Chapter 6 - The Woman in the Missing Photograph
Ava read the document three times.
Her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
The name listed under biological mother was not Rebecca Bennett.
It was Isabella Vale.
Ava looked at Daniel.
“Who is she?”
Daniel didn't answer.
“Daniel.”
He took the document from her.
“Isabella Vale disappeared twenty-eight years ago.”
Ava stared.
“How do you know that?”
“Because my grandfather spent the last years of his life trying to find her.”
Ava felt the room shift.
“What does she have to do with your family?”
Daniel pulled out a chair.
“Sit down.”
“No.”
“Ava—”
“Tell me.”
He exhaled.
“Isabella was my grandfather's youngest daughter.”
Ava stared at him.
The words didn't make sense.
“Your grandfather's daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Then that would make her—”
“My aunt.”
Ava backed away.
Daniel continued quickly.
“She was adopted into the family when she was seventeen. She wasn't biologically related to my grandfather or the Chois.”
Ava gripped the edge of the desk.
“Why would your grandfather be looking for her?”
“Because she disappeared after accusing his business partners of stealing money from the company.”
Ava shook her head.
“My mother was Rebecca Bennett.”
“Rebecca raised you.”
“That's my mother.”
“I understand.”
“No, you don't.”
Her voice broke.
“You don't get to hand me a document and tell me my entire life was something else.”
Daniel stepped back.
“You're right.”
Ava looked down at the paper.
Isabella Vale.
A name she had never heard.
A woman who had apparently given birth to her and disappeared.
“Is she alive?”
Daniel hesitated.
“I don't know.”
Ava pressed her palms against her eyes.
For years, she had believed her mother died when she was nine.
Rebecca had been gentle, practical, and endlessly patient.
She taught Ava to ride a bicycle.
She stayed awake through childhood fevers.
She sang old country songs while washing dishes.
Ava still remembered the smell of her perfume.
Now someone was suggesting Rebecca had never given birth to her.
It felt like losing her all over again.
Daniel moved toward the door.
“I'm going to give you some space.”
“Wait.”
He stopped.
Ava looked up.
“Why did your grandfather care about Isabella?”
Daniel returned to the desk.
“Because she discovered something about the original family trust.”
“What?”
“An amendment made before my father died. It named Isabella and any biological descendants as beneficiaries of a separate controlling interest.”
Ava stared.
“So if Isabella had a child—”
“That child could inherit shares Victor has been trying to consolidate for years.”
Ava looked down at her stomach.
“Me.”
Daniel nodded.
“Possibly.”
She began to understand.
The false medical diagnosis.
The forced marriage.
The documents Eleanor had brought.
The pregnancy.
Everything seemed to be moving toward the same terrible point.
“Victor wanted to control both sides of the inheritance.”
“Yes.”
“And if I signed away my rights?”
“He could challenge your claims and use the agreement to strengthen his position.”
Ava looked at Daniel.
“What if he knew who I was before you did?”
Daniel didn't answer.
His silence was enough.
That night, Ava refused dinner.
She sat in the library with an old photograph of Rebecca Bennett.
In it, Rebecca stood beside a Christmas tree holding seven-year-old Ava.
They were laughing.
Ava traced her mother's face with one finger.
“You were my mother,” she whispered.
A voice answered from the doorway.
“She was.”
Margaret stood there holding a tray of tea.
Ava wiped her cheeks.
“Did Daniel send you?”
“No.”
Margaret placed the tray on the table.
“I came because I thought you might need someone who wasn't asking questions.”
Ava gave a small, broken laugh.
“Everyone's asking questions.”
Margaret sat beside her.
For several minutes, neither woman spoke.
Then Margaret looked at the photograph.
“Rebecca Bennett was a good woman.”
Ava turned sharply.
“You knew her?”
Margaret's face changed.
She seemed to regret speaking.
“Years ago.”
“How?”
Margaret looked toward the hallway.
“I worked for Daniel's grandfather before I came here.”
Ava's pulse quickened.
“Did you know Isabella?”
Margaret's eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Ava sat perfectly still.
“Tell me.”
Margaret clasped her hands.
“Isabella was twenty when she disappeared. She was brave, stubborn, and too honest for the people around her.”
“What happened?”
“She found financial records proving that money was being diverted from the family company.”
“By who?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Eleanor's brother. And others.”
Ava frowned.
“Eleanor has a brother?”
“He died years ago.”
“Was Victor involved?”
“He was young then. But his father was.”
Ava stared.
Margaret continued.
“Isabella was pregnant when she disappeared. Your grandfather believed she had been killed.”
Ava swallowed.
“But she wasn't?”
“I don't know.”
“Then how did Rebecca get me?”
Margaret looked down.
“Rebecca worked as a nurse. She helped Isabella after she went into hiding.”
Ava's breath caught.
“And then?”
“Isabella left the baby with Rebecca and Michael.”
“Why?”
Margaret's voice broke.
“Because she believed someone was coming to kill her.”
Ava covered her mouth.
“Did she ever come back?”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
Ava looked at the photograph again.
“Why didn't Rebecca tell me?”
“She was protecting you.”
“From what?”
Margaret reached into her pocket.
She removed a small silver key.
“I promised Rebecca I would give this to you if the truth ever came out.”
Ava stared.
“What does it open?”
“A safe-deposit box.”
“Where?”
Margaret handed her a folded slip of paper.
A bank in Baltimore.
Ava looked up.
“How long have you had this?”
“Seventeen years.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Margaret began crying.
“Because the last person who tried to open that box disappeared.”
Ava felt cold.
“Who?”
Margaret whispered the name.
“Isabella.”
May you like
Then she added something that made Ava forget how to breathe.
“And three months ago, someone used her identification to access the bank.”
