"Yes."
"How?"
Arthur looked toward Henry. "I need to speak to Chloe alone."
Henry resisted, but Chloe nodded toward the door. "Go. I can hear a lie without supervision."
After Henry left, Chloe placed Megan's letter beside the photograph. "She told me to ask one question: what happened the night she left?"
Arthur remained standing.
"Do not choose the comfortable version," Chloe said. "Just tell me."
Arthur stopped. "Your mother did not leave because she wanted to."
Chloe felt her throat tighten. "Then why?"
"Because I believed the wrong person."
Arthur brought out old photographs. One showed Megan beside another girl on a car. Another showed both wearing matching pendants. A third placed Megan between Arthur and an elegant woman.
"Your mother was not born Megan Reynolds," Arthur said. "She was Megan Anderson."
Chloe stared at him.
"Her father was my business partner. He died when Megan was still a teenager. My wife Evelyn brought her into our home. Evelyn raised Megan beside our daughter, Bethany. In this house, they were sisters."
"Until you did not."
Arthur accepted the words. "When Megan was in her early 20s, money disappeared from an account connected to my company. Documents were missing, too. Bethany told me she had seen Megan in my office."
"And you accused her."
"Yes."
"Did she deny it?"
"No."
"Why?"
"I did not know."
"You threw her out."
"I told her to leave until I understood what happened."
"That is a wealthy man's way of saying you threw her out."
Arthur lowered his head. "The next morning, she was gone. A transfer record appeared to support the accusation. I searched for her."
"For how long?"
His silence answered first.
"Not long enough. Anger became certainty," Arthur said. "It was easier than admitting I might have destroyed someone who trusted me."
The door opened. Henry stood there. "My mother is here."
"Bethany?" Chloe asked.