Chapter 13 - What Elena Saw|
Anna watched the footage until the image blurred.
Her mother had stood beside the wreck of Thomas's car, holding a small object against her chest. The recording offered no sound and no clear view of her face, but the shape of her movements was unmistakable.
Elena had seen the crash.
She had been there when Thomas died.
Anna took the laptop to the cabin and placed it on the table.
“Tell me what happened that night.”
Elena watched the recording without moving.
When it ended, she folded her hands in her lap.
“I followed Victor because I believed he was going to meet your father. I thought I could convince them to stop fighting.”
“You saw the crash.”
“Yes.”
“Did you see my father alive?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“For a moment.”
“And you left?”
“I went for help. Victor had people watching the road. I knew if I approached the car, they would take me. I ran to a farmhouse and called emergency services from their telephone.”
“Why didn't you tell the police you were there?”
“I did. A man came to the clinic the next day and told me the police had no record of my call. He said Victor had already arranged the report.”
Anna stood abruptly.
“You let me believe my father died alone.”
“I was afraid.”
“So was I! I was twenty-four years old, and the only person who had ever made me feel safe was gone. I buried him without knowing that my mother had been standing less than fifty feet away.”
Elena began to cry.
“I know.”
“No, you don't. You were alive. You could have found me.”
“I thought they would kill you.”
“And now I'm supposed to thank you for letting me grow up without you?”
Elena bowed her head.
“No.”
The answer stopped Anna.
Elena continued quietly.
“I don't deserve your forgiveness simply because I was afraid. I made decisions that hurt you. I can explain them, but I cannot make them harmless.”
Anna sat down again.
For a long time, neither woman spoke.
Then Elena reached into the cabinet and removed a small metal box.
“I kept this because I couldn't bear to throw it away.”
Inside lay a child's hospital bracelet, a folded newspaper clipping, and a key.
The bracelet bore the name Anna Rose Calloway.
The newspaper clipping described Thomas's accident. Someone had underlined a paragraph stating that no witnesses had been identified.
The key was attached to a small brass tag marked with the number 214.
“What does it open?” Anna asked.
“A storage unit. I rented it under another name after I left the clinic. I never went back.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor searched the places he knew I used. I thought the unit might be safer if I stayed away from it.”
Rachel helped identify the storage facility. It was still operating, though the original unit had been reassigned years earlier. The facility's manager found an archived contract for a separate unit in a neighboring building, paid through a private account that had remained active.
Inside, they discovered boxes of photographs, letters, financial records, and a sealed envelope addressed to Edward.
The letter explained that Elena had suspected Victor of arranging the crash, but she had also found evidence that someone inside the Calloway family had provided him with confidential information about Thomas's movements.
A list of names followed.
Most were unfamiliar.
One belonged to Daniel's mother, Margaret Calloway.
Anna stared at the page.
“Daniel's mother died when he was a child.”
Elena nodded.
“She knew about the ledger. She wanted Edward to report Victor, but she was afraid the organization would turn against her.”
“Did she betray my father?”
“I don't know. The document shows she shared information about the meeting at the warehouse. It doesn't prove she knew what Victor intended.”
Rachel photographed the pages.
“That's an important distinction. We need to find out whether this information was used knowingly or without her consent.”
Anna examined the final sheet.
Someone had written a note in the margin.
The second ledger is with the son.
She looked at Rachel.
“Which son?”
Rachel glanced at the list of names.
“Possibly Daniel. Possibly Victor's son, if he has one.”
Anna's phone vibrated.
A message from Daniel appeared.
I found something in my mother's papers. It has your name on it. You need to see it before Victor does.
Attached was a photograph of a folded document.
Anna enlarged it.
The heading read:
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF MARGARET CALLOWAY.
May you like
Beneath the heading was a handwritten sentence.
If Elena's daughter ever returns, give her the truth about the child who disappeared before Anna was born.
