We had barely crossed the yard when a vehicle's headlights came on.
Someone was waiting behind the garage.
Dad stopped.
Ella grabbed my arm.
“Don't move.”
The vehicle door opened.
A man stepped out.
He was older, perhaps in his sixties, wearing a dark coat and gloves.
He looked directly at me.
“Mara.”
I froze.
Dad stepped forward.
“Leave her alone.”
The man smiled faintly.
“You should have told her years ago.”
Dad's voice became hard.
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“I know exactly what I'm talking about.”
The man looked at the ledger in my hands.
“Give me that.”
“No.”
“You don't understand what you're holding.”
“I understand enough.”
He took a step closer.
“That book destroyed your grandfather.”
I looked at Dad.
The man continued.
“It destroyed Evelyn too.”
Dad's face tightened.
“Don't say her name.”
“Why? Because you remember what you did?”
Ella stepped forward.
“What did he do?”
The man looked at her.
“You don't know either.”
“Then tell us.”
He smiled.
“Your mother wasn't betrayed by strangers.”
Dad moved toward him.
“Enough.”
The man raised one hand.
“You were there.”
Dad stopped.
I looked at him.
“What is he talking about?”
The man said, “Ask your father why Evelyn ran.”
I did.
“Why?”
Dad stared at the ground.
“I made a choice.”
“What choice?”
“I chose you.”
The answer confused me.
“What does that mean?”
“Evelyn wanted to take you.”
I felt my heart stop.
“Take me where?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“From whom?”
“Your grandfather.”
The man interrupted.
“And your father stopped her.”
I looked at Dad.
“Did you?”
Dad's face crumpled.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandfather threatened to have you taken away permanently.”
I stared at him.
“You believed him?”
“I was young.”
“You let him change my identity.”
“I thought I was saving you.”
The man laughed.
“You were saving yourself.”
Dad turned toward him.
“You weren't there.”
“I was.”
The man looked at me.
“I worked for your grandfather.”
My stomach tightened.
“What did you do?”
“Handled paperwork.”
“The properties?”
“Yes.”
“The children?”
He looked away.
“I moved records.”
I felt sick.
“Did you know where Jonah was?”
“Yes.”
Ella stepped forward.
“Where?”
The man looked at her.
“Alive.”
Her face changed.
“Where?”
He didn't answer.
I raised the ledger.
“Tell us.”
He looked at the book.
“The last address is still valid.”
I opened the ledger.
The third property.
“Who lives there?”
He shook his head.
“Someone who has been waiting.”
“For what?”
“For you.”
The sentence made no sense.
I stepped closer.
“Why would Jonah be waiting for me?”
“Because he was told you would come.”
Ella whispered, “By who?”
The man looked at Dad.
“By Evelyn.”
Dad closed his eyes.
The man continued.
“She never stopped looking for you.”
I turned toward Dad.
“You told me she disappeared.”
“She did.”
“But she was alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Dad didn't answer.
The man did.
“Canada.”
My heart pounded.
“She lived there?”
“For years.”
“Is she still alive?”
He hesitated.
“No.”
“When did she die?”
“Eight years ago.”
Ella's face went blank.
“You knew?”
The man nodded.
“I sent the message.”
“To whom?”
“Your father.”
Ella turned toward Dad.
“You knew my mother was alive.”
Dad's eyes filled.
“I found out.”
“When?”
“Eight years ago.”
“And you never told me?”
“I thought she was safer.”
Ella stepped toward him.
“She died believing I was gone.”
Dad whispered, “I know.”
I looked at the man.
“Why are you telling us now?”
“Because I am old.”
That answer seemed almost absurd.
“I don't understand.”
“You have the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“You have the three names.”
“Yes.”
“You are the last person who can prove what happened.”
I looked down at the book.
“What exactly happened?”
The man hesitated.
“Your grandfather used the children's identities to conceal ownership.”
“We know that.”
“You don't know everything.”
“What don't we know?”
He pointed at the ledger.
“Look at the final pages.”
I opened it.
There were more names.
Not three.
Dozens.
Children.
Adults.
Addresses.
Property numbers.
Payments.
I felt numb.
“The three children were only the beginning.”
Dad whispered, “No.”
The man nodded.
“Your grandfather built a system.”
Ella looked horrified.
“Was my mother trying to expose it?”
“Yes.”
“Who stopped her?”
The man looked at Dad.
“Not him.”
Dad looked up.
“What?”
“The person who ordered the records changed wasn't your father.”
He looked at me.
“It was someone else.”
“Who?”
The man said, “Your grandmother.”
I stared at him.
“My grandmother?”
“Yes.”
Dad looked stunned.
“She was dead before Evelyn disappeared.”
“I know.”
“She couldn't have done that.”
“She did.”
“How?”
“Through instructions she left behind.”
I turned to the ledger.
There was a signature beside several entries.
My grandmother's.
I felt dizzy.
The family story I had grown up with had been false in ways I couldn't even measure.
The man reached into his coat.
Dad stepped forward.
“Don't.”
The man removed a small envelope.
He handed it to me.
“This is Evelyn's last letter.”
I took it.
“Why do you have it?”
“She gave it to me before she left.”
I opened the envelope.
The letter was short.
I read it under the garage light.
If Mara ever finds the records, tell her the house was never meant to protect the family. It was meant to preserve the truth.
My hands trembled.
There was another line.
Tell her Jonah knows where I hid the original.
I looked up.
“Where did she hide it?”
The man pointed toward the road.
“Jonah knows.”
“Where is he?”
The man gave me an address.
I recognized it.
The third property.
I looked at Dad.
“You're coming.”
He nodded.
Ella wiped her eyes.
“So am I.”
The man turned toward his vehicle.
I stopped him.
“Who are you?”
He looked back.
“My name is Samuel Grant.”
“The man who worked for my grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“Why help us?”
He looked at the ledger.
“Because I should have helped Evelyn when she asked.”
Then he got into his car.
Before leaving, he lowered the window.
“One warning.”
I waited.
“Don't trust anyone who knows the name Mara.”
The car disappeared into the darkness.
I looked at Ella.
“That's not very reassuring.”
“No.”
Dad looked toward the road.
“We should go.”
We climbed into the pickup.
As Dad started the engine, my phone buzzed.
A message from Eric.
“Rachel, don't go to the third property.”
I stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
“You don't know who Jonah really is.”
I showed it to Dad.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
Ella leaned forward.
“What did he say?”
I read it aloud.
Dad whispered, “We have to go anyway.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because Eric knows something.”
“About Jonah?”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
Dad swallowed.
“I may know more than I told you.”
I stared at him.
“How much?”
He looked at the road.
“Enough to be afraid of what you'll find.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 12: At the Third Property, a Man Opened the Door and Asked Why It Had Taken My Family Thirty-Six Years to Come
One Cruel Joke at Dinner Exposed the Price My Family Had Been Quietly Expecting Me to Pay
Part 11 of 20
