Chapter 4 - THE SECOND BODY

We did not sleep.

At dawn, Maya made coffee while Tessa searched old newspaper archives.

The official report listed one death.

Eleanor Hale.

No second body.

But Evan had not said another person had been found.

Only that someone else died.

“Maybe Daniel,” I said.

Tessa searched his name.

Daniel Cross had been a public defender in Boston.

His final recorded court appearance occurred one week before Eleanor’s crash.

After that, nothing.

No obituary.

No forwarding address.

No employment record.

He had simply disappeared.

“Could he be my father?” Tessa asked.

“According to Eleanor’s letter.”

“Then Margaret might have killed both of them.”

“We do not know that.”

She looked at me.

“You sound like Evan.”

“No.”

I sat across from her.

“I am saying we need evidence before we accuse someone of murder.”

“She stole me.”

“We have a bracelet and letters.”

“And Evan’s admission.”

“We still need proof.”

Tessa pressed her hands against her temples.

“I do not even know my own birthday.”

Maisie entered the kitchen in Maya’s oversized T-shirt.

She had removed one yellow sock during the night.

The other remained twisted around her ankle.

When she saw Tessa crying, she climbed into her lap.

“Aunt Tess sad?”

Tessa held her tightly.

“Yes, baby.”

Maisie touched her cheek.

“Nana hit.”

Tessa closed her eyes.

“No one will let her do that again.”

The certainty in her voice sounded like a promise to both of them.

Robert called at seven.

He had saved the livestream and downloaded the video before Margaret could have it removed.

He wanted to meet.

We chose a public café beside a police station.

Robert arrived carrying an old leather briefcase.

He was tall, thin, and physically unsteady, but his eyes were sharp.

When he saw Tessa, he stopped.

“You look more like her every year.”

“Why did you never tell me?”

His face crumpled.

“I was a coward.”

Tessa sat without embracing him.

Robert placed the briefcase on the table.

“Margaret told everyone Lila died.”

“You did not believe her.”

“No.”

“Then why did you stay silent?”

“Because Thomas threatened my children.”

Robert opened the briefcase.

Inside were copies of bank transfers, foundation reports, and photographs.

“Thomas controlled judges, physicians, attorneys, and police officers through donations.”

“That sounds impossible,” I said.

“It was easier twenty-seven years ago.”

He pushed a photograph toward us.

It showed Thomas Hale shaking hands with the county sheriff.

Margaret stood beside them.

Behind her was a young woman in a nurse’s uniform.

“Nora?” Tessa asked.

“Yes.”

“Did she take me?”

Robert hesitated.

“She called me the night Eleanor died.”

“What did she say?”

“She said Eleanor was dead, Daniel was badly injured, and the baby was alive.”

Tessa’s hands tightened.

“So Daniel did not die in the crash?”

“No.”

“Where was he?”

“Nora would not tell me.”

“What happened next?”

“She asked me to meet her at a church outside Worcester.”

“Did you?”

Robert looked ashamed.

“No.”

“Why?”

“Thomas arrived at my house before I could leave.”

The café seemed to darken around us.

“He knew about the call?”

“He played a recording of it.”

Thomas had tapped Robert’s phone.

He told Robert that if he went to the police, his own son would be accused of stealing from the foundation.

The evidence had already been manufactured.

“He said Lila was safe,” Robert continued.

“He said Margaret would raise her.”

“As Tessa,” she whispered.

“Yes.”

Robert believed staying silent would protect the baby.

Months passed.

Margaret presented a newborn daughter to the family and claimed she had hidden a late pregnancy because of health concerns.

People questioned the timing.

Thomas threatened them.

Money silenced the rest.

“Why was my birthday changed?” Tessa asked.

“To make the records appear consistent with Margaret’s medical documents.”

“Did she give birth to anyone?”

“No.”

Tessa stared out the café window.

Every childhood photograph had been arranged around a lie.

Every birthday candle.

Every story of the day she was born.

Every time Margaret said, “You came from me.”

Robert removed another document.

It was a copy of Eleanor’s life insurance policy.

The beneficiary was Lila.

The amount was three million dollars.

Margaret became trustee after Eleanor’s death.

The money disappeared within four years.

“Where did it go?” I asked.

“Into the foundation.”

“Margaret stole Tessa’s inheritance.”

“She used it to cover losses after an audit.”

Tessa gave a bitter laugh.

“She stole me and then used my mother’s money to protect the people who killed her.”

Robert did not deny it.

“What about Daniel?” she asked.

“I searched for him.”

“And?”

“A man matching his description entered St. Anne’s Hospital the night of the crash.”

“He had severe injuries.”

“He left before police arrived.”

“Why?”

“Nora helped him.”

“Where did they go?”

Robert pulled out an old map.

A red circle marked an abandoned Hale property near the coast.

“The family once owned a summer house called Grayhaven.”

Tessa stared at the circle.

“Why would they go there?”

“Eleanor used it as a hiding place.”

I examined the map.

Grayhaven stood less than five miles from the crash site.

Robert continued.

“The house was sold after the accident.”

“To whom?”

“A shell company.”

“Controlled by Margaret?”

“I believe so.”

My phone vibrated.

A message from Evan.

I HAVE FILED FOR EMERGENCY CUSTODY.

Tessa read it.

Before either of us could react, another message arrived.

It contained a photograph of Maisie walking into Maya’s kitchen that morning.

The image had been taken through the backyard window.

Someone had been watching the house.

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