Chapter 7 - WHAT HAPPENED TO ELEANOR
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Nora called Daniel immediately.
He arrived at Holly's office less than an hour later with a folder he had never shown her.
“I was hoping we wouldn't need this,” he said.
Nora looked at him.
“What happened to my mother?”
Daniel sat down.
“Your mother disappeared after a hospital visit. The official report said she left voluntarily.”
“Did you believe that?”
“No.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because we had no proof. And because your grandfather spent years insisting that Eleanor had abandoned the family.”
Nora's voice sharpened.
“She didn't abandon me.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“No. She didn't.”
He opened the folder.
Inside were police reports, old medical records, and a photograph of a damaged vehicle.
Nora recognized the hospital name.
“St. Anne's?”
Daniel nodded.
“Your mother took you there after you fell ill. She told the nurse she believed someone was following her.”
“Who?”
“We never found out.”
Nora studied the report.
A nurse had recorded that Eleanor seemed frightened and asked whether the hospital could keep her identity confidential.
The next morning, she was gone.
Nora looked up.
“Was I with her?”
“No. You were found several hours later at the bus terminal.”
“Why would she leave me?”
Daniel shook his head.
“We don't know.”
Nora stared at the photograph of the car.
“Is this connected?”
“It was found near the hospital. The vehicle belonged to a private security company once contracted by your grandfather.”
Holly leaned forward.
“Did you investigate the company?”
“We tried. It dissolved years ago.”
Nora felt sick.
“Are you saying my grandfather had her taken?”
“I'm saying we have reason to believe someone wanted Eleanor separated from the family.”
Nora looked down at the pendant.
“Why would Camden care about this?”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“Because your grandfather's estate documents contain a clause. If Eleanor was found to have been unlawfully deprived of her inheritance, the trustees could seek damages from anyone who knowingly benefited from the concealment.”
“Camden?”
“Possibly. If he helped your grandfather access the trust or conceal your identity.”
Nora thought about Bianca's message.
Ask him what happened to your mother.
She called Camden.
He answered on the second ring.
“What do you want?”
“I want to know what you know about Eleanor Whitmore.”
Silence.
Then a slow exhale.
“Who told you that name?”
“Answer me.”
“You don't understand the history.”
“Then explain it.”
“Your family was unstable. Your grandfather was a difficult man. I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From people who would use you.”
Nora almost laughed.
“You mean people like you?”
His voice hardened.
“Don't do this.”
“Did you know my mother was missing?”
“I knew there were questions.”
“Did you know she might have been taken?”
“I don't know what happened to Eleanor.”
“But you know something.”
Camden said nothing.
Nora gripped the phone.
“Did you marry me because of the trust?”
He answered too quickly.
“No.”
“Then why did your lawyer request my birth records before my DNA results arrived?”
Silence.
“Camden?”
“I have to go.”
The call ended.
Nora lowered the phone.
Holly was already taking notes.
“That's not a denial.”
“No,” Nora said. “It isn't.”
A message appeared on her screen.
This time, it was from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph.
A young woman stood outside a hospital, holding a little girl.
The image was grainy, but Nora recognized the pendant.
May you like
Beneath it was a single sentence:
Your mother did not leave you. Someone took her.
