The Woman I Buried Last Week Actually Died Thirty Years Ago

by Natalie Brooks

Claire Vance buried her mother-in-law last Tuesday. Today, the IRS notified her that Evelyn Vance died in 1992. [HOOK] As the invisible accountant for the wealthy Vance family, Claire manages every receipt, every deduction, and every secret. She is the outsider who keeps the empire running while her husband and father-in-law take the credit. She thought she knew where all the bodies were buried. [SETUP] But the tax audit reveals a terrifying anomaly: the woman who raised Claire’s husband, tucked in her grandchildren, and ruled the local charity board was an imposter. Now, Arthur Vance—the powerful patriarch—is watching Claire’s every move. He’s threatened her job, her home, and her children's inheritance if she doesn't make the 'error' disappear. [STAKES] Claire must decide: become the complicit keeper of a thirty-year-old crime, or pull the loose thread that unravels the entire family and reveals the stranger she’s been calling 'Mom.' [CLIFFHANGER]