Chapter 8 - THE CHILD WHO WAS LEFT OUT OF THE PICTURE
“Two children?”
Dominic stared at the photograph.
Vincent nodded.
“That's what the oldest trust record says.”
Dominic looked toward Evelyn, who had joined them in the study.
“Did Caroline have a sister?”
Evelyn studied the photograph.
Her face went pale.
“I've seen this girl before.”
Dominic turned.
“Where?”
“In a photograph Caroline kept hidden inside an old cookbook.”
He frowned.
“What cookbook?”
“The one her adoptive mother gave her.”
Evelyn looked down.
“Caroline once told me there had been another child at the farmhouse. She said they used to share a bedroom.”
“Why didn't she tell me?”
Evelyn's voice softened.
“Because she didn't know what happened to her.”
Dominic stared.
“Was Anna adopted too?”
“I believe so.”
Vincent shifted in his chair.
“There are records indicating the girls were separated after Rose lost custody.”
Dominic looked at him.
“Lost custody?”
Vincent nodded reluctantly.
“According to the paperwork, Rose had severe financial difficulties.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Caroline believed the accusations were fabricated.”
“By whom?” Dominic asked.
“Victoria.”
The name seemed to settle over the room.
Dominic turned toward Vincent.
“You said Victoria claimed Rose cheated her.”
“Yes.”
“Perhaps it was the other way around.”
Vincent lowered his eyes.
“It's possible.”
Dominic picked up the photograph.
“And Anna?”
Vincent hesitated.
“The records list payments to an educational trust in her name.”
“Where?”
“A bank account administered through Whitmore Advisory Group.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“So Victoria has been handling Anna's money.”
“Yes.”
“Does Anna know?”
“I don't know.”
Dominic slowly sat down.
I watched him study the two girls.
One was Caroline, the mother Lily had lost.
The other was a stranger who might still be alive.
And somewhere between them was a truth Rose had tried to preserve.
Evelyn looked toward the necklace.
“We need the original trust documents.”
Dominic nodded.
“I've arranged a meeting with the trust company's records officer.”
Vincent straightened.
“I can help.”
Dominic looked at him.
“You're suspended from company operations effective immediately.”
Vincent flinched.
“Dominic—”
“You'll cooperate with the independent investigation. That's how you help.”
Vincent nodded slowly.
For once, he didn't argue.
That afternoon, I took Lily to the garden.
She wore her yellow headband and carried a little sketchbook.
She sat beneath the old maple tree where Caroline had once planted tulips.
“What are you drawing?” I asked.
“My family.”
I sat beside her.
She drew Dominic first.
Then Caroline, with long brown hair.
Then Evelyn.
Then herself.
I watched as she added another figure.
“Who's that?”
“You.”
My throat tightened.
“Me?”
She nodded.
“You're here a lot.”
I smiled.
“That's true.”
She looked at the drawing.
“Can people be family if they don't have the same last name?”
“Yes, sweetheart.”
She considered that.
“Good.”
Then she began coloring the yellow ribbon in her mother's hair.
A few minutes later, Dominic joined us.
He looked exhausted, but he sat on the grass beside Lily.
She showed him the drawing.
He studied it carefully.
“Who's this one?” he asked, pointing toward me.
“Miss Emily.”
He smiled.
“I thought so.”
Lily leaned against him.
“Daddy, are we still a family without Vanessa?”
His expression softened.
“We were a family before Vanessa, and we're still a family now.”
She nodded.
Then she asked, “Can Aunt Evelyn come for Thanksgiving?”
“Absolutely.”
“And Miss Emily?”
Dominic looked at me.
“If she'd like to.”
I swallowed.
“I'd be honored.”
Lily smiled.
For one brief moment, everything felt peaceful.
Then Dominic's phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed.
He stood and walked a few steps away.
When he returned, he looked toward me.
“Emily, could you take Lily inside? Evelyn will be here shortly.”
“Of course.”
Lily looked disappointed.
“Are you working again?”
Dominic knelt.
“Just for a little while.”
She studied him.
“You'll come back?”
He touched her cheek.
“Every time.”
She hugged him.
Then followed me toward the house.
Later that evening, Dominic and Evelyn returned from the trust company.
They came directly into the kitchen.
I was washing Lily's favorite yellow mug.
Dominic placed a thick historical file on the counter.
“We found Anna.”
I turned.
“She's alive?”
He nodded.
“She's forty-one.”
Evelyn looked relieved and frightened at the same time.
“Her name is Anna Bennett. She lives in Wisconsin.”
I smiled faintly.
“Does she know about Caroline?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“She knows she was adopted. But she was never told that her younger sister was placed with another family.”
Dominic opened the file.
“Anna has worked as a public school librarian for nearly twenty years.”
He paused.
“She has a husband and two grown sons.”
I looked at Caroline's photograph.
“Then Lily has an aunt.”
Dominic nodded.
“Yes.”
Evelyn opened another document.
“And Anna has been trying to locate her biological family for years.”
My chest tightened.
“Did anyone tell her about Caroline?”
“No.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“Victoria's office received at least three inquiries from Anna's adoption search advocate.”
“What happened?”
“They were returned with claims that no records existed.”
Evelyn's eyes filled.
“Anna spent years looking for a sister who was living less than two hours away.”
The unfairness of it made my stomach ache.
Then Dominic turned the next page.
“There's another discovery.”
The document was a financial statement.
It showed annual distributions from the Whitmore family trust.
Some were legitimate operating expenses.
Others were paid to Whitmore Advisory Group.
Dominic pointed toward the final entries.
“Victoria has been diverting funds assigned to Anna's beneficiary account.”
“How much?” I asked.
He swallowed.
“Enough to change her life.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Then she opened the last envelope.
Inside was a letter written in Caroline's handwriting.
It had never been mailed.
At the top were two words.
Dear Anna.
Dominic unfolded it carefully.
His voice shook as he read.
I don't know where you are, or whether you remember me. But I remember the little girl who held my hand when they came to take us away.
He stopped.
Evelyn finished the next lines.
I have a daughter now. Her name is Lily. If you ever find this letter, please know that you have a family who would have loved you.
Nobody spoke.
Then I noticed something written beneath Caroline's signature.
A date.
It was three weeks before her death.
And underneath it was one final sentence.
If Victoria tells you I abandoned you, please don't believe her. She knows exactly what happened that day.
Dominic stared at the letter.
May you like
Then Evelyn whispered:
“Dominic, I think Caroline discovered something about Rose's death.”
