Chapter 8 - My Mother's Confession
I had faced armed enemies without blinking.
But confronting my own mother was the hardest thing I had ever done.
Margaret sat in the library beneath my father's portrait.
She looked smaller than I remembered.
I placed Samuel's photograph on the table.
"Explain this."
She stared at it.
Then closed her eyes.
"I was trying to help Claire."
I almost laughed.
"By giving her medical information to the people threatening her?"
"I didn't know they were threatening her."
"Then what did you know?"
Margaret began speaking so quietly I had to lean forward.
"Richard Hart approached me through a family charity. He claimed Claire was hiding a serious medical condition that might affect the baby."
"Claire's doctors never told me that."
"Because it wasn't true. But I believed him. I thought he could arrange a second medical opinion without alarming you."
I stared at her.
"So you signed the authorization."
"Yes."
"And never told Claire?"
"I thought it was temporary."
I walked toward the window.
Outside, Noah was playing beneath the covered patio with Grace and two security guards nearby.
He was pushing a toy dinosaur along the stone walkway.
For three years, I had believed nothing could harm him inside these walls.
I had been wrong.
"Why bring Vanessa into my life?"
Margaret's shoulders collapsed.
"Richard introduced us. He said his sister had lost her husband and needed a fresh start."
"She told me she'd never been married."
"Another lie."
My mother wiped her face.
"At first, she was charming. Then she began asking about the trust, your business accounts, and when you intended to marry her."
"Why didn't you warn me?"
"Because Richard threatened to expose my involvement in the medical records."
"You should have told me anyway."
"I know."
Her voice broke.
"I thought if Vanessa married you, she would finally leave the past alone."
I stared at her.
"You were willing to sacrifice my future to hide your mistake."
Margaret sobbed.
I wanted to comfort her.
But I couldn't.
Not yet.
Then she reached into her purse and removed a sealed envelope.
"Your father left this with me before he died. He said you should only receive it if the people involved in Claire's death came back."
I opened it.
Inside was a short letter in Vincent's handwriting.
Adrian, I failed your wife. The truth isn't in the hospital report. It's in the recording I hid where Claire used to play.
I looked up.
"Where Claire used to play?"
Margaret's face went white.
"Your father must mean the grand piano."
I turned toward the music room.
May you like
Claire's grand piano had been locked for three years.
And my father had hidden something inside it.
