Chapter 9: The Letter My Grandmother Never Wanted Me to Read
I left the room before anyone could stop me.
I ran down the staircase, through the dark hallway, and out into the garden. The night air struck my face, but I barely felt it.
Ruth Cole.
My grandmother.
The woman who had held me when I was sick. The woman who had taught me to read, helped me with my homework, and stayed awake sewing patches into my clothes while I studied.
The woman who had told me my mother abandoned me.
Thomas's accusation echoed in my head.
She wanted Elena out of the way before she could expose the truth about your birth.
I bent forward, bracing my hands on my knees.
I couldn't breathe.
Behind me, the mansion doors opened.
Richard approached slowly.
"Amara.""
"Don't.""
He stopped several feet away.
"I won't come closer.""
I stared at the gravel.
"Tell me he's lying.""
Richard was silent.
"Tell me my grandmother didn't try to kill my mother.""
He swallowed.
"We don't know whether Thomas is telling the truth.""
"Then why did my mother react like that?""
Richard looked toward the house.
"Because she believes it.""
I straightened.
"She knew?""
"I don't know.""
I pressed both hands against my face.
For years, I'd remembered my grandmother's hands as the safest place in the world. They were warm, rough from work, and always smelled faintly of lavender soap.
She used to sit beside my bed when thunderstorms shook the windows.
She used to tuck the blankets beneath my chin and whisper that nothing could hurt me while she was there.
Now I wondered whether every comforting word had been another lie.
"Why would she do it?"" I whispered.
Richard shook his head.
"Maybe she thought she was protecting you.""
"From my mother?""
"From something she believed was dangerous.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone keeps saying they were protecting me. My grandfather threatened Richard to keep him away. Daniel Whitmore helped hide my mother.
Thomas carried out orders. My grandmother lied to me for eighteen years.""
I looked at him.
"Is that what adults call love? Hurting people and pretending it's for their own good?""
Richard didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The mansion door opened again, and Detective Mitchell emerged.
"Amara, your mother is being transported to the hospital. She asked for you.""
I wiped my face.
"Is she all right?""
"She's stable, but severely dehydrated. The doctors want to evaluate her before questioning her.""
I nodded.
Mitchell hesitated.
"There's something else. Thomas's accusation about Ruth is serious, but we need corroboration. We'll be investigating every part of it.""
I followed her inside.
My mother was lying on a stretcher near the entrance. An oxygen tube rested beneath her nose, and a paramedic was checking her blood pressure.
When she saw me, she reached out.
I took her hand.
"Mom, did Grandma try to hurt you?""
She closed her eyes.
For a moment, I thought she wouldn't answer.
Then she whispered, "I don't know what your grandmother became in the years after I disappeared. But I know she was at the bridge that night.""
My chest tightened.
"Why?""
My mother looked at me.
"Because she called me there. She told me she had information about Richard's father and wanted to help me escape.""
I stared at her.
"Then why would she arrange the accident?""
"That's what I couldn't understand. Ruth was frightened, Amara. She told me she'd discovered something terrible about Arthur Bennett. She said she had documents proving he was planning to take you away from me.""
"Why would he do that?""
"Because he believed you were the key to controlling Richard.""
I frowned.
"How could I possibly control him?""
My mother looked toward Richard.
"Because of who your father really was.""
Richard stepped closer.
"Elena, what are you talking about?""
She swallowed.
"Arthur knew that if Richard married me and raised our daughter, he'd eventually leave the company. He was already planning to retire, and he wanted Richard to take over. But he didn't trust him to follow the family's rules.""
Richard's face hardened.
"My father didn't control my marriage.""
"He tried," she replied.
"He offered Ruth money to convince me to leave you. When I refused, he threatened to have you declared unfit to run the company.""
I stared at her.
"And Grandma agreed?""
"At first, she did.""
The words hurt more than I expected.
My mother continued.
"Ruth came to me with an offer. She said if I gave up my claim to you and left town, Arthur would leave you alone. I refused. I told her you were my child and I would never surrender you.""
She began to cry.
"Then she asked me to meet her at Willow Bridge. She said she'd found a way to expose Arthur and protect us both.""
"What happened?""
My mother closed her eyes.
"When I arrived, I saw Thomas's car. Daniel was there too. I realized too late that Ruth had brought me into a trap.""
I gripped her hand.
"Did she know they were going to crash the car?""
"I don't know. I saw her standing beside the road just before everything happened. She was crying. She kept shouting that she hadn't meant for anyone to get hurt.""
My throat closed.
"Did she tell you to run?""
"She told me to take you and go. I was trying to reach you when the second car hit us.""
My mother stared at the ceiling.
"The last thing I remember before waking up at Ashford House was seeing Ruth carrying you into the woods.""
I felt dizzy.
"She saved me?""
My mother nodded.
"Yes.""
"Then why did she let me believe you abandoned me?""
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Because she was afraid that if you knew the truth, you'd go looking for me. And she believed the people who had taken me would hurt you too.""
I sat beside her, unable to speak.
My grandmother had helped create the danger.
Then she had saved me from it.
She had kept me safe by lying.
But had she protected me because she loved me, or because she couldn't live with what she'd done?
I didn't know.
And the uncertainty was unbearable.
At the hospital, doctors moved my mother into a private room. Detective Mitchell arranged for officers to guard the door while Marcus went to retrieve the documents from the estate.
Richard remained in the hallway.
He didn't try to enter the room until my mother asked for him.
Even then, he stood near the foot of the bed, as if afraid to approach her.
She looked at him for a long time.
"You look older.""
He gave a faint, painful smile.
"So do you.""
She didn't smile back.
"Did you marry?""
"No.""
"Why?""
Richard lowered his eyes.
"Because I couldn't imagine building a life with anyone else.""
My mother turned toward the window.
"You should have tried.""
"I know.""
"You shouldn't have spent seventeen years waiting for a ghost.""
"I wasn't waiting for a ghost. I was waiting for you.""
She closed her eyes.
"That isn't the same thing.""
Richard nodded.
"I know.""
I watched them in silence.
They had loved each other once, deeply enough to imagine a lifetime together. But the years between them had become a country neither knew how to cross.
Finally, my mother looked at me.
"Amara, there's something I need to tell you.""
I moved closer.
"What?""
"When I was at Ashford House, I heard the doctors talking about you. They said Ruth had signed a document allowing them to contact her if you ever showed signs of a certain condition.""
I frowned.
"What condition?""
"Your father and I were both tested for a hereditary heart disorder. Richard's family has a history of it. The doctors said the condition could appear in adulthood.""
Richard looked startled.
"My father never mentioned that.""
"He knew," my mother replied.
"Arthur had the results. He told Ruth that if you inherited the condition, he would use it to challenge her guardianship and take you away.""
I felt a chill.
"Was I sick?""
"No. The doctors told me you were healthy. But Arthur wanted the paperwork in case he needed leverage.""
Richard's hands clenched.
"My father used a child's health as a bargaining chip.""
"He used everything as a bargaining chip.""
My mother reached beneath her pillow and pulled out a thin envelope.
"I kept this hidden for years. I managed to retrieve it when I escaped Ashford House briefly, but they found me before I could get away.""
She handed it to me.
The envelope contained a photocopy of a bank transfer, a medical report, and a handwritten note.
I unfolded the note.
It was addressed to my grandmother.
Ruth,
The money has been transferred as agreed. Once Elena is removed, Richard will have no choice but to accept the arrangement. The girl must remain with you until further notice.
Do not contact the police.
Do not tell the child who her father is.
If you break our agreement, you will lose everything.
The letter was signed with two initials.
D.W.
Daniel Whitmore.
I looked at Richard.
"This proves Daniel paid Grandma.""
Richard examined the bank transfer.
"It also shows the payment came from an account linked to my father's company.""
My mother nodded.
"Arthur arranged it. Daniel carried it out. Ruth accepted the money because she thought she could save you.""
I stared at the signature.
"How much?""
Richard read the amount.
"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.""
My stomach turned.
"My grandmother sold my mother for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars?""
"No," my mother whispered.
"She took the money because she believed it was the only way to keep you alive.""
"But she still took it.""
My mother looked at me sadly.
"Yes.""
The room fell silent.
Then Detective Mitchell entered carrying a sealed evidence bag.
Inside was a small black notebook.
"We found this in a locked drawer at the estate," she said.
"It belonged to Arthur Bennett.""
Richard stared at it.
"My father kept that notebook in his office.""
Mitchell opened the evidence bag and turned to a page marked with a red tab.
"The entries suggest he was keeping track of payments made to several people involved in Elena's disappearance.""
She pointed to a line near the bottom.
"There's a payment to Ruth Cole, followed by another entry dated six months later.""
I leaned forward.
The second entry contained a name.
*ELENA COLE — TRANSFER AUTHORIZED.*
Beside it was an address.
And beneath the address, written in Arthur's distinctive handwriting, were six words.
*The daughter must never learn the truth.*
Richard took a step backward.
"That address," he whispered.
"I know it.""
"Where is it?"" I asked.
He looked at me.
"It's not Ashford House.""
He pointed to the paper.
"It's a private residence in Millbrook.""
Marcus entered the room behind Mitchell.
His expression was grim.
"We've just confirmed something from the medical archives. Elena wasn't transferred to Ashford House until two years after the accident.""
My mother gripped the bedrail.
"Where was I before that?""
Marcus hesitated.
"According to the records, you were held in a private residence under a false name.""
I looked at the address.
"Who owned it?""
Marcus glanced at Richard.
"Ruth Cole.""
The room went silent.
My grandmother hadn't merely hidden me from my father.
For two years, she had hidden my mother from the world.
And she had done it inside a house she owned.
I stared at the address until the numbers blurred.
Then my mother reached for my hand.
"Amara, there's one more thing.""
Her voice was barely audible.
"When I escaped from that house, I left something behind. Something I found in Ruth's sewing box.""
"What?""
"A photograph of a newborn baby.""
I frowned.
"Whose baby?""
My mother looked at Richard.
Then back at me.
"Yours.""
I shook my head.
"I was born eighteen years ago.""
"Yes.""
She began to cry.
"But the photograph was taken two days before your birth. And there was a second baby in the picture.""
My heart stopped.
"A second baby?""
My mother nodded.
"Amara, you weren't the only child born that night.""
Richard gripped the edge of the bed.
"What are you saying?""
My mother looked at me with terrified eyes.
"I'm saying that your grandmother didn't just hide the truth about your father.""
May you like
She swallowed.
"She hid the truth about your twin.""
