\u201cCall them back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire hit Marlene\u2019s number before I finished speaking.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
She tried Daniel.<\/p>\n
Voicemail.<\/p>\n
My mother stood beside me with both hands over her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s face on the screen had gone pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvan, I\u2019m going there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes flashed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother and possibly my sister are inside a building with the man who may have killed Rebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Daniel is there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make me feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get to tell me to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That stopped her.<\/p>\n
I shifted Luca against my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not telling you what to do. I\u2019m reminding you that you\u2019re four days out from surgery, you\u2019re in pain, and we have no idea whether that office is dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what do I do?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question sounded different from the questions she had asked me after Luca came home.<\/p>\n
Not \u201ctell me because you are responsible for thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was a frightened partner asking another frightened partner to think with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call emergency services to that address.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel had distrusted local police.<\/p>\n
But screaming through a phone line changed the calculation.<\/p>\n
Claire nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She dialed.<\/p>\n
I called Marlene again while Claire gave the dispatcher Voss\u2019s office address.<\/p>\n
This time someone answered.<\/p>\n
No words.<\/p>\n
Only movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarlene?\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarlene, say something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire almost collapsed into her chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot on speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are on speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTake me off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho screamed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The camera shook as Marlene\u2019s phone changed hands.<\/p>\n
Then a woman appeared.<\/p>\n
For half a second I forgot how to breathe.<\/p>\n
She looked like Claire after ten years of harder living.<\/p>\n
Same dark eyes.<\/p>\n
Same narrow bridge of the nose.<\/p>\n
Same habit of pressing her lips together before speaking.<\/p>\n
The resemblance was unmistakable and somehow not identical.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire?\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman\u2019s voice broke on the name.<\/p>\n
Claire covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna?\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman nodded.<\/p>\n
Both of them began crying.<\/p>\n
Not loudly.<\/p>\n
Not theatrically.<\/p>\n
Just tears arriving faster than either woman could stop them.<\/p>\n
For several seconds neither knew what to say.<\/p>\n
Then Anna smiled through the tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have Mom\u2019s chin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The simplicity of it nearly undid everyone watching.<\/p>\n
Marlene turned away.<\/p>\n
My mother sat down.<\/p>\n
Even Daniel looked toward the floor.<\/p>\n
Claire touched the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked behind her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Voss?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn his office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Pike?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cWe\u2019re getting in the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police are coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you call them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause somebody screamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo more disappearing evidence because everyone is afraid of the wrong person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know these people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know exactly who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene whispered, \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Peter left records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe messages were you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised us.<\/p>\n
Claire leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked suspicious.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect us to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI expect nothing from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The resemblance between the sisters became almost eerie in that moment.<\/p>\n
Same cold steadiness.<\/p>\n
Same refusal to flinch when Daniel\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
He looked away.<\/p>\n
Sirens became audible through the phone.<\/p>\n
Daniel opened the passenger door.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna, get in.\u201d<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy should I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the police are coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m staying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene stepped toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at Marlene for a long moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re my aunt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene\u2019s face crumpled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou raised Claire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna studied her, then nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene began crying again.<\/p>\n
The first patrol car arrived before they could leave.<\/p>\n
Daniel moved away from the entrance.<\/p>\n
Two officers approached.<\/p>\n
Anna immediately held both hands where they could see them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe called,\u201d Claire said over the phone.<\/p>\n
Marlene nodded.<\/p>\n
The next several minutes became confused.<\/p>\n
Questions.<\/p>\n
Names.<\/p>\n
Separate conversations.<\/p>\n
Daniel had apparently entered Voss\u2019s office after hearing Anna shouting. Pike had tried to pull Anna into an examination room while Voss stood behind the desk. Daniel intervened. Marlene screamed when Pike shoved him into a cabinet.<\/p>\n
The officers separated everyone.<\/p>\n
Voss insisted Anna had come to threaten him.<\/p>\n
Anna said she had come only to ask for records.<\/p>\n
Pike claimed he had been there by coincidence.<\/p>\n
Nobody believed that coincidence.<\/p>\n
The officers did not arrest anyone.<\/p>\n
Daniel was furious.<\/p>\n
Claire was unsurprised.<\/p>\n
Anna merely watched.<\/p>\n
When the police finally let them leave, she agreed to go with Marlene.<\/p>\n
Daniel drove.<\/p>\n
Marlene sat beside him.<\/p>\n
Anna sat in the back, keeping herself framed on the video call.<\/p>\n
Claire could not stop looking at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long have you known?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna understood immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I had a sister?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFive years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire recoiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive years?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know your name at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeter\u2019s papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked out the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the green house.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna saw her on screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re Elaine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas\u2019s wife.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna gave a small nod.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas told Peter the house would be safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Peter died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you find it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA storage key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInside Rebecca\u2019s old coat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene turned from the passenger seat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe red coat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remember it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA red coat in a car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mother had one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stared.<\/p>\n
Anna continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hid a key inside the lining.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you get the coat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA woman gave it to me when I turned eighteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cA foster mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene covered her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou grew up in foster care?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at her through the mirror.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho took you from the hospital?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I went to ask Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know who signed the transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeonard Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire gripped the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cTransfer to where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA private neonatal facility seventy miles away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe record says respiratory complications.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were sick?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the medical file has two blood types.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elaine leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne infant record was substituted for another.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sick baby wasn\u2019t me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel slowed the car.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose baby was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire whispered, \u201cVoss switched you with another child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo erase me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words settled heavily.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho raised you first?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cA couple named Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nearly hit the brakes.<\/p>\n
Claire saw his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe judge?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe and his wife were my legal guardians until I was six.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same judge who gave Daniel custody of Claire,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened when you were six?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Mercer died. Harold started drinking. I entered foster care after he was arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at Claire.<\/p>\n
\u201cAssault.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever tell you who you were?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said my mother made rich men afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene cried quietly.<\/p>\n
Anna looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was eighteen, one of my former foster mothers gave me a box Mercer had left with her lawyer. That box contained Rebecca\u2019s red coat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the key.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Elaine\u2019s green house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother sank back into her chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Peter leave there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna met her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cA ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cVictor\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel gripped the wheel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat book could get you killed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna gave a humorless smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt nearly has.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire leaned toward the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPayments. Dates. Account transfers. Names.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVoss?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at Anna through the mirror.<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Daniel said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas?\u201d Claire asked.<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother began crying.<\/p>\n
I asked the question nobody else wanted to.<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked straight at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire whispered, \u201cMy mother was involved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the way you think.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was tracing money Peter found.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she discover?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna opened her bag.<\/p>\n
She removed a sealed plastic sleeve containing several folded pages.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis.\u201d<\/p>\n
The camera caught only part of the document.<\/p>\n
At the top was a trust number matching the one in the bank transfer sent to us earlier.<\/p>\n
Below it was a handwritten note.<\/p>\n
I recognized my father\u2019s writing.<\/p>\n
PROTECT BOTH GIRLS. ONE IS BENNETT\u2019S. THE OTHER MUST NEVER BE LINKED TO V.S.<\/p>\n
Claire stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cV.S.?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marlene whispered, \u201cVictor Shaw.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked back at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor wasn\u2019t Claire\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who is V.S.?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna unfolded another page.<\/p>\n
A full name had been written there.<\/p>\n
Vincent Shaw.<\/p>\n
My mother gasped.<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cVictor\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked completely lost.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Vincent Shaw?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s face had changed again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe man who disappeared in 1996.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Victor told everyone he was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked into the camera.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n
Anna held up one final photograph.<\/p>\n
A younger Rebecca stood beside a man with pale eyes and dark hair.<\/p>\n
His arm was around her.<\/p>\n
On the back, Peter had written:<\/p>\n
Rebecca and Vincent. July 1994.<\/p>\n
Nine months before Claire and Anna were born.<\/p>\n
Anna said quietly, \u201cVincent Shaw was your father, Claire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she looked toward Daniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Daniel was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCall them back.\u201d Claire hit Marlene\u2019s number before I finished speaking. No answer. Again. Nothing. She tried Daniel. Voicemail. My mother stood beside me with both hands over her mouth. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14038"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14066,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14038\/revisions\/14066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}