Mara did not offer her hand.
Daniel did not reach for hers.
They stood across the room studying each other with the uneasy recognition of strangers who shared something neither could name.
Finally Daniel said, "You knew me when I was a child."
Mara nodded.
"Once."
"Where?"
"At St. Agnes."
"I wasn't there."
"You were."
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
She had gone pale.
Mara noticed.
"She never told you."
"No."
"Of course not."
Evelyn stepped forward.
"Mara, listen—"
"No."
The word stopped her.
Mara's voice remained calm.
"You don't get to explain yet."
Daniel looked between them.
"Someone needs to."
Mara glanced at him.
"Your mother took you away before you were old enough to remember."
"Why?"
"Because someone was looking for you."
"Who?"
Mara shook her head.
"I don't know."
Clara spoke from the doorway.
"Mara."
"I know."
She looked at Daniel again.
"The first time I saw you, you were wearing a yellow sweater."
Daniel frowned.
"I hated yellow."
"You cried when your mother tried to put it on you."
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Mara continued.
"Jonah laughed."
Daniel looked at her sharply.
"You remember him."
"He was my brother."
"Did he know me?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Before you were born."
Daniel felt his chest tighten.
"That doesn't make sense."
Mara walked to the table.
She picked up the photograph of the three children.
"This was taken before we were separated."
Her finger touched Jonah.
"He was the oldest."
Then Mara.
"I was next."
Then Ella.
"She was the youngest."
Daniel looked at the image.
"And me?"
Mara studied him.
"You weren't supposed to exist."
Evelyn whispered, "Mara."
Daniel turned.
"What does that mean?"
Mara answered before Evelyn could.
"It means the people controlling the trust didn't expect your mother to have another child."
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
"You were pregnant when Clara disappeared."
"Yes."
"Who was the father?"
Mara's gaze remained on Evelyn.
"Samuel Ellis."
Daniel's stomach turned.
Mara continued.
"Your grandfather."
Daniel sat.
"I already know."
"No."
Mara shook her head.
"You know the name. You don't know why it mattered."
"Then tell me."
Mara took a breath.
"The trust wasn't created for the three of us."
Daniel stared.
"What?"
"It was created for four children."
Evelyn looked down.
Clara went still.
Daniel said, "Four?"
Mara nodded.
"Jonah, Ella, me—and another child."
"Who?"
Mara looked directly at him.
"You."
Daniel could not speak.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
"Why wasn't I on the records?"
"Because you were born after the trust was altered."
"That doesn't explain anything."
"It does if you understand the money."
Mara pointed to the ledger.
"Every property was supposed to remain under the children's names until the youngest beneficiary turned twenty-five."
"That would have been Ella."
"Yes."
"But the trustees wanted the properties earlier."
"So they created new identities."
"For us."
"For everyone connected to the trust."
Daniel stared.
"Why did they need new identities?"
"Because the original beneficiaries had legal rights."
"And the new identities didn't?"
"No."
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
"How did Dad get out?"
Mara's expression softened.
"Jonah was taken from St. Agnes first."
"When?"
"He was eleven."
"Who took him?"
"A couple claiming to be relatives."
"They weren't."
"No."
"How did you know?"
"Because I watched them sign papers."
Daniel looked at the ledger.
"Vale."
Mara nodded.
"Marjorie arranged it."
"She raised you?"
"Not exactly."
"Then the photograph—"
"She wanted it to look as though she had."
Daniel stared.
"Why?"
"Because she needed proof that the children were under her control."
Clara stepped closer.
"She also needed the trust documents."
Daniel understood.
"The properties."
"Yes."
Mara looked at him.
"Your father spent years trying to recover them."
"Did he?"
"He recovered one."
"Which?"
"The house you grew up in."
Daniel's eyes widened.
"My house?"
"The money used to buy it came from one of the properties."
Evelyn shook her head.
"No."
Mara turned.
"You knew."
"I knew the house was connected."
"Then why didn't you tell him?"
"Because he wanted a normal life."
Mara's voice softened.
"He deserved one."
"So did you."
Mara looked away.
For a moment, the anger left her face.
Then she said, "Ella didn't get one."
Daniel asked, "Where is she?"
Mara hesitated.
"She changed her name."
"To what?"
"I don't know."
"You haven't spoken in three years."
"No."
"Why did she leave?"
Mara looked at Clara.
Clara said nothing.
Mara finally answered.
"Because she found out who gave her away."
Daniel felt a chill.
"Who?"
Mara's eyes moved to Evelyn.
Daniel followed her gaze.
"No."
Evelyn whispered.
"Mara."
"Tell him."
"Please."
"Tell him."
Daniel stood.
"What did you do?"
Evelyn's eyes filled.
"I didn't give them away."
Mara's expression softened.
"I know."
Daniel looked confused.
"Then what?"
Mara pointed toward the box.
"Read the letter from 1998."
Daniel searched.
There were several letters.
He found the one with the date.
The handwriting was Jonah's.
He read aloud.
"I found Mara tonight. She doesn't remember everything. I couldn't bring her home because someone was watching the house."*
Daniel looked up.
Mara's face remained still.
He continued.
"Evelyn wants to tell Daniel when he's older. I told her not yet."*
Daniel stopped.
"Why does it say my name?"
Mara answered.
"Because your father knew you were connected."
Daniel read the next paragraph.
"If Clara is right, Ella is alive too. But someone inside the records office has been changing the children's files."*
Then one final line.
"If I don't finish this, ask Daniel to look for the account marked nineteen."*
Daniel looked at Clara.
"The account."
Clara nodded.
"The source of the money."
Daniel understood.
"M. Vale Holdings."
"Yes."
"Who owns it?"
Clara's expression tightened.
"We don't know."
Mara said quietly, "I do."
Daniel turned.
"Who?"
She looked toward the front door.
"Someone who has been waiting for you to find us."
Before anyone could speak, the house lights went out.
Clara moved instantly.
"Stay down."
A window shattered.
Evelyn screamed.
Daniel pulled her toward the floor.
Another crash came from the kitchen.
Then footsteps outside.
Mara opened a hidden drawer beneath the table.
Inside was a small metal case.
She removed a key.
Daniel stared.
"What's that?"
"The account records."
She handed it to him.
"Your father couldn't find them."
"Where are they?"
Mara looked toward the cellar door.
"Under this house."
The front door slammed open.
Clara whispered, "They're inside."
Mara closed the metal case.
"Then we have one chance."
Daniel looked at the cellar door.
"What chance?"
Mara met his eyes.
"To find out who sent the money before they find us."
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: Beneath Clara’s House, Daniel Found the Account That Explained the Five Thousand Dollars and Revealed Someone Inside His Own Family
The Transfer That Should Have Arrived Quietly, But Instead Opened a Door Neither of Us Knew Existed
Part 10 of 25
