Chapter 8 - Nora’s Hidden Connection
Mia stared at her friend.
“Your father died five years ago.”
“That is what I was told.”
The words echoed through the office.
The same sentence Mia had repeated about Evelyn.
Detective Reed pulled out a chair.
“Nora, sit down.”
Nora remained standing.
“My father’s name was Thomas Hayes. He worked in corporate security. Five years ago, his boat was found empty off the coast. No body was recovered.”
Mia felt the room contract around them.
“You never told me there was no body.”
“I did not think it mattered.”
“You’re an attorney. You know it matters.”
“I also know what grief does when someone gives it a mystery. I chose not to spend my life chasing shadows.”
Mia pointed at the photograph.
“The shadow is standing beside my mother.”
Nora looked wounded.
“I know.”
Reed asked when Thomas and Evelyn could have met.
Nora walked to the timeline.
“Northbridge Medical Logistics employed private security contractors. My father’s firm worked with medical shipping companies.”
“Could he have worked for Evelyn?” Mia asked.
“Possibly.”
“Could he have helped her disappear?”
Nora did not answer.
Reed examined the airfield image.
“The vehicle departed before officers arrived. The flight plan listed a destination in Canada, but no aircraft matching the registration crossed the border.”
“So the registration was false,” Mia said.
“Or they never flew.”
Reed received a message and stepped into the hallway.
Mia remained across the table from Nora.
“How long have you suspected your father was alive?”
“I haven’t.”
“You recognized him immediately.”
“He is my father.”
“Did you know about Northbridge?”
“No.”
“Did you know about the lake house?”
“No.”
“Did you encourage me to investigate because you wanted to find him?”
Nora’s face tightened.
“I encouraged you because your family committed fraud.”
“That does not answer me.”
“I did not know.”
Mia wanted to believe her.
Nora had been the one person who never demanded money, never used Evelyn’s memory to manipulate her, and never told her to ignore what felt wrong.
Yet trust had become dangerous.
Mia collected her copies of the records.
“What are you doing?” Nora asked.
“Taking these somewhere safe.”
“They are safe here.”
“Your supposedly dead father is connected to the woman using my mother’s name.”
“That does not make me part of it.”
“No. But it means neither of us knows enough to promise safety.”
Mia left.
Outside, a gray sedan pulled away from the curb as she emerged.
She noticed it because the driver did not look at her.
He kept one hand near his face, shielding it from view.
Mia photographed the license plate.
At the secure apartment, she found the door unlocked.
She had locked it that morning.
Mia did not enter.
She called Reed and waited in the stairwell until officers arrived.
Nothing appeared stolen.
The trust records were still inside her bag.
The laptop remained on the desk.
Her mother’s photograph still stood beside the bed.
But someone had placed a white envelope beneath it.
Inside was an old key and a handwritten letter.
Mia recognized the handwriting.
My dearest Mia,
If you are reading this, Lorraine failed to keep you away from the lake house.
You will want to believe I abandoned you.
I did not.
You will want to trust the first person who offers answers.
Do not.
The truth was divided because one person could not safely hold all of it.
The key opens the room beneath the kitchen.
Bring no one named Mercer.
Bring no one named Hayes.
Mia read the final line twice.
Nora’s surname was Hayes.
May you like
Her mother’s warning had been written before Mia and Nora met.
On the back of the letter was today’s date.
