Chapter 6: The Woman Who Was Paid to Forget Me
I didn't remember leaving the mansion.
One moment, I was standing in the living room with a photograph of my mother in my hands.
The next, I was sitting in the passenger seat of Caleb's car, watching Atlanta traffic pass through the windshield.
My mother was alive.
She had been alive for eleven years.
And someone had paid her to disappear from my life.
I turned toward Caleb.
"Take me to her.""
He kept his eyes on the road.
"Sarah, we need to be careful.""
"She's my mother.""
"I know.""
"Then take me to her!""
Caleb pulled into a quiet parking lot and stopped.
He turned off the engine.
"Your mother isn't living at the address in Savannah anymore.""
I stared at him.
"Why not?""
"She moved two weeks ago.""
"Because she knows you've found me?""
"Possibly.""
I pressed my hands against my forehead.
"How long have you known?""
"About six months.""
I looked at him sharply.
"Six months?""
"Thomas left me instructions to locate her. I found her through an old hospital employee who recognized her photograph.""
"And you didn't tell me?""
"I couldn't. I needed to establish whether she was being monitored.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone keeps deciding what I can and cannot know.""
Caleb accepted the accusation without defending himself.
Then he opened the glove compartment and removed a small envelope.
"Your father left this for you.""
Inside was a photograph of my mother holding a newborn baby.
Me.
On the back, Thomas had written:
The happiest day of my life.
I traced the words with my finger.
"Did he love her?""
Caleb nodded.
"More than anything.""
"Then why didn't he marry her?""
"Because Evelyn was pregnant with Marcus when Thomas discovered Margaret was expecting you.""
I looked up.
"Marcus is older than me?""
"By seven months.""
My stomach tightened.
"Then how could he have been married to Evelyn?""
Caleb hesitated.
"Thomas and Margaret were engaged first. When Thomas's father threatened to disinherit him, he ended the engagement and married Evelyn. But he never stopped supporting Margaret.""
"Was Marcus really his son?""
Caleb nodded.
"Yes. Thomas loved both children. But Evelyn never accepted the possibility that he might have another daughter.""
I looked out the window.
Everything I'd believed about my childhood suddenly seemed like a carefully arranged puzzle.
The anonymous school fees.
The birthday cards.
My mother's sudden decision to move us away from Atlanta when I was sixteen.
The hospital story.
"Why did my mother disappear?""
Caleb leaned back.
"Because she discovered the financial fraud.""
"She was a nurse.""
"She also handled some of Thomas's private correspondence and financial records. She found evidence that several company accounts were being used to move money overseas.""
"And Evelyn?""
"She knew.""
I turned toward him.
"Did she threaten my mother?""
Caleb nodded slowly.
"Your mother told me Evelyn came to the hospital shortly before she disappeared. She warned Margaret that if she ever revealed Thomas's affair or Sarah's identity, you would lose everything.""
My throat tightened.
"She used me.""
"Yes.""
I looked down at the photograph.
"Did Thomas know?""
"He discovered what had happened too late. He spent the remaining months of his life trying to find Margaret and bring her home.""
"And then he died.""
Caleb stared through the windshield.
"His death was officially recorded as a heart attack. But Thomas had been receiving threats.""
I turned toward him.
"Are you saying he was murdered?""
"I don't know.""
"Then why are you telling me?""
"Because the medical report was changed.""
My hands went cold.
"Changed by whom?""
Caleb opened his briefcase.
He removed a photocopy of the original hospital report.
The cause of death had been listed as cardiac arrest.
But beneath it, a handwritten note stated:
Possible toxic exposure. Further testing recommended.
The final toxicology report was missing.
I stared at the page.
"Where is the original?""
"That's what I've spent twelve years trying to find.""
Before I could respond, my phone began ringing.
Marcus.
I almost ignored it.
Then I answered.
"What?""
His voice sounded different.
"Sarah, where are you?""
"Why?""
"Mom is gone.""
I sat upright.
"What do you mean?""
"She left the mansion. Her bedroom is empty. Her car is gone.""
"Maybe she went home.""
"Her housekeeper says she packed everything.""
I looked at Caleb.
He had gone very still.
Marcus continued.
"There's something else. Daniel just called me.""
"What did he say?""
"He said someone from the company contacted him about an investigation. They're asking questions about the missing money.""
I closed my eyes.
"Your father's records are being reviewed.""
Marcus lowered his voice.
"Sarah, Daniel says Mom transferred money to a private account after Dad died.""
"How much?""
"Two million dollars.""
Caleb suddenly reached for the phone.
"Ask him for the account number.""
Marcus heard him.
"Who's that?""
"Caleb," I answered.
There was a long silence.
Then Marcus said something that made my blood run cold.
"Sarah, Daniel says the account isn't in Mom's name.""
"Whose name is it under?""
Marcus swallowed.
"Margaret Mitchell.""
I couldn't speak.
Caleb immediately started the engine.
"That's not possible," he whispered.
I turned toward him.
"What?""
He gripped the steering wheel.
"Margaret's account was closed eleven years ago.""
Marcus continued speaking.
"Daniel says someone withdrew the entire balance last week.""
"Where?""
"He doesn't know. But he found a withdrawal authorization attached to the transaction.""
I closed my eyes.
"Who signed it?""
Marcus hesitated.
Then he answered.
"Sarah, the signature belongs to your mother.""
The call ended.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then Caleb drove out of the parking lot.
"Where are we going?"" I asked.
"To Savannah.""
"You said she moved.""
"She did.""
"Then how will we find her?""
Caleb reached into his briefcase and removed a small card.
An address was written on it.
He handed it to me.
"This was delivered to my office yesterday.""
I stared at the handwriting.
It was unmistakably my mother's.
Beneath the address were seven words.
Sarah, come alone. I need to confess.
My heart began pounding.
"Why didn't you show me this before?""
Caleb's face had become grim.
"Because I wanted to make sure it wasn't a trap.""
He turned onto the highway.
Then his phone rang.
He answered through the car speakers.
A man's voice came through.
"Mr. Brooks, you need to stop immediately.""
Caleb's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"Who is this?""
The caller ignored the question.
"Tell Sarah not to visit her mother.""
I leaned toward the phone.
"Who are you?""
There was a brief silence.
Then the man answered.
"Someone who knows what happened to Thomas Carter.""
A pause.
"And someone who knows why your mother signed that withdrawal last week.""
Caleb slowed the car.
The caller delivered his final warning.
"Because Margaret Mitchell isn't the woman who stole the money.""
My stomach dropped.
"Then who did?""
The man breathed heavily.
"Your mother has been dead for eleven years, Sarah.""
The line went silent.
May you like
Caleb looked at me.
And for the first time since I'd met him, he looked genuinely afraid.
