Chapter 25
“Daniel’s.”
I swallowed.
“And my mother?”
“Elena.”
The answer came without hesitation.
Relief rushed through me so sharply that I nearly cried.
Elena was my mother.
Whatever else had been hidden, that remained true.
I pressed my lips to Lily’s hair.
Victor stepped closer to Sofia.
“Then why did you bring Hannah here?”
“To protect her.”
“From whom?”
“Father.”
Victor’s face went cold.
“You said he believed Annie was dead.”
“He did. But he knew Elena had another child. Daniel’s child. He believed she might inherit the evidence Daniel had gathered.”
I shook my head.
“My mother had nothing.”
“She had you,” Sofia said. “And she knew men like Father often believed children carried secrets simply because their parents had died protecting them.”
Victor paced once across the foyer.
“What happened that night?”
Sofia looked toward the windows.
Snow pressed against the glass, turning the outside world into a white blur.
“Daniel planned to give the records to a federal investigator. Elena was going with him. I was supposed to take Annie and meet them at the ferry terminal.”
“Your daughter?” I asked.
“Yes.”
The word was almost too soft to hear.
“What happened?”
“My car was followed. I turned back. Daniel never reached the terminal. Elena found him after the crash.”
She paused.
“He was still alive.”
My eyes burned.
“Did he know about me?”
“Yes.”
“He saw me?”
“He held you.”
May you like
The image struck me with sudden force.
A man whose face resembled mine.
