Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO HAD BEEN WAITING
Eleanor Hale arrived at the hospital at 6:17 the next morning.
I knew the exact time because I had been staring at the clock.
I hadn't slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the wrench coming toward my face.
Then I heard footsteps outside.
The door opened.
An elderly woman entered.
She was probably in her seventies.
Silver hair.
Dark coat.
Straight posture.
Two people followed her.
A lawyer.
And a security officer.
Eleanor didn't look at them.
She looked at me.
Then she stopped breathing.
Her hand covered her mouth.
"Oh."
Tears filled her eyes.
Not polite tears.
Not dramatic tears.
The kind that seemed to come from somewhere twenty-eight years deep.
She walked toward me.
"May I?"
I didn't know what she meant.
Then I realized she was asking permission to come closer.
I nodded.
She sat beside the bed.
Her eyes moved over my face.
Not the bruises.
My eyes.
My nose.
My hair.
Then she whispered a name.
"Caroline."
My throat tightened.
"I'm Emily."
"I know."
She smiled through tears.
"But you have her eyes."
She reached into her coat.
The security officer tensed.
Eleanor pulled out a small velvet box.
She opened it.
Inside was another jade pendant.
Identical to mine.
My breath caught.
Eleanor placed hers beside the evidence bag.
The carvings matched perfectly.
"These were made in Hong Kong when Caroline turned eighteen."
She touched hers gently.
"One for me."
"One for my daughter."
I couldn't speak.
Eleanor looked at me.
"Caroline disappeared shortly after you were born."
"Why?"
Her expression changed.
"Because she discovered something."
"What?"
Before Eleanor could answer, her attorney stepped forward.
"Mrs. Hale."
She nodded.
Then looked back at me.
"Your father, Richard Bennett, worked for my family's company."
I stared at her.
"He did?"
"For eleven years."
Nobody had ever told me.
"He handled financial accounts."
My stomach tightened.
"Did he steal from you?"
Eleanor gave a sad smile.
"Millions."
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
There was always money.
"Caroline discovered it."
Eleanor continued.
"She gathered evidence."
"She planned to turn it over to federal investigators."
"What happened?"
"She disappeared before she could."
I thought of Dad.
The way he'd held my wrists.
The calmness in his voice.
"Do you think he killed her?"
Eleanor's eyes filled with pain.
"I don't know."
That answer frightened me more than yes would have.
"What about me?"
"Caroline gave you to Rose."
"Who was Rose?"
"My daughter's nanny."
Everything clicked.
Rose's protectiveness.
Her strange warnings.
The pendant.
The papers.
"Rose hid you."
Eleanor nodded.
"She told me you were safe."
"You knew?"
"I knew a child existed."
She swallowed.
"But Rose refused to tell me where."
"Why?"
"Because Caroline had warned her that someone inside my own family was helping Richard."
That stopped me.
"Your family?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Someone powerful."
"Who?"
"We never found out."
A knock came at the door.
Detective Coleman entered.
Her expression was serious.
"Emily, we have a problem."
She looked at Eleanor.
"Mrs. Hale."
"What happened?"
Coleman closed the door.
"Richard Bennett disappeared."
My pulse jumped.
"What?"
"He was released pending further investigation."
"Why?"
"Your mother claimed the wrench strike was an accident."
I stared at her.
"You saw my face."
"We're building the case."
"And Madison?"
"She claims she never intended to strike you."
I almost laughed.
Coleman continued.
"Your father left the house sometime around four this morning."
"Where?"
"We don't know."
Eleanor's security officer immediately stepped into the hallway.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed Grandma Rose's old house.
The house had been empty since she died.
Below it was a message.
YOU WANT THE TRUTH?
COME ALONE.
Then another photograph arrived.
This one showed the basement.
And on the concrete floor was a woman.
Older.
Thin.
Her hands tied behind her back.
Alive.
I stared at her face.
Eleanor looked over my shoulder.
The sound she made was barely human.
She grabbed the edge of my bed.
"Caroline."
I looked at her.
"What?"
May you like
Tears poured down Eleanor's face.
"That's my daughter."
