The doorbell rang a third time.<\/p>\n
I stood in Richard\u2019s hidden room with my phone in one hand and his warning spread across the desk in front of me.<\/p>\n
If she ever comes asking about the room, do not let her inside.<\/p>\n
Bennett reread the sentence as though repetition might change its meaning.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe cannot come up here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understood that part.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean she should not come into the house at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Downstairs, the bell rang again.<\/p>\n
Then Claire\u2019s message appeared beneath the first.<\/p>\n
Please. I should have told you years ago.<\/p>\n
I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe attended the funeral yesterday,\u201d I said. \u201cIf Richard was afraid of her, why let her stay in his life?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett folded the blue folder closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe he didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew enough to come to his funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did half the county.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hugged me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat does not mean Richard trusted her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words irritated me because they were reasonable.<\/p>\n
I put the folder back beneath the blankets in the linen cupboard, locked the hidden room, and slipped the key into my pocket.<\/p>\n
Bennett followed me downstairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna, whatever she says, do not tell her what you found.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m starting to think I should stop telling anyone anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would be an improvement.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked back at him.<\/p>\n
He raised both hands. \u201cBad timing.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the front door, I checked the narrow window beside the frame.<\/p>\n
Claire stood on the porch in a dark wool coat. Her gray-blond hair was pinned neatly behind her ears, exactly as it had been at the funeral.<\/p>\n
Yesterday she had seemed gentle.<\/p>\n
Today, everything about her looked calculated because Richard had taught me to distrust her from beyond the grave.<\/p>\n
I opened the door but kept the chain fastened.<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s expression softened when she saw me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes moved past me and found Bennett.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat answers one question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat question?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether Richard\u2019s lawyer had reached you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire, this is not an appropriate time.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him with surprising contempt.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve spent thirty years deciding when things are appropriate, Bennett. Look where that got us.\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
I studied them both.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d Claire said. \u201cRichard made sure everyone around him knew everyone else. He liked to believe that made secrets easier to manage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you know what he wrote about you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
Only slightly.<\/p>\n
But I saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he write?\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not answer.<\/p>\n
Claire glanced toward the staircase.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he leave you access?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett moved immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her gaze returned to mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not here for Richard\u2019s files.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did he warn me not to let you into the room?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire went completely still.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, only the cold wind moved between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe actually wrote that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something close to pain crossed her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never stopped punishing me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward the driveway before answering.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor choosing the wrong person thirty-three years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I released the chain.<\/p>\n
Bennett caught my elbow.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not having this conversation through a door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire entered.<\/p>\n
I led her into the sitting room but did not offer coffee. The absence of that tiny courtesy made the meeting feel like an interrogation.<\/p>\n
Claire sat on the edge of the sofa.<\/p>\n
Bennett remained standing.<\/p>\n
I took Richard\u2019s chair.<\/p>\n
Somehow that mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you mean by choosing the wrong person?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire removed her gloves.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother and I were friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You know we knew each other. That is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked down at her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother\u2019s name was Margaret. She laughed too loudly when she was nervous and sang while she cooked even though she could not carry a tune. She hated pears. Loved lilacs. Wrote grocery lists on the backs of envelopes and then lost them before she reached the store.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
The specificity hurt.<\/p>\n
These were the kinds of details children were supposed to grow up knowing.<\/p>\n
Claire looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen explain why I spent my childhood believing she abandoned me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire closed her eyes briefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause several adults failed you at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t meant to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStart with my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her fingers stopped moving.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis name was Walter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The name settled strangely inside me.<\/p>\n
Walter.<\/p>\n
So ordinary.<\/p>\n
So harmless-sounding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was he like?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharming when he needed something. Cruel when charm stopped working.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he hit her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came without decoration.<\/p>\n
I looked at the carpet.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Richard know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anger rose slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd all of you let her stay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did not tell us everything at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hid bruises. Made excuses. Left him twice and went back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause people in dangerous relationships do not always behave the way outsiders expect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her reply carried no defensiveness.<\/p>\n
Only shame.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Margaret became ill, she realized she might not have enough time left to keep you safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel filed for guardianship.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd someone interfered.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett inhaled sharply.<\/p>\n
The room seemed to tilt.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire nodded once.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made the papers disappear?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told Walter about them.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
Bennett moved toward me, but I waved him away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told the man she was afraid of that she was trying to give me to Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I believed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer made me laugh, once and bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe convinced me Daniel intended to take you out of state and cut Margaret off completely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother was dying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew it then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what exactly did you think she was going to do? Chase him across the country?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire flinched.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was twenty-eight and stupid enough to think I understood everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Walter pay you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThreaten you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you betrayed her for free.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett said my name quietly.<\/p>\n
I ignored him.<\/p>\n
Claire accepted the accusation without arguing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence followed.<\/p>\n
Upstairs, Emily moved around in her room.<\/p>\n
The sound brought me back to the present.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you help Walter destroy the guardianship petition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know he did it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspected later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much later?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Margaret died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire clasped her hands tightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel came to me. He was furious. He said the petition had vanished from the system and that Walter had somehow learned the hearing date.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you told him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Daniel do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe confronted Walter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey fought.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow badly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBadly enough that the police were called.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas anyone charged?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Walter disappeared before officers arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had already been placed in emergency foster care.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t Daniel simply get me afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Richard\u2019s records say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why couldn\u2019t he find me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked toward Bennett.<\/p>\n
He did not rescue her.<\/p>\n
\u201cA clerical change moved your case under a different county system. Your surname was entered incorrectly in one transfer. Later, you were placed with a family who intended to adopt you, and your file was partially sealed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of strangers\u2019 houses.<\/p>\n
Plastic bags of clothes.<\/p>\n
New schools.<\/p>\n
Adults telling me to call them Mom or Dad until suddenly they changed their minds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat family?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t remember the Harrisons?\u201d<\/p>\n
The name opened a door in my memory.<\/p>\n
A yellow kitchen.<\/p>\n
A dog with white paws.<\/p>\n
A woman who bought me a red winter coat.<\/p>\n
They had told me I might stay forever.<\/p>\n
Three months later, I was moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wanted to adopt me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is where Richard believed someone interfered a second time.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard never proved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the Harrisons?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey received information claiming you had a violent biological relative who had threatened prospective adoptive parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey sent me away because they were frightened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were told keeping you might endanger their other children.\u201d<\/p>\n
The memory changed shape instantly.<\/p>\n
For decades, I had believed the Harrisons simply stopped wanting me.<\/p>\n
I had blamed myself.<\/p>\n
Maybe I had been too quiet.<\/p>\n
Too angry.<\/p>\n
Too needy.<\/p>\n
Too difficult to love.<\/p>\n
Now I understood there might have been another reason entirely.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas the threat real?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter had made threats before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst anyone who tried to take you away.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands grew cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever try to find me directly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many times?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than once.\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard Bennett mutter something under his breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy wasn\u2019t I told?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the adults handling your case decided knowing would frighten you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were right. Much better to let me assume everybody simply rejected me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire had no answer.<\/p>\n
I walked toward the window.<\/p>\n
Outside, the winter garden stood motionless.<\/p>\n
Richard had brought Emily there every spring to plant herbs she usually forgot to water.<\/p>\n
I pictured him knowing all of this.<\/p>\n
He had watched me build explanations around wounds whose true causes he secretly possessed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Richard keep you around?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s shoulders lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were at the funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe reconciled enough to be civil.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Daniel died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel left Richard everything he had collected about your case.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel knew Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter than almost anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Richard helped Daniel financially after the fight with Walter. Legal fees. Investigators. Private searches.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn\u2019t Richard find me sooner?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYears before you worked for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not what his letter said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what his letter said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wrote that he spent years searching.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I applied for work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s expression changed again.<\/p>\n
This time I recognized pity.<\/p>\n
I hated it immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward Bennett.<\/p>\n
He frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe deserves the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat truth?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire faced me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did not find that housekeeping position by accident.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered the advertisement.<\/p>\n
A printed notice at a neighborhood employment center.<\/p>\n
Private household seeking reliable help. Flexible hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard arranged for that posting to be placed where he knew you would see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe manipulated me into working here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe created an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe manipulated me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The blunt agreement surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted to meet you without frightening you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd said what? Hello, I knew your dead mother, your uncle spent years searching for you, and your violent father might still be alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe married me without telling me any of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was not the original plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Richard to employ you, gain your trust, and eventually tell you about Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your husband got sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy first husband?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire reached into her handbag.<\/p>\n
Bennett tensed.<\/p>\n
She pulled out a small velvet pouch and placed it on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother asked me to keep this.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened the pouch.<\/p>\n
A narrow silver bracelet slipped into my palm.<\/p>\n
Tiny blue stones ran along one side.<\/p>\n
The sight triggered something physical.<\/p>\n
A flash.<\/p>\n
A wrist near my face.<\/p>\n
Blue stones catching sunlight.<\/p>\n
A woman fastening my shoe.<\/p>\n
I gasped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wore it constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n
My thumb traced the clasp.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you have it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret gave it to me the week before she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted me to give it to you when you were older.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Richard asked me not to contact you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became very quiet.<\/p>\n
I looked at Bennett.<\/p>\n
Then back at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard kept you from me too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believed contact with anyone connected to your mother could lead Walter to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Walter looking?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard believed so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBelieved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe received a photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire reached into her handbag again.<\/p>\n
This time she removed an old envelope.<\/p>\n
Inside was a picture of me leaving the hospital with my husband after one of his treatments.<\/p>\n
Across the bottom someone had written:<\/p>\n
Found her.<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen was this sent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
One year before I began working for Richard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho sent it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo return address.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe assumed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard had a copy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the photograph.<\/p>\n
Someone had watched me.<\/p>\n
Someone had known where I lived.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard increased the search for Walter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found evidence Walter had been using different names.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat names?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s head snapped up.<\/p>\n
Bennett swore.<\/p>\n
I knew immediately I had said too much.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou met Thomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fear transformed Claire\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ask about Richard\u2019s records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to get Emily out of this house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s warning echoed in my head.<\/p>\n
Do not believe anyone who arrives claiming that Emily and I have to leave immediately.<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what Richard told me not to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe specifically warned me that someone might tell me to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna, I don\u2019t care what Richard wrote. Thomas knowing you are here changes everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you knew him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s hands trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was Walter\u2019s business partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words landed heavily.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas said he knew my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Walter was dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is also true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you afraid of Thomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause dangerous men do not always work alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you saying Thomas helped Walter interfere with Anna\u2019s case?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying Thomas helped Walter disappear after Daniel confronted him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the bracelet cutting into my palm.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why would Thomas come here warning me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
She checked the screen.<\/p>\n
All color left her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She showed me.<\/p>\n
One text.<\/p>\n
No sender name.<\/p>\n
You should have stayed away from her.<\/p>\n
Claire looked toward the windows.<\/p>\n
\u201cLock every door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett moved immediately.<\/p>\n
I stared at the message.<\/p>\n
Then another appeared.<\/p>\n
This time there was a photograph attached.<\/p>\n
Emily\u2019s school.<\/p>\n
Taken from across the street.<\/p>\n
Recent enough that autumn leaves still covered the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
My body went cold.<\/p>\n
Beneath it were six words.<\/p>\n
Richard cannot protect her anymore.<\/p>\n
I was already moving toward the stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily!\u201d<\/p>\n
She appeared at the top landing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
Relief almost dropped me to my knees.<\/p>\n
I ran up and pulled her against me.<\/p>\n
Behind us, Claire whispered, \u201cHe knows about the child.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter?\u201d<\/p>\n
She did not answer.<\/p>\n
Because neither of us knew whether Walter was the person we should fear most anymore.<\/p>\n
The doorbell rang a third time. I stood in Richard\u2019s hidden room with my phone in one hand and his warning spread across the desk in front of me. If … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26230","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\/26230","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=26230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26265,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26230\/revisions\/26265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}