lights came on. “You’re under arrest!” Two police officers burst into the bedroom with handcuffs. Michelle escorted them, much to William’s shock.
Wide-eyed and terrified, he turned to the bed, only to realize he was standing on a mass of feathers and cotton. “Wha-No… no, it can’t be…” he exclaimed as he hurriedly lifted the blanket and discovered a chilling sight: beneath it was nothing more than a doll.
“Mr. Anderson, you’re under arrest!” The sheriff handcuffed William and escorted him to the police station. In the intense interrogation room, he finally broke his silence and confessed to the chilling crime he had committed 28 years earlier.
It turned out that Jennifer had found out about William’s affair with his secretary, Olivia. She wanted to file for divorce, but that was the last thing William wanted to happen to her. Afraid of tarnishing his reputation and having to pay alimony and share his assets with Jennifer after the divorce, he decided to get rid of her.
When the opportunity presented itself during a picnic with his family in the woods, William pushed her off a cliff. He breathed a sigh of relief and immediately fled the scene after seeing her body plummet into the river. But unfortunately, William didn’t wait any longer to see Jennifer swept away by the current after miraculously surviving the fatal fall!
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If you liked this story, read this one: The necklace had always been a mystery: half a heart, unmarked, given to me the day I was adopted. But when my stylist froze and whispered that a woman had the other half and would be back in exactly one month, everything I thought I knew began to unravel.
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