Margaret stared at the floor.
“When my mother died, she left money for my children.”
Evelyn frowned.
“I know.”
She had received a trust when she turned twenty-five.
It helped her purchase her first apartment and start her interior-design business.
Her grandmother had died before Evelyn was born.
The trust was established in advance for Margaret’s future children.
Evelyn suddenly understood.
“Children.”
Margaret nodded.
“Not child.”
James’s face hardened.
“How much?”
Margaret hesitated.
“How much?”
“Originally around two million dollars.”
Evelyn stared.
“That was thirty years ago.”
“Yes.”
“What is it worth now?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Mom.”
“Perhaps fourteen or fifteen million.”
Rebecca whispered, “That’s why.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“Nora didn’t know about any money.”
“Simon did.”
Margaret spoke slowly.
“When Nora was adopted, my father amended some family records. Evelyn was listed as my only legal child.”
“Could he do that?”
“Not to my mother’s trust.”
James understood first.
“So if Nora proves she is Margaret’s biological daughter…”
“She may be entitled to half.”
Evelyn felt sick.
Not because of the money.
Because suddenly Nora’s disappearance looked different.
“What did Simon say to her?”
Rebecca reached for her phone.
“Nora recorded part of the call.”
Evelyn stared.
“You have it?”
“She sent it to me.”
Rebecca found an audio file.
Maisie had begun playing with the controls on the hospital bed.
Evelyn asked James to take her into the hallway for ice cream.
Maisie protested.
Then James whispered something about finding the largest chocolate ice cream in the hospital.
She agreed immediately.
When the door closed, Rebecca pressed play.
Nora’s voice came first.
Identical to Evelyn’s.
Not exactly.
A little lower.
But close enough that Evelyn felt her skin prickle.
“You don’t get to tell me whether I can meet my own sister.”
Then Simon.
Calm.
Controlled.
“I’m trying to prevent you from making a mistake.”
“My existence is not a mistake.”
“That is not what I said.”
“You told me there would be legal consequences.”
“There could be.”
“For telling Evelyn who I am?”
“For inserting yourself into a family on one of its most important days.”
“She is my family.”
“You share DNA. That is not necessarily the same thing.”
Evelyn’s jaw tightened.
Nora replied, “Does Margaret know you called?”
A pause.
“That isn’t relevant.”
“So no.”
“Nora, listen carefully. Your adoptive parents received compensation when they accepted responsibility for you. There are documents. Agreements. If you attempt to challenge old arrangements, every detail of that transaction could become public.”
Rebecca stopped the recording.