Chapter 14: The Secret Evelyn Kept for Twenty Years
Jason read the sentence again.
Then he pushed the ledger away.
“No.””
Margaret said nothing.
“My mother didn't know anything about this.””
Laura looked at the signature.
“Jason, that looks like her handwriting.””
“It's a forgery.””
“Maybe.””
Jason stood and began pacing.
“My mother spent twenty years grieving with my father. She helped raise me. She never even mentioned Katherine until today.””
Margaret closed the ledger.
“We need to hear Evelyn's explanation before deciding what this means.””
Jason pulled out his phone.
He called his mother.
She answered quietly.
“Jason?””
“Mom, I need you to come to Margaret's office.””
“Is something wrong?””
“There's something in the ledger.””
Evelyn went silent.
Then she asked:
“Did you read the last page?””
Jason closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
A long pause followed.
“I'm coming.””
Forty minutes later, Evelyn entered Margaret's office.
She looked exhausted.
Jason immediately stood.
“Mom, tell me the signature isn't yours.””
Evelyn looked at the ledger.
Then she sat down.
“I signed it.””
Jason stepped backward.
“What?””
“I signed it twenty years ago.””
Laura stared at her.
“Why?””
Evelyn folded her hands.
“Because Katherine asked me to.””
Jason shook his head.
“That doesn't make sense.””
Evelyn looked at Laura.
“Your mother was alive when I reached the hospital.””
Laura's eyes filled.
“You saw her?””
Evelyn nodded.
“She was conscious. Barely. Your father had called me from the roadside and told me there had been an accident.””
“Why didn't anyone tell me?””
“Because Katherine made me promise.””
Laura's voice broke.
“Promise what?””
“That I would protect you.””
Evelyn reached into her handbag and removed a small envelope.
“I kept this for twenty years.””
Inside was a photograph of Katherine lying in a hospital bed.
Laura stared at it.
Her mother looked pale, but she was smiling.
On the back was a handwritten message.
Thank you for believing me when everyone else decided I was already gone.
Laura pressed the photograph against her chest.
Evelyn continued.
“When Katherine arrived at the hospital, the doctors said she had internal injuries. She needed emergency surgery. Your father stayed with her.””
“What happened?”” Jason asked.
“She survived the operation. But she was terrified Daniel would come back.””
Laura looked up.
“Why?””
“Because she had proof he stole the money. She also knew he had hired people to follow her.””
Evelyn wiped her eyes.
“Katherine believed Daniel would try to finish what he'd started.””
Jason sat down.
“So what did you sign?””
“A statement confirming that Katherine had requested her identity be protected until she could recover.””
Margaret leaned forward.
“Was that document notarized?””
“Yes. Your father arranged it.””
“Where is the original?””
Evelyn looked toward Laura.
“Katherine took it with her when she left the hospital.””
Laura frowned.
“Where did she go?””
Evelyn swallowed.
“She disappeared.””
The room became silent.
Jason stared at his mother.
“You told everyone she died.””
“I was told she had died.””
“By whom?””
Evelyn looked at the ledger.
“Your father.””
Margaret sat back.
“Mrs. Carter, are you saying Katherine Moore survived the accident and disappeared under another identity?””
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.””
Laura's voice trembled.
“Then where is she?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Jason felt a wave of anger.
“Mom, how could you keep this from us?””
“Because I thought I was protecting you.””
“You let me believe my father had no secrets. You let Laura grow up believing her mother was dead.””
Evelyn's eyes filled.
“I know.””
Laura stood abruptly.
“You knew my mother was alive?””
“No. I knew she survived the accident. I never knew what happened afterward.””
“Did you try to find her?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Every year. I wrote letters to the address your father gave me. They always came back.””
Laura stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I had promised Katherine that if anything happened to her, I would protect you from Daniel.””
Laura shook her head.
“You could have protected me by telling me the truth.””
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Margaret opened the ledger again.
“There's a problem with the date.””
Jason looked at her.
“What problem?””
“The authorization signed by Evelyn is dated three days after Katherine's accident. But the final payment to Hawthorne Security was made two days before the accident.””
She pointed to the figures.
“Someone had already planned for Katherine to disappear.””
Laura frowned.
“You mean someone helped her escape?””
“Possibly,” Margaret replied.
“But the ledger suggests the money was paid to the person who arranged it.””
Jason looked at Evelyn.
“Did Dad know where Katherine went?””
His mother nodded slowly.
“He received one letter.””
“From Katherine?””
“Yes. It came about a year after the accident.””
“What did it say?””
Evelyn reached into her handbag again.
This time, she removed a small folded note.
Jason unfolded it.
There were only two sentences.
Robert, I am safe. But Daniel must never know where I am.
And beneath them:
Tell Laura I never stopped loving her.
Laura began to cry.
Jason put an arm around her.
Margaret examined the envelope.
“There's a return address.””
Jason looked.
It was a post office box in a small town in Pennsylvania.
The postmark was twenty years old.
Margaret immediately took a photograph.
“I'll see whether we can trace it.””
Laura wiped her cheeks.
“If my mother is alive, I want to find her.””
Jason nodded.
“We'll find her.””
Then Evelyn spoke.
“There's something else.””
Everyone turned.
“Your father received another letter shortly before he died.””
Jason frowned.
“From Katherine?””
Evelyn nodded.
“What did it say?””
She looked at him with an expression he'd never seen before.
“Your father told me she had discovered who arranged the accident.””
Margaret leaned forward.
“Did she name the person?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No. But she said Daniel wasn't acting alone.””
Jason looked at the ledger.
“Harold Whitmore.””
“Perhaps,” Margaret replied.
Evelyn continued.
“Your father said the person behind everything was someone much closer to the family.””
Jason's phone vibrated.
A message from Sophie.
*Daddy, Mommy came to school. She said I have to leave with her. She says you're not allowed to know.*
Jason stood so quickly that his chair fell backward.
He called Sophie.
No answer.
He called the school.
A receptionist answered.
“I'm sorry, Mr. Carter. Sophie was signed out twenty minutes ago.””
“By whom?””
“Her mother.””
Jason's blood ran cold.
“Did she say where she was taking her?””
“No, sir.””
He ended the call and looked at Margaret.
“Monica has Sophie.””
Laura grabbed her coat.
“Call the police.””
Jason was already dialing.
But before the call connected, another message appeared.
This time, it was from Monica.
**If you want your daughter back safely, bring me the original ledger. Come alone. No police.
No Margaret. And don't tell Evelyn.**
A location followed.
An abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town.
Jason looked at the message.
May you like
Then at his mother.
Monica had just taken the one person he couldn't afford to lose.
