I stared at the phone until the screen went dark.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
The room seemed suddenly smaller than before, filled with the faint electrical hum of the restaurant and the distant clatter of dishes from the kitchen.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall her,\u201d Julian said.<\/p>\n
I was already dialing.<\/p>\n
The call went straight to voicemail.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
I tried a third time.<\/p>\n
Still nothing.<\/p>\n
Arthur stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't call again.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned on him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister is missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd whoever took her expects you to panic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am panicking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen don't tell me to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message was designed to make you move without thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
I held up the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey knew about the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey knew about Chloe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey knew the old estate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen they have been watching us.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor some time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian moved toward the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm going to check the cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stopped him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone is watching this building, they'll expect us to separate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what do you suggest?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStay together.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hated agreeing with Arthur.<\/p>\n
But the situation had changed.<\/p>\n
The threat wasn't abstract anymore.<\/p>\n
It had Chloe's name attached to it.<\/p>\n
I opened the ledger again.<\/p>\n
The pages shook slightly in my hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy the old Vance estate?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the estate was where your mother kept the original trust records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt's abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel maintained a private room there.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said he was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut his room may not be.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed the ledger.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe're going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister is there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe caller said\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe caller wanted you to believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Chloe is there, every minute matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if she isn't, you're walking into a trap.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe's right about one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can't go blindly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wanted to scream.<\/p>\n
Instead, I forced myself to breathe.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe estate has three entrances. The main gate, the service road, and an underground access tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know an awful lot about the place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI grew up there.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the first time he had admitted it.<\/p>\n
I studied his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou spent years keeping my mother away from your family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe chose to stay away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was afraid of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was afraid of what the family had become.\u201d<\/p>\n
His answer was quieter than I expected.<\/p>\n
I opened the ledger again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen let's find out what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
We left Bellamy's through the rear entrance.<\/p>\n
Julian drove.<\/p>\n
Arthur sat in the passenger seat.<\/p>\n
I sat in the back with the ledger pressed against my chest.<\/p>\n
No one spoke for several minutes.<\/p>\n
Then Julian broke the silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is something else you need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the back of his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night your mother disappeared, I wasn't alone when I found her.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho was with you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur turned sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't trust you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian's hands tightened around the steering wheel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw Daniel pull your mother from the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said she was hit by a car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel hit her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was driving the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Arthur looked stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel told me he found her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found her because he was looking for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he hit her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never saw the impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you say he was responsible?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he admitted he had been following her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
The pieces were becoming uglier.<\/p>\n
Daniel had followed my mother.<\/p>\n
He had found her after the accident.<\/p>\n
He had taken her to a private clinic.<\/p>\n
Julian had helped hide her.<\/p>\n
Arthur had known about the trust.<\/p>\n
Evelyn had known about Daniel's actions.<\/p>\n
Margaret had helped my mother disappear.<\/p>\n
And somehow Chloe had now been pulled into the middle.<\/p>\n
We reached the old estate just after sunset.<\/p>\n
The gates stood open.<\/p>\n
That was wrong.<\/p>\n
Arthur noticed it too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should be locked.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian stopped the car.<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
Then I saw something hanging from the gate.<\/p>\n
A strip of blue fabric.<\/p>\n
My mother's favorite coat had been blue.<\/p>\n
I stepped out.<\/p>\n
Arthur grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pulled away.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be a message.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be bait.\u201d<\/p>\n
I walked closer.<\/p>\n
The fabric wasn't from my mother's coat.<\/p>\n
It was from Chloe's scarf.<\/p>\n
I knew it immediately.<\/p>\n
I had bought it for her last winter.<\/p>\n
My hands went cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at the ground.<\/p>\n
There were tire marks near the gate.<\/p>\n
Fresh.<\/p>\n
Julian crouched beside them.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne arriving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked toward the house.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we're not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
We entered through the side door.<\/p>\n
The house smelled of dust and damp wood.<\/p>\n
Every room was dark.<\/p>\n
I called Chloe's name.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cChloe!\u201d<\/p>\n
My voice echoed through the hallway.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then a sound came from upstairs.<\/p>\n
A single knock.<\/p>\n
We all froze.<\/p>\n
Another knock.<\/p>\n
Three slow taps.<\/p>\n
Arthur raised one finger.<\/p>\n
Stay.<\/p>\n
He moved toward the staircase.<\/p>\n
Julian followed.<\/p>\n
I stayed behind them until we reached the upper floor.<\/p>\n
The sound came from the old study.<\/p>\n
Arthur opened the door.<\/p>\n
Empty.<\/p>\n
Except for a chair.<\/p>\n
A chair with Chloe's scarf hanging over the back.<\/p>\n
I rushed toward it.<\/p>\n
There was a phone beneath the scarf.<\/p>\n
Chloe's phone.<\/p>\n
The screen was cracked.<\/p>\n
I picked it up.<\/p>\n
One message remained open.<\/p>\n
A photograph.<\/p>\n
It showed my mother.<\/p>\n
Taken years earlier.<\/p>\n
Standing in the estate library.<\/p>\n
Behind her was a man.<\/p>\n
I zoomed in.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
Beside him was another person.<\/p>\n
I recognized the face.<\/p>\n
Evelyn.<\/p>\n
But the third figure was someone I had never seen before.<\/p>\n
A woman.<\/p>\n
Margaret stepped into the doorway behind us.<\/p>\n
She had followed us.<\/p>\n
I turned sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came here?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at the photograph.<\/p>\n
Her face went white.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer name is Celia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Celia?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was your mother's sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother had a sister?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't anyone tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret didn't answer.<\/p>\n
Arthur did.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn't.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur's face had gone rigid.<\/p>\n
\u201cCelia disappeared twenty-two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arthur looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought she was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why is she in this photograph?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody had an answer.<\/p>\n
I looked at the picture again.<\/p>\n
The woman standing beside my mother was older than I was, but there was something unmistakable about her eyes.<\/p>\n
The same pale blue as my mother's.<\/p>\n
The same eyes I had seen in the mirror all my life.<\/p>\n
A noise sounded downstairs.<\/p>\n
Someone had entered the house.<\/p>\n
Arthur closed the study door.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaura.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one separates me from Chloe again.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
Then nodded.<\/p>\n
We moved downstairs together.<\/p>\n
A figure crossed the hall.<\/p>\n
Julian switched on the light.<\/p>\n
The room was empty.<\/p>\n
Then a voice came from behind us.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should never have opened the second ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
A woman stood at the end of the corridor.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
Thin.<\/p>\n
Gray hair.<\/p>\n
Pale blue eyes.<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
Then at Arthur.<\/p>\n
Then at Margaret.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy God,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
I knew her face.<\/p>\n
Not from photographs.<\/p>\n
From my own reflection.<\/p>\n
She was my mother's sister.<\/p>\n
Celia.<\/p>\n
I stared at the phone until the screen went dark. Nobody spoke. The room seemed suddenly smaller than before, filled with the faint electrical hum of the restaurant and the … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sharestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4170,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4158\/revisions\/4170"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}