No Man of Her Own

Helen had no money, was eight months pregnant, and had just been abandoned by her boyfriend Stephen. When she was pulled from the wreckage, authorities assumed she was Patrice Harkness, the wealthy woman who died in the crash. Rather than reveal the truth and return to her desperate situation, Helen chose to assume Patrice's identity to give her child a stable life with the Harkness family.

Stephen Morley's girlfriend killed him, not Helen. When Helen went to Stephen's office with a gun intending to confront him about the blackmail, she found him already dead on his bed. She fired her weapon in panic, but investigators later determined her bullet missed him entirely and was found in his mattress. A differently calibered bullet was the actual cause of death.

Bill was in love with Helen and wanted to protect her from the consequences of the confrontation, even though she had not actually killed Stephen. Despite knowing she had gone to Stephen's office with a weapon, Bill chose to help conceal the evidence and protect her from being implicated in a murder she didn't commit.

Bill's mother wrote a letter claiming she had killed Stephen Morley, even though she had not. She gave the letter to the maid with instructions to deliver it to Helen only if the police came for her. The letter was intended to protect Helen by providing a false confession that could shield her from murder charges.

After tracking Helen down following the train crash, Stephen discovered she was alive and living under Patrice Harkness's identity. Rather than exposing her, he used the information to blackmail her, demanding $500 and insisting they marry so he could control her and profit from her new life with the Harkness family.

The Harkness family desperately wanted to believe Patrice had survived the crash. They were grieving Hugh Harkness's death and welcomed the possibility that his wife had lived. They rationalized Helen's memory lapses and personality differences as effects of the trauma, and their generosity quickly became protective and possessive of her.

Helen gave birth to her baby in the hospital shortly after the crash, while still assuming Patrice's identity. The child remained with Helen as she lived with the Harkness family, becoming a central reason she chose to maintain the deception. The baby symbolized her second chance at life.

Three months after Stephen's death, police reopened the case when his body was discovered. They found the conspicuous check Helen had given him during the blackmail, which linked her to him. This evidence prompted investigators to pursue the murder investigation that eventually led to Helen's interrogation and confession.

The exact motivation of Stephen's girlfriend is not detailed in the summary, but she was identified as the actual shooter when investigators revealed that Helen's bullet caliber did not match the one that killed Stephen. Her involvement became key evidence that cleared Helen of the murder charge.

Helen believed she had killed Stephen because she went to his office with a gun and fired the weapon, even though she found him already dead. Faced with police interrogation and the mounting evidence, she confessed hoping it would provide some protection. Her confession was ultimately unnecessary since the true shooter was Stephen's girlfriend.