“What were they?”
“Daniel.”
Margaret froze.
“What?”
“Daniel found Nora when she was six, as you know.”
Margaret nodded.
“What you do not know is that he returned.”
Evelyn stared.
“Dad kept seeing her?”
“Not exactly.”
Daniel had contacted Thomas Bell privately.
He told him the truth.
Thomas was horrified.
Elaine less so.
She had suspected the adoption circumstances were unusual but feared losing Nora.
Daniel made a decision.
He would not uproot Nora.
But he wanted to make sure she was cared for.
So he secretly sent money.
School fees.
Medical costs.
Later, a small college fund.
The twenty-five-thousand-dollar payment Nora found was not money Arthur paid the Bells to take her.
It was the first trust Daniel created for her.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“My father helped raise her.”
“From a distance.”
“Did Nora know?”
“No.”
Margaret whispered, “Why didn’t Daniel tell me?”
Harold looked at her.
“Because he blamed you.”
The words were cruel.
Perhaps necessarily so.
Margaret sat.
Harold continued more gently.
“Daniel loved you. But he never forgave the decision not to challenge the adoption when Nora was six.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“So he did it alone.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn began crying.
“Did he ever see Nora?”
“Twice.”
“When?”
“At eighteen.”
Evelyn looked up.
“And?”
“He attended her high school graduation.”
“Did he speak to her?”
“No.”
Evelyn laughed through tears.
Of course.
Her father had stood somewhere in a crowd watching a daughter who did not know him.
“Second time?”
“Her college graduation.”
“He never told her?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Harold looked toward the window.
“He believed the truth belonged to Margaret.”
Margaret whispered, “And I never told it.”
No one responded.
Evelyn wiped her face.
“Now tell me where Nora is.”
Harold nodded.
“She discovered these documents yesterday.”
“From you?”
“Yes.”
“Why at Simon’s office?”
“Because some originals remained in the Caldwell archives.”
Simon’s attorney spoke.
“My client cooperated.”
Harold ignored him.
“Nora confronted Simon.”
“And?”
“He offered her money.”