Chapter 16 - The Name Lorraine Refused to Say
Jake returned to the prison alone.
He did not go as a son hoping for an explanation. He went as Grace’s father.
Lorraine looked surprised when she saw him.
“You finally came.”
“Who is Martin Voss?”
Her face became guarded.
“You already know.”
“I know he wrote the guardianship petition. I know his initials appear on the missing birth record. I know someone associated with my father’s old organization tried to obtain Grace’s DNA.”
Lorraine’s composure cracked at the mention of the organization.
“Andrew promised he closed it.”
“Why?”
“Because he discovered what it had really been used for.”
Jake waited.
Lorraine explained that Andrew founded the project after finding evidence that their daughter might have survived. He wanted to help parents locate children whose adoptions had been concealed or mishandled.
Martin Voss offered legal assistance.
At first, Andrew trusted him.
Then families began paying large fees for searches that produced nothing. Documents disappeared. Witnesses changed their stories. Several parents were falsely told their children had died.
“Your father believed Voss was selling information to people who wanted those adoptions to stay hidden,” Lorraine said.
“Did Dad find my sister?”
Lorraine lowered her eyes.
“He found a name.”
Jake placed the photograph of the two babies against the glass.
“What name?”
Lorraine’s lips trembled.
“Leah.”
“Leah what?”
“I don’t know what surname they gave her.”
“Stop lying.”
“I am not lying about this.”
Jake stood.
Lorraine pressed both palms against the glass.
“Your father received a photograph shortly before he died. It showed a girl wearing a silver locket that belonged to my mother.”
“Where is the photograph?”
“Martin took it after the funeral.”
Jake turned toward the door.
Lorraine called after him.
“There is one more thing.”
He stopped without looking back.
“Andrew wrote Leah a letter,” Lorraine said. “He hid it somewhere you would never allow me to enter.”
May you like
Jake understood immediately.
His father had hidden the truth inside Jake’s childhood home.
