{"id":101,"date":"2026-11-03T17:59:06","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T17:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/?p=101"},"modified":"2026-11-03T18:01:21","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T18:01:21","slug":"part-6-the-secret-my-father-took-to-his-grave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/?p=101","title":{"rendered":"PART 6 \u2014 THE SECRET MY FATHER TOOK TO HIS GRAVE"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For the first time since I\u2019d walked into his office, Mr. Fenwick looked genuinely frightened.<br \/>\nI stared at him while Karen\u2019s breathing crackled through my phone.<br \/>\n\u201cWhy wasn\u2019t Dad\u2019s will filed with the court?\u201d I demanded.<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick slowly removed his glasses.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, there\u2019s an explanation.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen I\u2019d like to hear it.\u201d<br \/>\nKaren gave a bitter laugh.<br \/>\n\u201cOh, this should be interesting.\u201d<br \/>\nI tightened my grip on the phone.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren, don\u2019t hang up.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019m not going anywhere.\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick looked toward Linda Mercer, then at the lockbox resting on Dad\u2019s workbench.<br \/>\n\u201cYour father signed a will on March 14, 2009. I witnessed it. But several days later, he contacted me and said he needed to make changes.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat changes?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t explain over the telephone. He asked me to come to the house.\u201d<br \/>\nMy chest tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cDid you?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes. On March 25th.\u201d<br \/>\nThat was nine days before Dad died.<br \/>\nI remembered the date because I\u2019d called him that evening.<br \/>\nHe sounded exhausted.<br \/>\nHe told me not to worry.<br \/>\nHe said everything would be fine.<br \/>\nI hadn\u2019t understood why he said that.<br \/>\nUntil now.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat happened when you visited?\u201d I asked.<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick took a slow breath.<br \/>\n\u201cYour father was sitting in his study. His arm was bruised, and he had difficulty standing.\u201d<br \/>\nMy stomach twisted.<br \/>\n\u201cThe recording,\u201d I whispered.<br \/>\nHe nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cI asked what happened. He told me he\u2019d had an accident.\u201d<br \/>\nLinda covered her mouth.<br \/>\nI looked at the attorney.<br \/>\n\u201cDid you believe him?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen why didn\u2019t you do something?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI urged him to see a doctor. He told me he already had. I also asked whether anyone had hurt him.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAnd?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe refused to answer.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt anger rising inside me.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat about the will?\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<p>\u201cHe told me he wanted to postpone signing any changes until he\u2019d spoken to your mother.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at him.<br \/>\n\u201cSo the original will was still valid?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cPossibly. That depends on whether another legally effective document existed and on the probate record. I had the signed original in my office, but it disappeared after his death.\u201d<br \/>\nMy entire body went cold.<br \/>\n\u201cDisappeared?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWho had access to it?\u201d<br \/>\nHe hesitated.<br \/>\nThen Linda spoke.<br \/>\n\u201cTell her, Arthur.\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick turned toward her.<br \/>\n\u201cLinda\u2014\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe\u2019s already heard her father begging for help. She deserves the rest.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked between them.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat aren\u2019t you telling me?\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick swallowed.<br \/>\n\u201cYour sister came to my office two days after your father\u2019s funeral.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt my heart pound.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat did she want?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe asked whether your father had left a will.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAnd you told her?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThat he had signed one.\u201d<br \/>\nKaren suddenly spoke through the phone.<br \/>\n\u201cThat\u2019s not exactly how it happened.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked down at the screen.<br \/>\n\u201cThen explain it.\u201d<br \/>\nShe was silent.<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick continued.<br \/>\n\u201cShe insisted your father had revoked it. She brought a handwritten statement she claimed he\u2019d signed shortly before his death.\u201d<br \/>\nMy hands began trembling.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat statement?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cOne saying he wanted his estate distributed according to an earlier arrangement.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at him.<br \/>\n\u201cDid you believe it?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI had serious doubts. I told Karen that any competing documents would need to be examined through the appropriate legal process.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen why wasn\u2019t the will filed?\u201d<br \/>\nHe looked ashamed.<br \/>\n\u201cBefore I could submit the original, it went missing from the locked cabinet in my office.\u201d<br \/>\nI couldn\u2019t speak.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd you never told me?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI informed the authorities and the court of the missing document, but I should have contacted you directly. I believed your father\u2019s estate was being handled through another lawyer, and I failed to make sure you understood what had happened.\u201d<br \/>\nKaren\u2019s voice suddenly grew sharper.<br \/>\n\u201cDon\u2019t pretend you\u2019re innocent, Arthur.\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick looked at my phone.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat are you suggesting?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYou know what Dorothy asked you to do.\u201d<br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\n\u201cMom?\u201d<br \/>\nKaren laughed bitterly.<br \/>\n\u201cYes, Beth. Our perfect mother. The woman everyone believes couldn\u2019t possibly keep a secret.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt something crack inside my chest.<br \/>\n\u201cStop talking about her like that.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen ask your lawyer what she brought him after Dad died.\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick closed his eyes.<br \/>\nI stared at him.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat did Mom bring you?\u201d<br \/>\nHe opened his briefcase again.<br \/>\nFrom a narrow compartment, he removed a faded cream-colored envelope.<br \/>\nMy mother\u2019s handwriting covered the front.<br \/>\n<strong>FOR BETH \u2014 WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT.<\/strong><br \/>\nI stared at it.<br \/>\n\u201cHow long have you had that?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cSeventeen years.\u201d<br \/>\nThe words hit me like a physical blow.<br \/>\nSeventeen years.<br \/>\nWhile I struggled financially.<br \/>\nWhile Emily worked through college.<br \/>\nWhile Karen controlled everything.<br \/>\nA letter from my mother had been sitting in his office.<br \/>\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you give it to me?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Dorothy expressly asked me to keep it until she authorized its release, or until you uncovered your father\u2019s hidden documents.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt tears burning my eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd you agreed?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nI shook my head.<br \/>\n\u201cEveryone keeps telling me these secrets were meant to protect me. But all they\u2019ve done is leave me completely unprepared.\u201d<br \/>\nFor a moment, Mr. Fenwick said nothing.<br \/>\nThen he handed me the envelope.<br \/>\n\u201cYou\u2019re right, Beth.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at him.<br \/>\nHe spoke quietly.<br \/>\n\u201cWhatever your parents intended, you deserved the truth.\u201d<br \/>\nI opened the envelope.<br \/>\nInside was a four-page letter.<br \/>\nThe first sentence made me stop breathing.<br \/>\n<em>My darling Beth, if you are reading this, then the family you thought you knew has finally begun to unravel.<\/em><br \/>\nI sat down on Dad\u2019s old wooden chair.<br \/>\n<em>I need you to understand that your father was not a perfect man. He made decisions that hurt people. And I helped him hide some of them because I believed keeping our family together mattered more than telling the truth.<\/em><br \/>\nMy hands shook.<br \/>\n<em>I was wrong.<\/em><br \/>\nI looked up.<br \/>\nLinda was crying.<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick stood motionless.<br \/>\nI continued reading.<br \/>\n<em>When your father discovered Karen had been using your identity to obtain loans, he was devastated. But there was something he feared even more than the financial damage.<\/em><br \/>\nI swallowed hard.<br \/>\n<em>He feared discovering why she had become so desperate for money.<\/em><br \/>\nI turned the page.<br \/>\n<em>Karen had been paying someone for almost six years.<\/em><br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\nSomeone?<br \/>\n<em>Every month, she withdrew cash from different accounts. Your father believed she was gambling or hiding debts. Then he discovered the payments were going to a woman named Evelyn Price.<\/em><br \/>\nI whispered the name aloud.<br \/>\n\u201cEvelyn Price?\u201d<br \/>\nLinda\u2019s head lifted immediately.<br \/>\n\u201cYou know that name?\u201d<br \/>\nI shook my head.<br \/>\n\u201cNo. Should I?\u201d<br \/>\nLinda looked at Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\nHe seemed to recognize it.<br \/>\nI continued reading.<br \/>\n<em>Evelyn Price had threatened to reveal something about our family. Karen believed paying her was the only way to keep that secret buried.<\/em><br \/>\nMy heart was racing.<br \/>\n<em>Your father went to see Evelyn himself. When he returned, he was pale and trembling. He told me he had made a terrible mistake many years earlier, and that Karen was paying the price for it.<\/em><br \/>\nI stopped.<br \/>\nDad had made a mistake?<br \/>\nWhat mistake?<br \/>\n<em>He begged me not to ask questions that night. He promised to explain everything after speaking to Margaret.<\/em><br \/>\nI looked at the envelope bearing my aunt\u2019s name.<br \/>\nThe one Dad had hidden in his lockbox.<br \/>\nSuddenly, Aunt Margaret seemed more important than ever.<br \/>\nI continued.<br \/>\n<em>But the conversation between your father and Karen changed everything. When I returned home that evening, he was injured and terribly upset.<\/em><br \/>\nMy throat tightened.<br \/>\n<em>He told me Karen had taken documents and refused to call for help after he fell. I wanted to confront her immediately, but he begged me not to.<\/em><br \/>\nI wiped away my tears.<br \/>\n<em>I stayed with him. I insisted that he receive medical attention. He survived that night, but his health never fully recovered.<\/em><br \/>\nI closed my eyes.<br \/>\nAt least now I knew Mom hadn\u2019t simply abandoned him.<br \/>\nBut there were still questions.<br \/>\nSo many questions.<br \/>\nI turned the page.<br \/>\n<em>Several days later, your father told me something I never expected.<\/em><br \/>\nThe handwriting became shakier.<br \/>\n<em>He said the truth about Evelyn Price would change the way you looked at him forever.<\/em><br \/>\nMy heart pounded.<br \/>\n<em>He wanted to tell you himself. I begged him to do it. But he was afraid you would never forgive him.<\/em><br \/>\nI whispered, \u201cDad, what did you do?\u201d<br \/>\nThen I reached the next paragraph.<br \/>\nAnd everything changed.<br \/>\n<strong>Evelyn Price had a child. A daughter born thirty-eight years ago.<\/strong><br \/>\nI stopped reading.<br \/>\nThirty-eight years.<br \/>\nKaren was fifty-two.<br \/>\nI was forty-nine.<br \/>\nThe dates didn\u2019t make sense.<br \/>\nUnless\u2014<br \/>\nI stared at the letter.<br \/>\n<em>Your father believed that Evelyn\u2019s daughter might be his child.<\/em><br \/>\nI couldn\u2019t breathe.<br \/>\nLinda whispered, \u201cBeth?\u201d<br \/>\nI looked up.<br \/>\n\u201cAre you telling me Dad had another daughter?\u201d<br \/>\nNobody answered.<br \/>\nI turned back to the letter.<br \/>\n<em>He had known Evelyn years before he married me. Their relationship ended badly. She later told him the child was another man\u2019s. For decades, he believed her.<\/em><br \/>\nI felt dizzy.<br \/>\n<em>But when Evelyn contacted Karen, she claimed she had proof your father was the girl\u2019s biological parent.<\/em><br \/>\nI looked toward Linda.<br \/>\n\u201cDid you know?\u201d<br \/>\nShe nodded slowly.<br \/>\n\u201cYour father asked me to review the financial transfers. That\u2019s how I discovered Evelyn\u2019s name.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause I didn\u2019t know whether the claim was true.\u201d<br \/>\nI continued reading.<br \/>\n<em>Your father requested a paternity test. Evelyn refused. She demanded money instead.<\/em><br \/>\nMy stomach twisted.<br \/>\n<em>Karen believed the scandal would destroy our family. Your father feared the same thing. And I was so frightened of losing the life we\u2019d built that I allowed silence to become our answer.<\/em><br \/>\nTears fell onto the page.<br \/>\nMy mother had carried this secret for seventeen years.<br \/>\nMaybe longer.<br \/>\nAnd now Karen had used it to justify stealing from her own family.<br \/>\nI reached the final paragraph.<br \/>\n<em>Beth, whatever you discover, please remember that a child is never responsible for the circumstances of her birth. If this woman truly is your father\u2019s daughter, she deserves compassion, not punishment.<\/em><br \/>\nI lowered the letter.<br \/>\nThere was one final sentence written beneath Mom\u2019s signature.<br \/>\n<strong>Ask Margaret about the photograph taken at the lake in 1988. She knows who the girl really is.<\/strong><br \/>\nI stared at those words.<br \/>\nThe photograph.<br \/>\n1988.<br \/>\nI remembered a summer at the lake.<br \/>\nDad had taken Karen and me fishing.<br \/>\nAunt Margaret came along.<br \/>\nAnd there had been another little girl.<br \/>\nDark hair.<br \/>\nA yellow dress.<br \/>\nShe spent the afternoon playing with us.<br \/>\nI hadn\u2019t thought about her in decades.<br \/>\nI remembered asking Dad who she was.<br \/>\nHe told me she was the daughter of an old friend.<br \/>\nI was eleven years old.<br \/>\nI never questioned him.<br \/>\nUntil now.<br \/>\n\u201cLinda,\u201d I whispered, \u201cdo you know what happened to Evelyn Price?\u201d<br \/>\nShe nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cEvelyn died six years ago.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAnd her daughter?\u201d<br \/>\nLinda looked away.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat about her daughter?\u201d I repeated.<br \/>\n\u201cShe was adopted by relatives when she was young. I don\u2019t know her current name.\u201d<br \/>\nA horrible thought crossed my mind.<br \/>\n\u201cDoes Karen know?\u201d<br \/>\nLinda nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cI believe she found out before your father died.\u201d<br \/>\nMy phone was still connected.<br \/>\nKaren hadn\u2019t hung up.<br \/>\nI brought it closer.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren.\u201d<br \/>\nSilence.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren, did you know about Evelyn\u2019s daughter?\u201d<br \/>\nA long pause.<br \/>\nThen my sister whispered, \u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWas she Dad\u2019s child?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen why were you paying Evelyn?\u201d<br \/>\nKaren began crying.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause she threatened to tell you everything.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at the floor.<br \/>\n\u201cEverything about what?\u201d<br \/>\nKaren\u2019s voice shook.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, you don\u2019t understand what it was like being the oldest. Dad expected me to protect everyone. He made me responsible for things I shouldn\u2019t have known.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t explain the stolen money.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI know.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cOr the documents you signed in my name.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI know!\u201d<br \/>\nHer voice broke.<br \/>\nFor the first time, I heard something besides anger in my sister.<br \/>\nRegret.<br \/>\nBut regret didn\u2019t erase seventeen years of lies.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren, where did the six hundred thousand dollars go?\u201d<br \/>\nShe was silent.<br \/>\n\u201cTell me.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cSome went to Evelyn.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAnd the rest?\u201d<br \/>\nShe whispered, \u201cRichard handled it.\u201d<br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\n\u201cRichard Wallace?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick stepped closer.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, ask her what she means by \u2018handled it.&#8217;\u201d<br \/>\nI repeated the question.<br \/>\nKaren hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cHe helped arrange the transfers.\u201d<br \/>\nMy stomach dropped.<br \/>\n\u201cThe transfers from accounts in my name?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at Linda.<br \/>\nShe looked horrified.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren, are you telling me your attorney helped you use my identity?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI didn\u2019t say that!\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen what are you saying?\u201d<br \/>\nShe began breathing quickly.<br \/>\n\u201cI can\u2019t explain this over the phone.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen come to the police station and explain it.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cKaren\u2014\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo, Beth! You don\u2019t understand. Richard has documents that could destroy all of us.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt cold.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat documents?\u201d<br \/>\nShe lowered her voice.<br \/>\n\u201cThe ones Dad never wanted you to see.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart pounded.<br \/>\nI looked at Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\nHe shook his head slowly, warning me not to make promises.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren, listen carefully. Mom and Aunt Margaret are safe with the police now. The house documents have been found. You need to stop hiding.\u201d<br \/>\nShe began sobbing.<br \/>\n\u201cYou think this is over?\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at the cassette player.<br \/>\n\u201cNo. I think it\u2019s finally beginning.\u201d<br \/>\nFor several seconds, she said nothing.<br \/>\nThen she whispered something that made my blood run cold.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cBeth, the person you need to be afraid of isn\u2019t me.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cWho is it?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cRichard.\u201d<br \/>\nI frowned.<br \/>\n\u201cYour attorney?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe\u2019s not just my attorney.\u201d<br \/>\nMy stomach twisted.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<br \/>\nKaren took a shaky breath.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cHe married Evelyn\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI stopped breathing.<br \/>\nRichard Wallace.<br \/>\nThe man who had tried to access Emily\u2019s trust.<br \/>\nThe man who had appeared outside Mom\u2019s house.<br \/>\nThe man who was helping Karen transfer property.<br \/>\nHe might be married to my father\u2019s previously unknown daughter.<br \/>\nI looked at Linda.<br \/>\nShe appeared equally stunned.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren, are you certain?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat\u2019s her name?\u201d<br \/>\nKaren hesitated.<br \/>\nThen whispered:<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cRebecca Wallace.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI repeated the name.<br \/>\nRebecca.<br \/>\nMy possible half sister.<br \/>\nSomeone I\u2019d never met.<br \/>\nSomeone who might have spent her entire life believing our family had abandoned her.<br \/>\n\u201cDoes Rebecca know about us?\u201d I asked.<br \/>\nKaren\u2019s voice became quiet.<br \/>\n\u201cShe knows about you.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart stopped.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe knows your name. She knows where you live. And she knows about Emily.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt a chill crawl down my spine.<br \/>\n\u201cWhy?\u201d<br \/>\nKaren began crying again.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Richard told her your father left everything to his legitimate daughters.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt sick.<br \/>\n\u201cBut that isn\u2019t true. Dad left documents saying\u2014\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI KNOW!\u201d<br \/>\nKaren shouted so loudly I pulled the phone away.<br \/>\nThen she lowered her voice.<br \/>\n\u201cThat\u2019s why they\u2019re looking for the lockbox.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at Dad\u2019s workbench.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat does Richard want?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThe original records.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhy?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause they show that Rebecca was never excluded from anything by name. And they show what Evelyn actually received from Dad.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked toward the envelope marked Margaret.<br \/>\nThere had to be more inside.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren, what are you afraid Richard will find?\u201d<br \/>\nHer next words came out as a whisper.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cProof that Evelyn lied about who Rebecca\u2019s father was.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\nKaren began speaking rapidly.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, Dad suspected Rebecca wasn\u2019t his daughter. That\u2019s why he wanted the paternity test. Evelyn refused because she knew what the results might show.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at Mom\u2019s letter.<br \/>\n\u201cThen why was Dad so frightened?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Evelyn had another secret.\u201d<br \/>\nMy throat tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat secret?\u201d<br \/>\nKaren\u2019s breathing became uneven.<br \/>\n\u201cShe knew something about the money missing from Dad\u2019s business. Something Richard has spent years trying to hide.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at Linda.<br \/>\nShe was shaking her head.<br \/>\nThen Karen whispered:<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cBeth, you need to find the photograph from 1988. Margaret kept the original. Look at the man standing behind Evelyn.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI frowned.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat man?\u201d<br \/>\nKaren\u2019s voice dropped.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cRichard\u2019s father.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nThe call ended.<br \/>\nI stood completely still.<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick looked at me.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<br \/>\nI repeated everything.<br \/>\nHe sat down slowly.<br \/>\nThen he looked at Linda.<br \/>\n\u201cDo you remember Richard Wallace\u2019s father?\u201d<br \/>\nLinda\u2019s face went pale.<br \/>\n\u201cOf course.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWho was he?\u201d<br \/>\nShe swallowed.<br \/>\n\u201cThomas Wallace. He worked as your father\u2019s business partner for almost ten years.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cBusiness partner?\u201d<br \/>\nLinda nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd Beth, he was the person your father suspected of taking money from the company before Karen became involved.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt the room spin.<br \/>\nThe father.<br \/>\nThe daughter.<br \/>\nThe missing money.<br \/>\nThe hidden wills.<br \/>\nAll of it seemed connected.<br \/>\nThen Tyler appeared at the basement stairs.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, there\u2019s a police officer at the door.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart jumped.<br \/>\n\u201cDetective Harris?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo. A younger officer.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<br \/>\nTyler hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cHe says your mother has been taken to the hospital.\u201d<br \/>\nI grabbed my handbag.<br \/>\n\u201cIs she hurt?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe didn\u2019t say.\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick was already standing.<br \/>\nWe rushed upstairs.<br \/>\nA uniformed officer stood near the front door.<br \/>\n\u201cMrs. Carlson?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes. Is my mother okay?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe\u2019s conscious. She became distressed during her medical examination, and the doctor recommended observation.\u201d<br \/>\nI pressed a hand against my chest.<br \/>\n\u201cCan I see her?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes. But Detective Harris asked me to tell you something first.\u201d<br \/>\nMy stomach tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\nThe officer reached into his pocket and handed me a small folded note.<br \/>\n\u201cYour aunt Margaret asked us to deliver this to you.\u201d<br \/>\nI opened it.<br \/>\nThe handwriting was shaky but familiar.<br \/>\n<em>Beth, don\u2019t let anyone convince you that the photograph tells the whole story.<\/em><br \/>\nMy heart raced.<br \/>\n<em>Your father never knew what I discovered in 1988.<\/em><br \/>\nI looked up.<br \/>\nThen I read the final line.<br \/>\n<strong>The little girl in the yellow dress was not Evelyn\u2019s daughter. She was mine.<\/strong><br \/>\nI stared at the paper.<br \/>\nAunt Margaret.<br \/>\nThe woman I\u2019d believed was dead.<br \/>\nThe woman who\u2019d spent fifteen years separated from me by Karen\u2019s lies.<br \/>\nShe\u2019d had a daughter?<br \/>\nI looked at Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\nHe was as stunned as I was.<br \/>\nThen my phone vibrated.<br \/>\nA message from an unknown number.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cHello, Beth. My name is Rebecca Wallace. I believe it\u2019s time we finally met.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nAttached was a photograph.<br \/>\nA woman standing beside Richard Wallace.<br \/>\nShe had dark hair and serious eyes.<br \/>\nBut it wasn\u2019t her face that made me drop the phone.<br \/>\nIt was the necklace around her neck.<br \/>\nA small gold heart with a blue stone.<br \/>\nI recognized it immediately.<br \/>\nMy father had given that necklace to me on my eleventh birthday.<br \/>\nI lost it during our family trip to the lake in 1988.<br \/>\nAnd I had spent thirty-eight years believing it had disappeared into the water.<br \/>\nNow Rebecca Wallace was wearing it.<br \/>\nUnderneath the photograph was one final message.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cYour father gave me this necklace. And Beth, I have something that proves what really happened at the lake.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<h1>PART 7 \u2014 THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT EXPOSED A THIRTY-EIGHT-YEAR LIE<\/h1>\n<p>I stared at the photograph on my phone.<br \/>\nThe gold necklace.<br \/>\nThe tiny blue stone.<br \/>\nThe delicate heart-shaped pendant.<br \/>\nI would have recognized it anywhere.<br \/>\nMy father had given it to me on my eleventh birthday.<br \/>\nAnd now a woman I\u2019d never met was wearing it.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth?\u201d Mr. Fenwick asked gently. \u201cAre you all right?\u201d<br \/>\nI couldn\u2019t answer.<br \/>\nI enlarged Rebecca Wallace\u2019s photograph.<br \/>\nThere was a tiny scratch across the pendant.<br \/>\nI remembered exactly how it happened.<br \/>\nI\u2019d dropped the necklace on the kitchen floor while helping Mom bake a birthday cake.<br \/>\nDad picked it up, examined the scratch, and laughed.<br \/>\n\u201cNow it\u2019s truly yours, sweetheart. Nobody else in the world has one exactly like it.\u201d<br \/>\nI touched the screen.<br \/>\n\u201cIt really is mine.\u201d<br \/>\nLinda Mercer stepped closer.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat is?\u201d<br \/>\nI showed her the photograph.<br \/>\nShe frowned.<br \/>\n\u201cWhere did Rebecca get that?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe says Dad gave it to her.\u201d<br \/>\nLinda shook her head.<br \/>\n\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause your father told me he helped you search for that necklace after the lake trip. He said you were devastated when it disappeared.\u201d<br \/>\nI remembered that day clearly.<br \/>\nDad walked along the shoreline for almost an hour.<br \/>\nHe checked beneath the picnic table.<br \/>\nHe searched the grass around our cabin.<br \/>\nHe even asked the groundskeeper whether anyone had turned it in.<br \/>\nAnd now Rebecca claimed he\u2019d given it away.<br \/>\nMy phone vibrated again.<br \/>\nAnother message from her.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cI know you\u2019re wondering about the necklace. Meet me before you speak to Margaret. There are things she will never admit.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI felt my stomach tighten.<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick read the message.<br \/>\n\u201cDon\u2019t agree to meet her privately.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhy?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause we don\u2019t know what Rebecca believes, what Richard has told her, or what she intends.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at the screen.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat should I do?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cTell her you\u2019re willing to speak with her through proper arrangements, with someone you trust present.\u201d<br \/>\nI typed carefully.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cRebecca, I want to know the truth. But first I need to see my mother. We can arrange a meeting afterward.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nHer response came almost immediately.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cYour mother has spent years hiding the truth from you. Ask her why she kept the photograph.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nThen another message arrived.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cAnd ask her what happened to Evelyn Price\u2019s first husband.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI read those words twice.<br \/>\nEvelyn\u2019s first husband?<br \/>\nNobody had mentioned him.<br \/>\nNot Dad.<br \/>\nNot Karen.<br \/>\nNot Linda.<br \/>\nAnd not Mom.<br \/>\nBefore I could ask another question, Rebecca stopped responding.<br \/>\nThe officer waiting near the front door reminded us that Mom had been taken to the hospital.<br \/>\nI looked at the lockbox.<br \/>\n\u201cMr. Fenwick, what do we do with everything?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWe\u2019ll document the contents and arrange to preserve the originals securely. Detective Harris needs to know about the recording and these documents.\u201d<br \/>\nLinda nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019ll provide my copies of the financial records as well.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked toward Tyler and Hannah.<br \/>\nThey\u2019d been standing quietly near the stairs.<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry we\u2019ve dragged you into all of this.\u201d<br \/>\nHannah shook her head.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, your mother left that letter because she believed someone would do the right thing.\u201d<br \/>\nTyler nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd we aren\u2019t going to let anyone intimidate us into handing over evidence.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt tears gathering again.<br \/>\nThese two strangers had shown my family more decency in a few days than Karen had shown in years.<br \/>\n\u201cThank you,\u201d I whispered.<br \/>\nThen we left for the hospital.<br \/>\nDuring the drive, I kept thinking about the little girl in the yellow dress.<br \/>\nThe girl from the lake.<br \/>\nI remembered her laughing as we built a sandcastle.<br \/>\nI remembered Karen refusing to play with us.<br \/>\nAnd I remembered Dad standing near the dock, speaking quietly with Aunt Margaret.<br \/>\nBut there was something else.<br \/>\nSomething I\u2019d forgotten until now.<br \/>\nThat afternoon, Mom had taken a photograph of all three girls together.<br \/>\nKaren.<br \/>\nMe.<br \/>\nAnd the girl in yellow.<br \/>\nI could still picture Mom holding the camera.<br \/>\n\u201cStand closer together,\u201d she\u2019d said.<br \/>\nKaren crossed her arms.<br \/>\nI put my arm around the younger girl.<br \/>\nAnd the girl smiled directly at the camera.<br \/>\nI suddenly turned toward Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\n\u201cThe photograph from 1988. I think there were actually several.\u201d<br \/>\nHe glanced at me.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat do you remember?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cMom took pictures of us at the lake. I remember seeing them in an album when I was younger.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cDo you know where the album is?\u201d<br \/>\nI shook my head.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren took most of Mom\u2019s belongings after the house sold.\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick frowned.<br \/>\n\u201cThen we should ask Dorothy before looking elsewhere.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared out the window.<br \/>\nFor years, I\u2019d trusted Karen with everything.<br \/>\nMom\u2019s appointments.<br \/>\nDad\u2019s estate.<br \/>\nFamily photographs.<br \/>\nEven our childhood memories.<br \/>\nAnd now I was beginning to understand how dangerous it was when one person controlled not only the money, but the stories everyone believed.<br \/>\nWhen we reached the hospital, Detective Harris was waiting outside Mom\u2019s room.<br \/>\nHe stood when he saw us.<br \/>\n\u201cMrs. Carlson, your mother is stable.\u201d<br \/>\nI exhaled.<br \/>\n\u201cCan I see her?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes. But there\u2019s something I need to explain first.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart sank.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYour mother became upset when staff asked about Karen. She kept repeating that her daughter was going to hurt someone.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at him.<br \/>\n\u201cDid she say who?\u201d<br \/>\nHe nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cEmily.\u201d<br \/>\nMy blood turned cold.<br \/>\n\u201cMy daughter?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nI immediately took out my phone.<br \/>\nEmily lived two states away, near me.<br \/>\nShe worked at a medical billing office and had recently moved into a small apartment with her fianc\u00e9, Jason.<br \/>\nI called her.<br \/>\nNo answer.<br \/>\nI called again.<br \/>\nStraight to voicemail.<br \/>\nThen I sent a message.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cEmily, please call me immediately. It\u2019s important.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI looked at Detective Harris.<br \/>\n\u201cWhy would Mom think Emily is in danger?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWe\u2019re trying to establish that.\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick spoke.<br \/>\n\u201cThere have been attempts to obtain information about a trust held for Emily. We need to discuss those records with you.\u201d<br \/>\nThe detective nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cLet\u2019s make sure Dorothy is comfortable first.\u201d<br \/>\nHe opened the hospital room door.<br \/>\nAnd there was my mother.<br \/>\nSmall.<br \/>\nPale.<br \/>\nLying beneath a white blanket.<br \/>\nHer silver hair was brushed neatly away from her face.<br \/>\nFor one terrible second, I remembered the last time I\u2019d seen Dad in a hospital bed.<br \/>\nThen Mom turned her head.<br \/>\nHer eyes widened.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth?\u201d<br \/>\nI hurried to her.<br \/>\n\u201cMom.\u201d<br \/>\nShe reached for my hand.<br \/>\n\u201cOh, sweetheart.\u201d<br \/>\nI leaned over and hugged her.<br \/>\nShe felt so fragile.<br \/>\nSo much smaller than the woman who\u2019d raised me.<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019m here, Mom.\u201d<br \/>\nShe began crying.<br \/>\n\u201cI knew you\u2019d come.\u201d<br \/>\nI kissed her forehead.<br \/>\n\u201cOf course I came.\u201d<br \/>\nHer fingers tightened around mine.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren told me you didn\u2019t want to see me anymore.\u201d<br \/>\nThe words nearly destroyed me.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\nMom\u2019s lips trembled.<br \/>\n\u201cShe said you were tired of dealing with an old woman who couldn\u2019t remember things.\u201d<br \/>\nTears rolled down my face.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, I called you every Sunday.\u201d<br \/>\nShe nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cI know. But sometimes Karen wouldn\u2019t let me answer.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cShe told me you were sleeping.\u201d<br \/>\nMom closed her eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cSometimes I was. Sometimes I wasn\u2019t.\u201d<br \/>\nI held her hand tighter.<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019m so sorry.\u201d<br \/>\nShe opened her eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cDon\u2019t apologize for trusting your sister. I trusted her too.\u201d<br \/>\nFor several minutes, I simply sat beside her.<br \/>\nI didn\u2019t ask about the money.<br \/>\nOr the will.<br \/>\nOr the missing documents.<br \/>\nI just held her hand.<br \/>\nThen Mom looked toward the doorway.<br \/>\n\u201cIs Arthur here?\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick stepped inside.<br \/>\n\u201cHello, Dorothy.\u201d<br \/>\nShe smiled faintly.<br \/>\n\u201cYou found the box?\u201d<br \/>\nHe nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nHer eyes filled with tears.<br \/>\n\u201cThank goodness.\u201d<br \/>\nThen she looked at me.<br \/>\n\u201cDid you hear your father?\u201d<br \/>\nI swallowed.<br \/>\n\u201cThe cassette?\u201d<br \/>\nShe nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nI couldn\u2019t speak.<br \/>\nMom squeezed my hand.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, that recording doesn\u2019t tell you everything.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cI know. Karen told me you came home after she left.\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded slowly.<br \/>\n\u201cYour father was frightened. He was hurt. But he was still thinking about his daughters.\u201d<br \/>\nMy throat tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<br \/>\nShe stared at the ceiling for a moment.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause he asked me not to. And because I convinced myself that keeping quiet would stop our family from falling apart.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt a painful ache in my chest.<br \/>\n\u201cBut it didn\u2019t.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo, sweetheart.\u201d<br \/>\nHer voice trembled.<br \/>\n\u201cIt made everything worse.\u201d<br \/>\nI took a breath.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, I need to ask you about Evelyn Price.\u201d<br \/>\nHer entire expression changed.<br \/>\nFor a moment, she looked confused.<br \/>\nThen her eyes sharpened.<br \/>\n\u201cEvelyn.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nShe turned toward Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\n\u201cHas Rebecca contacted Beth?\u201d<br \/>\nThe room went silent.<br \/>\nI slowly nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cShe sent me a photograph.\u201d<br \/>\nMom closed her eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cOf course she did.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cMom, who is Rebecca Wallace?\u201d<br \/>\nShe didn\u2019t answer.<br \/>\n\u201cIs she Dad\u2019s daughter?\u201d<br \/>\nMom opened her eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cNo.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cYou\u2019re certain?\u201d<br \/>\nShe nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cYour father wasn\u2019t Rebecca\u2019s father.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart pounded.<br \/>\n\u201cThen why did Evelyn tell everyone he was?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked toward the window.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause she wanted money. And because she knew something that could destroy Thomas Wallace.\u201d<br \/>\nI remembered what Linda had said.<br \/>\nThomas Wallace.<br \/>\nRichard\u2019s father.<br \/>\nDad\u2019s former business partner.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat did Thomas do?\u201d I asked.<br \/>\nMom\u2019s voice became quiet.<br \/>\n\u201cHe stole from your father\u2019s company.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHow much?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cEnough that your father nearly lost everything.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt sick.<br \/>\n\u201cDid Dad know?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cEventually.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen why didn\u2019t he report it?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked at me sadly.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Thomas wasn\u2019t stealing for himself alone.\u201d<br \/>\nI frowned.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<br \/>\nMom took a shaky breath.<br \/>\n\u201cHe was supporting another household. Evelyn\u2019s household.\u201d<br \/>\nMy mouth went dry.<br \/>\n\u201cEvelyn was his mistress?\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cFor years.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cThen Rebecca was Thomas\u2019s daughter?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThat\u2019s what Evelyn eventually admitted to Margaret. But without the test, we could never prove it.\u201d<br \/>\nI sat back.<br \/>\nEverything was becoming clearer.<br \/>\nEvelyn had claimed Dad was Rebecca\u2019s father.<br \/>\nThomas Wallace had been involved with Evelyn.<br \/>\nAnd Karen had been paying Evelyn for years.<br \/>\nBut there was still something I didn\u2019t understand.<br \/>\n\u201cWhy did Karen believe Evelyn could destroy our family?\u201d<br \/>\nMom\u2019s eyes filled with tears.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Evelyn had a copy of the financial records.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThe records showing Thomas stole from Dad?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes. But those records also showed something your father did after he discovered the theft.\u201d<br \/>\nI leaned closer.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked ashamed.<br \/>\n\u201cHe arranged an agreement to keep the matter private.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cAn agreement?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThomas promised to repay the money. Your father agreed not to pursue the matter immediately, hoping the company and its employees could be protected.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cDid Thomas repay it?\u201d<br \/>\nMom shook her head.<br \/>\n\u201cOnly part of it.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen what happened?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThomas died. The business collapsed soon afterward. And Richard inherited his father\u2019s papers.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt cold.<br \/>\n\u201cSo Richard knew?\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cHe knew about the missing money. He knew about Evelyn. And he knew your father had documents that could expose everything.\u201d<br \/>\nI thought about Richard standing outside the house.<br \/>\nThe trust requests.<br \/>\nThe property transfers.<br \/>\nThe desperate search for the lockbox.<br \/>\n\u201cThat\u2019s why he wants the records.\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded again.<br \/>\n\u201cBut there\u2019s something else.\u201d<br \/>\nI leaned closer.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\nShe looked directly into my eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cRichard isn\u2019t trying only to protect his father.\u201d<br \/>\nMy stomach twisted.<br \/>\n\u201cThen what is he protecting?\u201d<br \/>\nMom hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca.\u201d<br \/>\nI frowned.<br \/>\n\u201cWhy?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Rebecca grew up believing your father abandoned her.\u201d<br \/>\nI swallowed.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd now?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNow she believes your father stole money that should have belonged to her mother.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at Mom.<br \/>\n\u201cThat\u2019s not true.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI know.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBut Richard told her that?\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd she\u2019s spent years trying to prove it.\u201d<br \/>\nI thought about the necklace.<br \/>\nThe photograph.<br \/>\nThe message Rebecca sent.<br \/>\nSuddenly, I realized she might not be trying to hurt me.<br \/>\nShe might be another person who\u2019d been lied to.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, how did Rebecca get my necklace?\u201d<br \/>\nMy mother became completely still.<br \/>\nI showed her the photograph.<br \/>\nShe stared at the tiny gold heart.<br \/>\nThen she covered her mouth.<br \/>\n\u201cOh, Beth.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\nHer eyes filled with tears.<br \/>\n\u201cI haven\u2019t seen that necklace in thirty-eight years.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca says Dad gave it to her.\u201d<br \/>\nMom shook her head.<br \/>\n\u201cNo.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen how did she get it?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked toward the doorway.<br \/>\n\u201cMargaret knows.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt a wave of frustration.<br \/>\n\u201cEveryone keeps telling me Margaret knows everything. Why won\u2019t anyone tell me what happened?\u201d<br \/>\nMom squeezed my hand.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause it\u2019s Margaret\u2019s story to tell.\u201d<br \/>\nI lowered my head.<br \/>\nFor a moment, I wanted to scream.<br \/>\nSeventeen years of secrets.<br \/>\nThirty-eight years of lies.<br \/>\nAnd still everyone was protecting someone.<br \/>\nThen Mom whispered, \u201cBut there\u2019s one thing I can tell you.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked up.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThe little girl in the yellow dress wasn\u2019t Rebecca.\u201d<br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\n\u201cThen who was she?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked at me with tears in her eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cHer name was Sarah.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cSarah?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cMargaret\u2019s daughter.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBut Aunt Margaret never told me she had a daughter.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI know.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhy?\u201d<br \/>\nMom hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Sarah disappeared shortly after that summer.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart stopped.<br \/>\n\u201cDisappeared?\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded slowly.<br \/>\n\u201cShe was eight years old.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<br \/>\nMom began crying.<br \/>\n\u201cWe were at the lake. Margaret had gone into town for supplies. Your father was repairing the boat. I was preparing dinner.\u201d<br \/>\nI remembered the little cabin.<br \/>\nThe wooden dock.<br \/>\nThe tall pine trees.<br \/>\nMom continued.<br \/>\n\u201cYou and Sarah were playing near the water. Karen was supposed to be watching you.\u201d<br \/>\nMy entire body went cold.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren?\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cShe was fourteen. Old enough to understand the responsibility.\u201d<br \/>\nI swallowed.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cSarah vanished.\u201d<br \/>\nI couldn\u2019t breathe.<br \/>\n\u201cVanished?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cOne moment she was there. The next, nobody could find her.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cDid she drown?\u201d<br \/>\nMom shook her head.<br \/>\n\u201cWe searched the lake. The woods. The road. Volunteers came. The police investigated.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAnd?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNothing.\u201d<br \/>\nMy chest tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cBut you said the girl was Margaret\u2019s daughter. What happened to her?\u201d<br \/>\nMom\u2019s hands trembled.<br \/>\n\u201cShe was never found.\u201d<br \/>\nFor several seconds, I couldn\u2019t speak.<br \/>\nI tried to remember that afternoon.<br \/>\nThe sunlight on the water.<br \/>\nThe laughter.<br \/>\nThe sandcastle.<br \/>\nAnd then something else.<br \/>\nA memory I\u2019d buried for thirty-eight years.<br \/>\nA black car parked near the boat ramp.<br \/>\nA woman standing beside it.<br \/>\nA woman wearing sunglasses.<br \/>\nI remembered Sarah walking toward that car.<br \/>\nI remembered someone calling her name.<br \/>\nAnd I remembered Karen grabbing my arm.<br \/>\n\u201cDon\u2019t look,\u201d she\u2019d whispered.<br \/>\nI sat completely still.<br \/>\nMom noticed my expression.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth?\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at her.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, I remember something.\u201d<br \/>\nHer eyes widened.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThere was a black car.\u201d<br \/>\nShe frowned.<br \/>\n\u201cAt the lake?\u201d<br \/>\nI nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cNear the boat ramp.\u201d<br \/>\nMom\u2019s face changed.<br \/>\n\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<br \/>\nI closed my eyes.<br \/>\nThe memory was faint, but the image had remained somewhere in my mind all these years.<br \/>\n\u201cI think Sarah walked toward it.\u201d<br \/>\nMom covered her mouth.<br \/>\n\u201cOh, my God.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at her.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, did the police know?\u201d<br \/>\nShe shook her head.<br \/>\n\u201cNobody mentioned a black car.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt my heart pounding.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren was there.\u201d<br \/>\nMom stared at me.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe grabbed my arm. She told me not to look.\u201d<br \/>\nMy mother\u2019s eyes filled with horror.<br \/>\nFor a moment, she seemed unable to breathe.<br \/>\nThen she whispered:<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, that explains something Margaret told me years later.\u201d<br \/>\nI leaned forward.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cMargaret said Karen knew more about Sarah\u2019s disappearance than she admitted.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt sick.<br \/>\n\u201cDid you ask Karen?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cMany times.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe insisted she hadn\u2019t seen anything.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at Mom.<br \/>\n\u201cShe lied.\u201d<br \/>\nMom closed her eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cMaybe.\u201d<br \/>\nThen she whispered, \u201cOr maybe she was frightened.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cOf what?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked toward the door.<br \/>\n\u201cOf the woman driving that car.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart jumped.<br \/>\n\u201cWho was she?\u201d<br \/>\nMom shook her head.<br \/>\n\u201cWe never knew.\u201d<br \/>\nI thought about Evelyn Price.<br \/>\nRebecca Wallace.<br \/>\nThomas Wallace.<br \/>\nThe lake photograph.<br \/>\nSuddenly, one terrible possibility crossed my mind.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, was Evelyn at the lake that summer?\u201d<br \/>\nShe looked at me.<br \/>\nThen slowly nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nI stopped breathing.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYour father had arranged to meet her that afternoon. He wanted to end her demands for money.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt dizzy.<br \/>\n\u201cDid he see her?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe said she never showed up.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at Mom.<br \/>\n\u201cBut what if she did?\u201d<br \/>\nMom\u2019s eyes widened.<br \/>\nI continued.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat if Evelyn was the woman in the black car?\u201d<br \/>\nShe gripped my hand.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, we can\u2019t assume that.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI know. But someone needs to investigate it.\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nI took out my phone.<br \/>\nMy hands were shaking.<br \/>\nI was about to call Detective Harris when Emily finally returned my call.<br \/>\n\u201cMom?\u201d<br \/>\nRelief flooded through me.<br \/>\n\u201cEmily! Thank God.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong? You sent me five messages.\u201d<br \/>\nI lowered my voice.<br \/>\n\u201cSweetheart, are you safe?\u201d<br \/>\nShe sounded confused.<br \/>\n\u201cYes. Why?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAt my apartment.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cIs Jason there?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo. He\u2019s working late.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt uneasy.<br \/>\n\u201cEmily, please listen carefully. Don\u2019t let anyone into your apartment unless you know who they are.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cMom, you\u2019re scaring me.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI know. I\u2019m sorry. But there\u2019s a problem involving Grandma\u2019s finances and some documents connected to you.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat documents?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019ll explain everything. But first, I need you to stay somewhere safe.\u201d<br \/>\nShe was quiet for a moment.<br \/>\nThen she said something that made my heart stop.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, somebody came to my office yesterday asking about my trust.\u201d<br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cA man. He said he represented Grandma.\u201d<br \/>\nMy stomach dropped.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat was his name?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cRichard Wallace.\u201d<br \/>\nI closed my eyes.<br \/>\nOf course.<br \/>\nRichard.<br \/>\nHe hadn\u2019t just been approaching Mom.<br \/>\nHe\u2019d been approaching my daughter.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat did he want?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe said there was paperwork I needed to sign before my twenty-fifth birthday.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt my blood run cold.<br \/>\n\u201cDid you sign anything?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo.\u201d<br \/>\nI nearly collapsed with relief.<br \/>\n\u201cBut he left an envelope.\u201d<br \/>\nI gripped the phone.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat was inside?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cSome forms. A letter. And a copy of an old photograph.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart began pounding.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat photograph?\u201d<br \/>\nEmily hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cThree little girls standing beside a lake.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at Mom.<br \/>\n\u201cEmily, describe the girls.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cOne older girl, one younger girl, and another girl in a yellow dress.\u201d<br \/>\nMy hands trembled.<br \/>\n\u201cWas there anything written on the back?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\nEmily lowered her voice.<br \/>\n\u201cIt said, \u2018Ask your mother which girl disappeared.&#8217;\u201d<br \/>\nI felt the air leave my lungs.<br \/>\n\u201cEmily, where is that photograph now?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cOn my kitchen table.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cDon\u2019t touch the papers again. Keep everything together. I\u2019m calling someone to help you.\u201d<br \/>\nShe hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, there\u2019s something else.\u201d<br \/>\nI closed my eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThe man told me Grandma had been hiding money from someone.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked toward Mom.<br \/>\n\u201cFrom whom?\u201d<br \/>\nEmily swallowed.<br \/>\n\u201cHe said the money belonged to a woman named Sarah.\u201d<br \/>\nMy entire body went cold.<br \/>\nSarah.<br \/>\nAunt Margaret\u2019s missing daughter.<br \/>\nThe girl who vanished from the lake in 1988.<br \/>\n\u201cEmily, what exactly did he say?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe said Sarah was supposed to inherit something, but Grandma and Grandpa kept it.\u201d<br \/>\nI couldn\u2019t speak.<br \/>\nThen Emily whispered:<br \/>\n\u201cMom, he told me Sarah is still alive.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at the wall.<br \/>\nMy thoughts stopped.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe said she changed her name years ago.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked toward Mom.<br \/>\nShe was watching me with frightened eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cEmily, did he tell you her new name?\u201d<br \/>\nThere was a long silence.<br \/>\nThen my daughter answered.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cRebecca Wallace.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nMy knees nearly gave way.<br \/>\nRebecca.<br \/>\nThe woman wearing my necklace.<br \/>\nThe woman claiming to be my father\u2019s daughter.<br \/>\nThe woman married to Richard Wallace.<br \/>\nCould she actually be Aunt Margaret\u2019s missing child?<br \/>\nI looked at Mom.<br \/>\nHer face had gone completely white.<br \/>\n\u201cMom,\u201d I whispered, \u201cEmily says Rebecca is Sarah.\u201d<br \/>\nMom stared at me.<br \/>\nThen she began shaking her head.<br \/>\n\u201cNo.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cMom?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo, Beth. That can\u2019t be.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhy?\u201d<br \/>\nShe started crying.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Margaret found Sarah\u2019s birth records years ago. She tried to track her down. And someone sent her a death certificate.\u201d<br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\n\u201cA death certificate?\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cIt said Sarah died in 1994.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart raced.<br \/>\n\u201cBut you said she was never found.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe wasn\u2019t. The certificate arrived anonymously. Margaret never managed to verify it.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at the photograph on my phone.<br \/>\nRebecca\u2019s face.<br \/>\nThe necklace.<br \/>\nThe blue stone.<br \/>\nThen I remembered something else about the little girl at the lake.<br \/>\nSarah had a tiny scar above her left eyebrow.<br \/>\nShe\u2019d gotten it falling from a bicycle.<br \/>\nI enlarged Rebecca\u2019s photograph.<br \/>\nMy hands began trembling.<br \/>\nJust above her left eyebrow was a faint white line.<br \/>\nExactly where Sarah\u2019s scar had been.<br \/>\nI stared at it.<br \/>\nThe resemblance didn\u2019t prove anything.<br \/>\nThirty-eight years had passed.<br \/>\nBut suddenly I understood why Margaret wanted me to see the original photograph.<br \/>\nI turned toward Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\n\u201cWe need to find out who Rebecca really is.\u201d<br \/>\nHe nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cThat will require reliable records, and possibly a voluntary DNA comparison.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked back at Mom.<br \/>\nShe was crying silently.<br \/>\nThen she whispered something I barely heard.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, if Rebecca really is Sarah, Margaret needs to know.\u201d<br \/>\nI nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019ll tell her.\u201d<br \/>\nBut Mom grabbed my wrist.<br \/>\n\u201cNot until you hear what happened the night Sarah disappeared.\u201d<br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked directly into my eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cYour sister came into the cabin after everyone started searching.\u201d<br \/>\nI swallowed.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe was soaking wet. Her clothes were muddy. And she had blood on her sleeve.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart stopped.<br \/>\n\u201cBlood?\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cShe told us she\u2019d fallen in the woods.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cDid Dad believe her?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<br \/>\nMom closed her eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cHe took her outside and questioned her for almost an hour.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAnd what happened?\u201d<br \/>\nMom\u2019s voice broke.<br \/>\n\u201cWhen they came back, your father looked like he\u2019d aged twenty years.\u201d<br \/>\nI gripped her hand.<br \/>\n\u201cDid he tell you what Karen said?\u201d<br \/>\nMom slowly shook her head.<br \/>\n\u201cNot that night.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen when?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cSeventeen years later. Three days before he died.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart began pounding.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat did he tell you?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked at me with tears streaming down her cheeks.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cHe said Karen hadn\u2019t watched Sarah disappear.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cThen what did she do?\u201d<br \/>\nMom\u2019s next words were almost inaudible.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cShe helped the woman take her.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI couldn\u2019t breathe.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren helped someone take an eight-year-old child?\u201d<br \/>\nMom began sobbing.<br \/>\n\u201cThat\u2019s what your father finally told me. But he didn\u2019t know whether Karen understood what was happening when she was fourteen.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at the phone.<br \/>\nMy sister.<br \/>\nThe girl who\u2019d always insisted she knew nothing.<br \/>\nThe woman who\u2019d told me Aunt Margaret was dead.<br \/>\nThe woman who\u2019d spent years hiding documents and controlling our family\u2019s money.<br \/>\nSuddenly, every secret seemed connected to that summer.<br \/>\nThen my phone vibrated.<br \/>\nAnother message from Rebecca.<br \/>\nThis time there was no photograph.<br \/>\nJust one sentence.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cBeth, I know what Karen did at the lake. But there\u2019s something she doesn\u2019t know about me.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI stared at the screen.<br \/>\nA second message appeared.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cI remember the woman who took me. And I remember what she called your father.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI felt a chill run through my body.<br \/>\nThen the final message arrived.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cShe called him the man who paid for me.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI looked up at Mom.<br \/>\nShe was staring at my phone.<br \/>\nAnd for the first time, I saw something in her expression that frightened me more than all the secrets we\u2019d uncovered.<br \/>\nRecognition.<br \/>\n<strong>Because my mother knew exactly what those words meant.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\"><\/div>\n<h1>PART 8 \u2014 THE TRUTH ABOUT THE LITTLE GIRL WHO VANISHED AT THE LAKE<\/h1>\n<p>My mother stared at Rebecca\u2019s message as though she\u2019d seen a ghost.<br \/>\n<em>She called him the man who paid for me.<\/em><br \/>\nI watched the color drain from Mom\u2019s face.<br \/>\n\u201cMom,\u201d I whispered, \u201cwhat does that mean?\u201d<br \/>\nShe didn\u2019t answer.<br \/>\nHer fingers tightened around the hospital blanket.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, please. No more secrets.\u201d<br \/>\nTears filled her eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, there are things your father did that I spent my entire marriage trying to understand.\u201d<br \/>\nMy stomach twisted.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat things?\u201d<br \/>\nShe looked toward the door.<br \/>\n\u201cClose it, sweetheart.\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick stepped outside to speak with Detective Harris, leaving me alone with Mom.<br \/>\nI pulled the chair closer.<br \/>\n\u201cTell me.\u201d<br \/>\nShe took a trembling breath.<br \/>\n\u201cYour father gave Evelyn Price money in 1988.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cMoney for what?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked down.<br \/>\n\u201cTo take Sarah away from the lake.\u201d<br \/>\nFor several seconds, I couldn\u2019t hear anything except the hum of the hospital equipment.<br \/>\nMy father.<br \/>\nThe man who taught me to ride a bicycle.<br \/>\nThe man who cried when I graduated.<br \/>\nThe man who left secret letters trying to protect his family.<br \/>\nHad paid someone to take an eight-year-old girl?<br \/>\n\u201cNo,\u201d I whispered. \u201cThat can\u2019t be true.\u201d<br \/>\nMom began crying.<br \/>\n\u201cI said the same thing when I discovered the payment.\u201d<br \/>\nI stood up.<br \/>\n\u201cWhy would Dad do that to Aunt Margaret?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause he believed Sarah was in danger.\u201d<br \/>\nI stopped.<br \/>\n\u201cDanger from whom?\u201d<br \/>\nMom hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cFrom Margaret\u2019s husband.\u201d<br \/>\nI frowned.<br \/>\n\u201cAunt Margaret was married?\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded slowly.<br \/>\n\u201cHis name was Robert Price.\u201d<br \/>\nThe surname hit me immediately.<br \/>\n\u201cPrice? Like Evelyn Price?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cRobert was Evelyn\u2019s older brother.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\nNobody had ever told me that.<br \/>\nNot Karen.<br \/>\nNot Dad.<br \/>\nNot even Aunt Margaret.<br \/>\nMom continued.<br \/>\n\u201cRobert and Margaret married when they were very young. He was charming at first. But after Sarah was born, he became controlling and frightening.\u201d<br \/>\nMy chest tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cDid he hurt them?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cMargaret told your father that Robert had threatened to take Sarah away. She wanted to leave him, but she was afraid.\u201d<br \/>\nI swallowed.<br \/>\n\u201cSo Dad arranged for Evelyn to take Sarah somewhere safe?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThat was what he believed he was arranging.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<br \/>\nMom\u2019s voice trembled.<br \/>\n\u201cEvelyn promised to take Sarah to relatives in another state until Margaret could make legal arrangements to protect her.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThen why did Sarah disappear?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Evelyn never brought her back.\u201d<br \/>\nMy hands went cold.<br \/>\nMom wiped her eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cYour father gave Evelyn money for transportation and temporary care. But Evelyn demanded more. She threatened to claim he had paid her to kidnap Sarah unless he continued sending money.\u201d<br \/>\nI sat down slowly.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd Karen?\u201d<br \/>\nMom closed her eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cKaren knew Sarah was supposed to leave with Evelyn. Your father told her it was a secret because Margaret was frightened of Robert.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt sick.<br \/>\n\u201cHe involved a fourteen-year-old girl?\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded miserably.<br \/>\n\u201cYes. And when Evelyn arrived early, Karen helped Sarah into the car.\u201d<br \/>\nI remembered the black vehicle.<br \/>\nKaren grabbing my arm.<br \/>\nThe girl in yellow walking away.<br \/>\n\u201cWhy did Karen have blood on her sleeve?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cSarah scraped her knee near the boat ramp. Karen helped her up.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at Mom.<br \/>\nThat tiny detail had haunted our family for thirty-eight years.<br \/>\nAnd all this time, the explanation might have been something so simple.<br \/>\n\u201cBut Mom, why didn\u2019t Dad tell the police?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAt first, he believed Evelyn would contact him. Then she began threatening him. He became terrified that admitting the arrangement would make him responsible for Sarah\u2019s disappearance.\u201d<br \/>\nI shook my head.<br \/>\n\u201cHe should have told the truth.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI know.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cMargaret lost her daughter.\u201d<br \/>\nMom covered her face.<br \/>\n\u201cI know, Beth.\u201d<br \/>\nI stood beside the window.<br \/>\nFor a moment, I couldn\u2019t bear to look at her.<br \/>\nMy entire childhood had been built around the idea that my parents were good people who always did the right thing.<br \/>\nNow I was learning that even people who loved deeply could make terrible decisions.<br \/>\nAnd that those decisions could destroy lives.<br \/>\n\u201cDid Aunt Margaret ever find out?\u201d<br \/>\nMom nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cNot until years later.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYour father finally confessed that he\u2019d arranged for Evelyn to take Sarah. Margaret was furious. She never completely forgave him.\u201d<br \/>\nI remembered Aunt Margaret disappearing from family gatherings.<br \/>\nHer calls becoming less frequent.<br \/>\nHer name rarely being mentioned.<br \/>\nI had assumed she\u2019d simply grown distant.<br \/>\nNow I understood why.<br \/>\n\u201cBut she still protected his documents,\u201d I said.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause she knew Karen wasn\u2019t the only person responsible for what happened.\u201d<br \/>\nI turned back.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked exhausted.<br \/>\n\u201cEvelyn had help.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart pounded.<br \/>\n\u201cWho?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThomas Wallace.\u201d<br \/>\nRichard\u2019s father.<br \/>\nDad\u2019s former business partner.<br \/>\nThe man Linda suspected of stealing from the company.<br \/>\nI felt a chill.<br \/>\n\u201cThomas helped Evelyn take Sarah?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYour father eventually suspected that Thomas arranged where Sarah would live. But he never proved it.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at Mom.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd now Rebecca Wallace might actually be Sarah.\u201d<br \/>\nShe nodded slowly.<br \/>\n\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re afraid of.\u201d<br \/>\nI took out my phone.<br \/>\nRebecca\u2019s photograph filled the screen.<br \/>\nThe scar above her eyebrow.<br \/>\nThe gold necklace.<br \/>\nThe eyes that looked strangely familiar.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, why would Rebecca believe Dad paid for her?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Evelyn may have told her only part of the story.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt tears gathering.<br \/>\n\u201cShe spent her whole life believing someone bought her?\u201d<br \/>\nMom looked away.<br \/>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what she was told. But if that\u2019s what she believes, we need to help her find the truth.\u201d<br \/>\nBefore I could answer, someone knocked.<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick entered.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, Detective Harris has spoken with Margaret.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart jumped.<br \/>\n\u201cIs she okay?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes. She\u2019s been medically evaluated, and she wants to speak with you.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cCan I go now?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe asked for something first.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe wants to know whether Rebecca Wallace has contacted you.\u201d<br \/>\nI exchanged a glance with Mom.<br \/>\n\u201cShe has.\u201d<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cThen Margaret has a request. She wants Rebecca to agree to a DNA test.\u201d<br \/>\nMy breath caught.<br \/>\n\u201cTo prove she\u2019s Sarah?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes. Margaret says she has documents that may help establish the connection, but she wants independent confirmation.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at my phone.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca might refuse.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe might. We cannot compel her simply because the family wants answers.\u201d<br \/>\nI nodded.<br \/>\nThen I typed a message.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cRebecca, I spoke with my mother. I believe there may be something important about your childhood that you were never told. Aunt Margaret is alive. She would like to meet you and arrange a voluntary DNA test.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI pressed send.<br \/>\nThree dots appeared almost immediately.<br \/>\nThen disappeared.<br \/>\nThen appeared again.<br \/>\nFinally, her response arrived.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cMargaret Carlson is alive?\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI felt my chest tighten.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nA long pause.<br \/>\nThen:<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cRichard told me she died years ago.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI stared at the screen.<br \/>\nAnother lie.<br \/>\nAnother person told that Aunt Margaret was dead.<br \/>\nI typed:<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cShe\u2019s alive, Rebecca. And she\u2019s been looking for her daughter for thirty-eight years.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nThis time, Rebecca called me.<br \/>\nI answered with trembling hands.<br \/>\n\u201cHello?\u201d<br \/>\nA woman\u2019s voice spoke quietly.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nFor a moment, neither of us said anything.<br \/>\nThen she whispered:<br \/>\n\u201cWhy would Margaret want to find me?\u201d<br \/>\nI closed my eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause she believes you might be Sarah.\u201d<br \/>\nSilence.<br \/>\nThen a shaky breath.<br \/>\n\u201cSarah.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cDoes that name mean anything to you?\u201d<br \/>\nShe didn\u2019t answer immediately.<br \/>\nThen she said:<br \/>\n\u201cI remember being called that when I was little.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart nearly stopped.<br \/>\n\u201cBy whom?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cA woman who used to sing to me at bedtime.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cDo you remember her face?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNot clearly.\u201d<br \/>\nHer voice trembled.<br \/>\n\u201cBut I remember her hands. She had a small burn scar across her right wrist.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked toward Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\n\u201cWait.\u201d<br \/>\nI turned to Mom.<br \/>\n\u201cDoes Aunt Margaret have a scar on her wrist?\u201d<br \/>\nMom\u2019s eyes widened.<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nMy breath caught.<br \/>\n\u201cHow did she get it?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe burned herself taking a pie out of the oven when she was twenty-six.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at the phone.<br \/>\nRebecca began crying.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d<br \/>\nI could barely speak.<br \/>\n\u201cMargaret has that scar.\u201d<br \/>\nThe line went silent.<br \/>\nThen I heard Rebecca whisper:<br \/>\n\u201cOh, my God.\u201d<br \/>\nI sat down.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca, where are you?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAt home.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cIs Richard with you?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt relieved.<br \/>\n\u201cCan you speak freely?\u201d<br \/>\nShe hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cI think so.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhy did Richard come to Mom\u2019s house today?\u201d<br \/>\nHer voice changed.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cRichard was there with Linda Mercer. He tried to get into the basement.\u201d<br \/>\nRebecca sounded genuinely confused.<br \/>\n\u201cRichard told me he was meeting a client.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\nHe raised his eyebrows.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca, did you ask him to investigate Emily\u2019s trust?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo.\u201d<br \/>\nMy stomach tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cDid he tell you about it?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes. He said the Carlson family had money that legally belonged to me.\u201d<br \/>\nI closed my eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cDid he ask you to sign documents?\u201d<br \/>\nShe hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cSeveral.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat documents?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe said they were necessary to establish my inheritance rights.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt sick.<br \/>\n\u201cDo you have copies?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cPlease keep them safe. Don\u2019t sign anything else until you\u2019ve had independent legal advice.\u201d<br \/>\nShe began breathing faster.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, are you saying Richard has been lying to me?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know everything he\u2019s done. But there are serious questions about the information he\u2019s given you.\u201d<br \/>\nShe started crying.<br \/>\n\u201cHe\u2019s my husband.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart ached.<br \/>\n\u201cI know.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been married for fourteen years.\u201d<br \/>\nI swallowed.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca, I understand this is difficult.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cNo. You don\u2019t.\u201d<br \/>\nHer voice broke.<br \/>\n\u201cRichard was the first person who ever made me feel like I belonged somewhere.\u201d<br \/>\nFor a moment, I couldn\u2019t speak.<br \/>\nThen she continued.<br \/>\n\u201cI grew up being told my mother abandoned me. Evelyn said my father didn\u2019t want me. I spent years believing nobody cared whether I lived or died.\u201d<br \/>\nMy eyes filled with tears.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd Richard told me he could find the people responsible.\u201d<br \/>\nI whispered, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe said he\u2019d get justice for me.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked down at Mom\u2019s letter.<br \/>\nRebecca wasn\u2019t simply a stranger demanding money.<br \/>\nShe was a woman who\u2019d spent decades searching for a family.<br \/>\nAnd Richard may have turned that pain into something he could use.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca, Aunt Margaret never stopped looking for Sarah.\u201d<br \/>\nShe began sobbing.<br \/>\n\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBecause she kept records. She asked people for help. And she wanted to know whether you were alive.\u201d<br \/>\nThere was a long silence.<br \/>\nThen Rebecca whispered:<br \/>\n\u201cCan I see her?\u201d<br \/>\nMy throat tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cToday?\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\nHe nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cWe can ask the hospital and Detective Harris to arrange a safe meeting,\u201d I told her.<br \/>\nShe exhaled shakily.<br \/>\n\u201cOkay.\u201d<br \/>\nThen her voice lowered.<br \/>\n\u201cBut Beth, there\u2019s something I need to tell you before we meet.\u201d<br \/>\nMy stomach tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI found something in Richard\u2019s office last night.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked up.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cA folder with your name on it.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart jumped.<br \/>\n\u201cMy name?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes. And Emily\u2019s.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt cold.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat was inside?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cCopies of bank documents. A property deed. And a letter from Karen.\u201d<br \/>\nI gripped the phone.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat did the letter say?\u201d<br \/>\nRebecca hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cIt said Karen had completed the first transfer and was waiting for Richard to arrange the second.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart pounded.<br \/>\n\u201cSecond transfer of what?\u201d<br \/>\nShe swallowed.<br \/>\n\u201cThe commercial property.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\nThe twelve acres Dad had intended to leave for me.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca, did the letter mention an amount?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHow much?\u201d<br \/>\nShe took a breath.<br \/>\n\u201cTwo million, eight hundred thousand dollars.\u201d<br \/>\nI nearly dropped the phone.<br \/>\nMr. Fenwick stared at me.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth?\u201d he asked.<br \/>\nI repeated the amount.<br \/>\nHis expression changed.<br \/>\n\u201cThat\u2019s close to the estimated current market value of the parcel.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt my stomach turn.<br \/>\nKaren wasn\u2019t just hiding Dad\u2019s inheritance.<br \/>\nShe might have been preparing to sell it.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca, did you copy the documents?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt a flicker of hope.<br \/>\n\u201cPlease preserve them. Detective Harris may need to examine them.\u201d<br \/>\nShe hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cThere\u2019s one more thing.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cThe documents had a deadline.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart sank.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat deadline?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cTomorrow.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\n\u201cTomorrow?\u201d<br \/>\nRebecca nodded, though I couldn\u2019t see her.<br \/>\n\u201cRichard told Karen the transaction had to close before the court reviewed Dorothy\u2019s power of attorney.\u201d<br \/>\nMy hands began trembling.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth,\u201d Mr. Fenwick said quietly, \u201cwe need to notify the detective immediately.\u201d<br \/>\nRebecca started crying again.<br \/>\n\u201cI didn\u2019t know any of this. I swear.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI believe you,\u201d I whispered.<br \/>\nThen she said something that made my blood run cold.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, the commercial land isn\u2019t the only thing Richard is trying to sell.\u201d<br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat else?\u201d<br \/>\nShe hesitated.<br \/>\n\u201cThe house Margaret lives in.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at the phone.<br \/>\nThe house where Mom and Aunt Margaret had been found.<br \/>\nThe house Karen had apparently tried to transfer without Margaret\u2019s consent.<br \/>\n\u201cBut why?\u201d I asked.<br \/>\nRebecca\u2019s voice became barely audible.<br \/>\n\u201cBecause Richard says there\u2019s something buried beneath the property.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt a chill.<br \/>\n\u201cBuried?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI don\u2019t know. He said his father left records explaining where to dig.\u201d<br \/>\nMy mind raced.<br \/>\nThomas Wallace.<br \/>\nThe missing business money.<br \/>\nThe secret agreements.<br \/>\nThe house Dad inherited.<br \/>\nEverything seemed to lead back to the same place.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca, what exactly did Richard say?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe said once the property was transferred, nobody could stop him from getting what his father left behind.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\nThen another voice came through Rebecca\u2019s phone.<br \/>\nA man\u2019s voice.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca?\u201d<br \/>\nShe gasped.<br \/>\n\u201cOh, no.\u201d<br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\n\u201cRebecca?\u201d<br \/>\nThe man spoke again.<br \/>\n\u201cWho are you talking to?\u201d<br \/>\nRebecca whispered:<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, he\u2019s home.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart pounded.<br \/>\n\u201cStay calm.\u201d<br \/>\nI heard footsteps.<br \/>\nThen Richard Wallace\u2019s unmistakable voice.<br \/>\n\u201cGive me the phone.\u201d<br \/>\nRebecca said, \u201cRichard, please\u2014\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cGive it to me.\u201d<br \/>\nA rustling sound followed.<br \/>\nThen Richard spoke.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth Carlson.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt my stomach drop.<br \/>\n\u201cRichard.\u201d<br \/>\nHis voice was smooth.<br \/>\nAlmost pleasant.<br \/>\n\u201cI think we need to have a conversation.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhere is Rebecca?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cRight here.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cLet me speak to her.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cShe\u2019s upset.\u201d<br \/>\nI gripped the phone.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat have you done?\u201d<br \/>\nHe laughed softly.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, you\u2019re becoming emotional. That\u2019s understandable. But you\u2019re making this much more complicated than necessary.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\nHe motioned for me to keep talking while he contacted Detective Harris.<br \/>\n\u201cDid you try to transfer my father\u2019s property?\u201d<br \/>\nRichard sighed.<br \/>\n\u201cYour father\u2019s estate has been disputed for years. I\u2019m simply trying to resolve certain outstanding matters.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cBy using documents signed in my name?\u201d<br \/>\nSilence.<br \/>\nThen:<br \/>\n\u201cBe careful what you accuse people of.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt anger rising.<br \/>\n\u201cAre you threatening me?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019m advising you.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at Mom\u2019s hospital bed.<br \/>\nAt the woman who\u2019d spent years being told she was too confused to understand.<br \/>\nAt the letters she\u2019d hidden.<br \/>\nAt the evidence my father left behind.<br \/>\nAnd suddenly I wasn\u2019t afraid of Richard\u2019s polished voice anymore.<br \/>\n\u201cListen carefully,\u201d I said. \u201cMy mother is safe. Margaret is safe. And the police have been informed about the documents.\u201d<br \/>\nFor the first time, Richard sounded unsettled.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat documents?\u201d<br \/>\nI didn\u2019t answer.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth?\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at the attorney.<br \/>\nHe gave me a small nod.<br \/>\n\u201cThe ones from Dad\u2019s lockbox.\u201d<br \/>\nSilence.<br \/>\nThen Richard whispered:<br \/>\n\u201cYou opened it?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\nA long pause.<br \/>\n\u201cDid you find the tape?\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart jumped.<br \/>\n\u201cYou know about the tape?\u201d<br \/>\nHe didn\u2019t answer.<br \/>\n\u201cRichard, how do you know about it?\u201d<br \/>\nHis voice changed.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, whatever you heard on that recording, you don\u2019t understand what it means.\u201d<br \/>\nI felt cold.<br \/>\n\u201cThen explain it.\u201d<br \/>\nHe exhaled sharply.<br \/>\n\u201cYour father wasn\u2019t recording Karen to protect himself.\u201d<br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cHe was recording a confession.\u201d<br \/>\nI looked at Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\n\u201cA confession from Karen?\u201d<br \/>\nRichard laughed bitterly.<br \/>\n\u201cNo.\u201d<br \/>\nMy heart pounded.<br \/>\n\u201cThen whose confession?\u201d<br \/>\nHe spoke slowly.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cHis own.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI couldn\u2019t breathe.<br \/>\n\u201cRichard, what are you talking about?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYour father knew he was responsible for what happened to Sarah. He knew Evelyn had records. And he knew Thomas Wallace had kept copies.\u201d<br \/>\nI gripped the phone.<br \/>\n\u201cYou\u2019re lying.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cAm I?\u201d<br \/>\nHe paused.<br \/>\n\u201cThen ask Dorothy why your father made a second recording.\u201d<br \/>\nMy stomach tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cA second recording?\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<br \/>\n\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<br \/>\nRichard\u2019s voice became quiet.<br \/>\n\u201cYour mother knows.\u201d<br \/>\nI turned toward Mom.<br \/>\nShe was staring at me with wide, frightened eyes.<br \/>\n\u201cMom?\u201d<br \/>\nShe shook her head.<br \/>\n\u201cNo, Beth.\u201d<br \/>\nRichard continued.<br \/>\n\u201cThere\u2019s a reason Dorothy never wanted you to open the compartment behind the furnace without an attorney present.\u201d<br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cWhat reason?\u201d<br \/>\nHe spoke with chilling certainty.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cBecause the lockbox contains only the story your father wanted you to hear.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nMy heart pounded.<br \/>\n\u201cAnd where is the rest?\u201d<br \/>\nRichard hesitated.<br \/>\nThen said:<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cAsk your mother what she hid in the blue tin before she gave it to the people who bought her house.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI froze.<br \/>\nThe blue tin.<br \/>\nThe first hiding place.<br \/>\nThe one Tyler and Hannah discovered beneath the staircase.<br \/>\nWe\u2019d opened it in Mr. Fenwick\u2019s office.<br \/>\nWe\u2019d found notebooks.<br \/>\nBank receipts.<br \/>\nAnd Mom\u2019s letter.<br \/>\nBut I suddenly remembered something.<br \/>\nThe blue tin had a raised metal bottom.<br \/>\nI\u2019d noticed it when Mr. Fenwick placed it on his desk.<br \/>\nI thought it was simply part of the container.<br \/>\nNow I wasn\u2019t so certain.<br \/>\nI looked at Mom.<br \/>\n\u201cMom, is there something underneath the bottom of the blue tin?\u201d<br \/>\nShe began crying.<br \/>\n\u201cBeth, I wanted to tell you.\u201d<br \/>\nMy chest tightened.<br \/>\n\u201cTell me what?\u201d<br \/>\nShe looked toward Mr. Fenwick.<br \/>\n\u201cArthur, did you bring the tin?\u201d<br \/>\nHe nodded.<br \/>\n\u201cIt\u2019s secured at my office.\u201d<br \/>\nMom closed her eyes.<br \/>\nThen whispered:<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cUnderneath the false bottom is a second cassette. And Beth, before you listen to it, you need to understand that your father wasn\u2019t the only person who made a terrible decision in 1988.\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nI stared at her.<br \/>\n\u201cWho else?\u201d<br \/>\nTears rolled down her cheeks.<br \/>\nShe reached for my hand.<br \/>\n<strong>\u201cMe.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<h1><a href=\"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/?p=104\">Click Here to continuous Read\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b Full Ending Story<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"emoji\" role=\"img\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f449.svg\" alt=\"\ud83d\udc49\" \/> PART 9 \u2014 THE CONFESSION MY MOTHER HID FOR THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS<\/a><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the first time since I\u2019d walked into his office, Mr. Fenwick looked genuinely frightened. I stared at him while Karen\u2019s breathing crackled through my phone. \u201cWhy wasn\u2019t Dad\u2019s will &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=101"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions\/106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}