Chapter 14 - THE SCHOOL THAT NEVER REGISTERED HIM|
The school stood behind a row of tall trees on the outskirts of Hartford.
Its name appeared on no public website, and its admissions records were handled through a private administrative office. For decades, the institution had educated children from wealthy families who preferred discretion.
Julian arranged a meeting with the headmaster.
Nomi insisted on accompanying him.
"I want to know what happened to Michael," she said. "If that boy was my brother, I owe him the truth."
"You owe him nothing until we know who he is," Julian replied. "But I'll help you find him."
They arrived shortly after noon.
The headmaster, a white-haired man named Arthur Bell, greeted them in a formal office lined with photographs of former students. When Julian showed him the transfer record, Arthur's expression changed.
"I remember this file."
"Who was the boy?" Julian asked.
Arthur closed the office door.
"His name was Michael Dwart when he arrived. He was frightened, quiet, and unwilling to speak about his previous home. He was brought here by a woman who claimed to be his guardian."
"Was the woman named Margaret Callaway?"
Arthur hesitated.
"She used that name."
Nomi leaned forward.
"What happened to him?"
"He stayed for eleven months. He was intelligent, though he rarely spoke in class. Then someone came to collect him."
"Who?"
Arthur looked down at the record.
"The paperwork identified the guardian as Catherine Ashcom."
Julian turned toward the office window.
"Mother."
Nomi felt her stomach tighten.
"What did she tell him?"
"That he was going to live with relatives. The boy asked whether his sister would be coming too."
Nomi's eyes filled.
"He remembered me."
Arthur nodded slowly.
"He carried a photograph of a little girl with a rabbit. He said he had promised to find her when he grew up."
Nomi covered her mouth.
She remembered the rabbit. It had been a soft brown toy with one ear torn from the seam. Michael had found it in a donation box and given it to her when she cried after another child took her blanket.
She had carried it for years.
She had lost it during a move between foster homes.
"Where did he go?" Julian asked.
Arthur opened a drawer and removed a sealed envelope.
"I was instructed to keep this until someone came asking the right questions."
Inside was a photograph of a young man standing outside the school gates. He looked about seventeen, with dark hair, a narrow face, and a faint scar around his wrist.
On the back was an address in Philadelphia.
The date was ten years earlier.
Nomi stared at the photograph.
"He's alive."
"Possibly," Arthur replied. "The address may no longer be current."
Julian photographed the image and sent it to Marcus.
Within an hour, Marcus found a record of a young man matching the description who had worked at a car repair shop in Philadelphia under the name Michael Dwyer. The employment record ended five years earlier.
A second record showed that he had been admitted to a hospital after an industrial accident.
The patient had left before his discharge paperwork was completed.
The injury had affected his right hand.
Nomi looked at the photograph again.
"Michael always wanted to repair cars. He used to take apart broken toys to see how they worked."
Julian reached across the table and rested his hand beside hers.
"We'll find him."
She looked at him.
"Why are you helping me?"
"Because my family helped create this mess."
"That's not the only reason."
Julian held her gaze.
"No. It isn't."
For a moment, the distance between them seemed to disappear.
Nomi looked away first.
She had spent too many years surviving to trust a powerful man simply because he spoke gently.
Before they left, Arthur handed Julian one final document.
It was a letter from Richard Ashcom, dated twenty years earlier.
The boy is to remain hidden until the second heir is found. If either child returns, the trust must be reviewed by an independent court.
Beneath it was a name.
Victor Sloane.
Julian's face hardened.
"He's alive?"
Arthur nodded.
"He visited the school last month. He asked whether anyone had requested Michael's records."
Nomi felt a chill.
"What did you tell him?"
"Nothing."
Arthur looked toward the window.
"But someone told him you were coming."
A car had stopped outside the school gates.
May you like
Its windows were dark.
And a man standing beside it was watching them.
