“Why?”
“Because Nora had your invitation.”
Rebecca looked directly at Evelyn.
“And because if something happened to her, she wanted you to know Maisie existed.”
Evelyn’s entire body went cold.
“How do you know that?”
“She told me last week.”
Rebecca’s eyes filled.
“She said, ‘If this family turns out to be as bad as I think, promise me Maisie gets to know Evelyn before they can erase me too.’”
Margaret began crying.
Evelyn did not comfort her.
By sunset, police had officially opened a missing-person investigation.
Nora’s car was found inside a parking garage three blocks from Simon Caldwell’s office.
Her purse was inside.
Her phone was not.
Security footage showed Nora entering Caldwell Tower at 8:17 the previous evening.
She did not appear on any camera leaving through the main lobby.
Simon Caldwell denied seeing her.
That lie lasted less than two hours.
An elevator camera showed Nora stepping onto the executive floor.
Simon changed his story.
Yes, he had seen her.
Briefly.
Yes, they argued.
She left through the private parking elevator.
He knew nothing after that.
Police requested security footage from the garage.
A ninety-minute section was missing.
Simon blamed a server error.
Evelyn sat in James’s apartment at midnight wearing sweatpants borrowed from him because her wedding dress was still hanging in a bridal suite at the Beaumont Estate.
Maisie slept in the guest room.
Rebecca remained overnight at the hospital.
Margaret had gone home after Evelyn told her she needed space.
James made coffee.
Evelyn stared at the photograph of Nora and Maisie.
“My wedding was supposed to happen twelve hours ago.”
James set down a mug.
“Are you thinking about the wedding?”
“No.”
“Good.”
She looked at him.
“That sounds terrible.”
“I know.”
He sat beside her.
“Can I ask something?”
“Anything.”
“If Nora walked through that door right now, what would you say?”
Evelyn stared at the photograph.
“I don’t know.”
“What do you want to say?”
She thought.
Then whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“That I got her life.”
James frowned.
“You didn’t take anything.”
“I got Mom and Dad.”
“You got their version of them.”
“I had Christmases. Birthdays. Dad taught me to ride a bike.”
“Nora had parents too.”
“Parents who were paid to take her.”
“We don’t know that.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Twenty-five thousand dollars.”
“In 1995.”
“Exactly.”
“That may be what it looks like.”
“Or?”
“Hospital bills. Adoption costs. Education. Anything.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“You sound like a lawyer.”
“I am a lawyer.”
She had forgotten to be annoyed by that.
James smiled slightly.
“Facts before conclusions.”
“My uncle has ninety minutes of missing security footage.”