Chapter 3 - The PhotographDaniel was awake.
He sat up slowly.
His eyes moved from me to Eleanor.
Then to the open wardrobe.
For one terrible second, nobody spoke.
Then he said, very calmly:
"Mother."
Eleanor's expression hardened.
"Daniel."
"What did you show her?"
I looked between them.
"You knew about this."
He didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
I held up the photograph of the woman.
"Who is Mara?"
His face changed.
Not much.
But enough.
"Mara was my fiancée."
"What happened to her?"
"She left."
"You said she disappeared."
Eleanor interrupted.
"Because he told everyone she left."
Daniel stood.
"That's enough."
"For whom?" Eleanor snapped.
"For all of us."
He walked toward me.
I stepped back.
"Claire."
"Don't."
He stopped.
His eyes were full of hurt.
At least, they looked like hurt.
"You found the key," he said.
"What does it open?"
"The past."
I almost laughed.
"You expect that answer to make me feel better?"
"No."
He rubbed his face.
"You weren't supposed to see any of this."
"So you knew I'd find it eventually?"
"No. I hoped Mother would destroy it."
Eleanor looked furious.
"You knew I kept copies."
Daniel glared at her.
"I knew you were obsessed."
"Obsessed?"
She laughed bitterly.
"I've buried three women."
My blood ran cold.
Daniel stared at her.
"Don't."
"Three women who thought they were marrying you."
I couldn't breathe.
"Who?"
Eleanor looked directly at me.
"Mara Collins. Julia Hayes. Rebecca Moore."
She paused.
"The others escaped."
My knees weakened.
"What did they know?"
"Not enough."
"And what am I supposed to know?"
Daniel answered this time.
"Your father stole something."
I stared at him.
"My father?"
"From my father's company."
"What?"
"A ledger."
I shook my head.
"My father was an accountant."
"Exactly."
Daniel walked toward the wardrobe.
"He handled financial records for my father's construction empire. Twenty-four years ago, several million dollars disappeared."
"You're saying my father stole it?"
"No."
The word came softly.
"My father blamed him."
Eleanor's eyes flashed.
"He didn't steal anything."
Daniel looked at her.
"Mother..."
"He found the real records."
Silence.
I whispered, "What records?"
Eleanor opened another envelope.
Inside was a photocopy of a handwritten ledger.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Amounts.
At the bottom of the last page was a name I recognized.
My mother's.
I stopped breathing.
"Why is my mother in this?"
Neither of them answered.
Then Daniel whispered:
"Because your mother wasn't just my father's employee."
I looked at him.
"What was she?"
He hesitated.
May you like
Then said the words that shattered everything.
"She was his mistress."
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