Chapter 10 - eleanor’s confession
Claire reached the Waverly Grand before sunrise.
She had nowhere else to go.
Richard had lied.
Miriam had vanished.
Someone was moving hundreds of millions of dollars through a company connected to her name.
And the only person who might understand the photograph of the twins was Eleanor.
Daniel brought Claire through a staff entrance to avoid the lobby cameras.
Eleanor waited in her private apartment on the hotel’s top floor.
For several seconds, neither woman spoke.
Claire had imagined this meeting since seeing the photograph.
She expected anger.
Questions.
Perhaps a dramatic embrace.
Instead, Eleanor looked afraid.
Claire placed the photograph on the table.
“You knew there were two babies.”
Eleanor touched the image.
“I knew for six hours.”
“What does that mean?”
“My pregnancy was dangerous. Thomas moved me to a private residence outside the city. When the girls were born, I lost consciousness.”
Claire remained standing.
“When I woke, Thomas placed one baby in my arms. He told me the second had died.”
“But this photograph was taken weeks later.”
“Yes.”
“So when did you discover she was alive?”
“The night this photograph was taken.”
Eleanor’s voice trembled.
“I entered the nursery without warning. Helena was holding one baby. Agnes Bell was holding another.”
“Who was Agnes?”
“A private nurse Thomas hired.”
“What did he say when you confronted him?”
“That the second child was medically fragile. He claimed he had kept her existence secret because public knowledge could affect an old succession agreement.”
“Did you believe him?”
“No.”
“What did you do?”
“I told him I would announce both daughters at the foundation dinner.”
“The night of the fire.”
Eleanor nodded.
Claire sat across from her.
“Helena said Thomas started the lie.”
“I believe he did.”
“Why?”
“Our marriage was not what the public believed.”
Eleanor looked toward the city.
“The Waverly trust could pass only through a legally recognized direct descendant. Thomas had no claim to it. He married me because I did.”
“And the twins?”
“The original document was written when infant mortality was common. It included a clause concerning multiple births.”
“What clause?”
“If twins were born, only the first registered child would control the voting trust. The second would receive a financial share but no authority.”
“Which one was born first?”
Eleanor’s eyes returned to Claire.
“I was never told.”
Claire thought about the two bracelets.
Rose and Moon.
“What happened during the fire?”
“I heard an alarm during the dinner. Thomas stopped me from leaving the ballroom. He said the nursery had already been evacuated.”
“But it hadn’t.”
“No.”
“Did he lock the corridor?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he try to kill us?”
Eleanor’s face tightened.
“I spent years asking that question after he died.”
“When did he die?”
“Six years after the fire. His car went off a bridge.”
“Was it an accident?”
“The police said it was.”
Claire almost laughed at the emptiness of that answer.
Eleanor reached into a drawer and removed a small velvet case.
Inside was a silver bell.
Claire recognized it from her dreams.
“Helena used this to calm the babies,” Eleanor said. “She rang it three times before entering the nursery.”
Claire touched the bell.
A memory moved through her.
Smoke.
Running footsteps.
A woman’s voice.
Rose goes east. Moon goes west.
Claire pulled her hand away.
“What is it?” Eleanor asked.
“I remember something.”
“What?”
“I don’t think Helena was alone.”
Before Claire could explain, Daniel entered.
“We found Miriam.”
Claire stood.
“Where?”
“She reached a service road near Graham Vale’s care facility and contacted Detective Torres.”
“Is she safe?”
“For now.”
Daniel looked toward Eleanor.
“She had a message from Graham.”
He placed a photograph of a ledger page on the table.
At the top was a handwritten entry dated the night of the fire.
Child A delivered to Miriam Hale.
Child B delivered to T. Waverly.
Eleanor read it.
Her face went white.
Claire stared at the second line.
“Thomas took one of the babies?”
“It appears so,” Daniel said.
“Where?”
“No location is listed.”
Eleanor turned the page over.
A more recent note had been written on the back.
Child B remains under observation.
Claire looked at Daniel.
“How recent?”
“Three weeks ago.”
The room became silent.
May you like
One of Eleanor’s daughters had not only survived.
Someone had been watching her.
