Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO NEVER DIED
Rebecca spent the next day searching for the name Evelyn had given her.
Eleanor Hart.
Grandma's younger sister.
Official records said she died decades ago.
But the photograph was recent.
Too recent.
Rebecca showed it to a private investigator.
The investigator found an address.
A small coastal town several hours away.
Rebecca went there with Evelyn.
They found an old house overlooking the water.
An elderly woman opened the door.
She stared at Rebecca.
Then smiled.
“You look like your grandmother.”
Rebecca could barely speak.
“Eleanor?”
The woman nodded.
“I wondered when you would come.”
Rebecca stepped inside.
The house was filled with photographs.
Some showed Grandma.
Some showed Thomas.
One showed Rebecca as a child.
Rebecca turned toward Eleanor.
“How do you know me?”
“Your grandmother sent me photographs.”
“Why did everyone say you were dead?”
“Because that was safer.”
“For who?”
“For everyone.”
Rebecca sat down.
Eleanor placed a cup of tea before her.
“Your grandmother knew the family was being watched.”
“By whom?”
Eleanor looked toward the window.
“People who wanted the Hart property.”
“Why?”
“Because beneath the legal documents was something more valuable than land.”
Rebecca waited.
Eleanor continued.
“Your grandfather created a private trust.”
Rebecca frowned.
“What was in it?”
“Evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
Eleanor's expression darkened.
“Financial crimes. Fraud. Secret agreements. People who believed they were untouchable.”
Rebecca remembered the flash drive.
“And Thomas?”
“He found the evidence.”
“Did he die?”
Eleanor looked directly into Rebecca's eyes.
“No.”
Rebecca's heart stopped.
“You know where he is?”
“I know where he was.”
“Where?”
Eleanor reached into a drawer.
She pulled out an old envelope.
“He sent this to your grandmother.”
Rebecca opened it.
Inside was a recent photograph of a man standing beside a train.
The man was older.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
Thomas Hart.
Rebecca stared.
“He's alive.”
Eleanor nodded.
“He was.”
Rebecca looked up.
“What do you mean?”
Eleanor whispered:
“He disappeared again six months ago.”
Rebecca's blood ran cold.
“Why?”
Eleanor handed her another photograph.
This one showed Thomas standing outside Hart House.
The date was only seven months old.
Rebecca stared at the image.
“He came back.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
May you like
Eleanor's answer was quiet.
“Because he didn't come back alone.”
