Chapter 5 - The Missing PageI drove back to Mama's house with Samuel behind me.
Russell was waiting on the porch.
The front door was open.
Every window was shut.
I knew immediately something was wrong.
Drawers had been emptied.
Cushions turned over.
Mama's desk had been opened.
The pantry door hung crooked.
But nothing valuable appeared to be missing.
Except one thing.
The letter.
I had left it in my purse.
I reached inside.
Empty.
My blood ran cold.
“Someone took it.”
Russell stepped toward me.
“I told you.”
“You knew this would happen?”
“No.”
“You knew someone was looking for it.”
He looked away.
Samuel walked into the room.
Russell froze.
His face turned white.
“You?”
Samuel stared back.
“You remember me.”
Russell swallowed.
“That was a long time ago.”
I looked between them.
“What the hell is going on?”
Nobody answered.
I pulled out the bank documents.
“Tell me about Emily.”
Russell's expression changed.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
“You know her.”
He closed his eyes.
“Linda.”
“You know my daughter.”
He sat down.
“Mama told me never to tell you.”
I felt something break inside me.
“You knew.”
“I didn't know where she was.”
“But you knew she existed.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
His voice shook.
“Twenty years.”
I slapped the table.
“Twenty years?”
“I was nineteen.”
“You were my brother.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“Wayne.”
“He's dead.”
“He wasn't always.”
Russell looked at Samuel.
“You never told her?”
Samuel shook his head.
“Not everything.”
I stared at both men.
“Then tell me now.”
Russell rubbed his face.
“Wayne wasn't just stealing your settlement.”
Samuel interrupted.
“Russell.”
“No,” I said. “Let him speak.”
Russell swallowed.
“Wayne was involved in an adoption scheme.”
Silence.
“What kind?”
“He took babies from women whose families couldn't fight back.”
I felt sick.
“Why?”
“Money.”
I looked at the photograph.
“Emily.”
Russell nodded.
“She wasn't supposed to survive.”
My heart stopped.
“What does that mean?”
“The hospital recorded her death.”
Russell’s eyes filled with tears.
“But Wayne secretly arranged for her to be transferred.”
“To who?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear I don't.”
“Where was Mama during all of this?”
“She found out years later.”
“And she found Emily?”
“She found evidence of her.”
“Where?”
Russell reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small metal key.
“Under Mama's bed.”
I stared at it.
“What does it open?”
He looked at me.
“The second safety deposit box.”
I frowned.
“We were at First County.”
“This one isn't there.”
“Where?”
“Memphis.”
I looked at the key.
Then at Russell.
“Why didn't you give this to me?”
“Because the last person who opened that box was Wayne.”
My skin prickled.
“What's inside?”
Russell's voice dropped.
“Your original birth certificate.”
I blinked.
“I already have one.”
“No.”
He looked at Samuel.
“You don't.”
I stared at them.
May you like
Russell whispered:
“The woman you think you are isn't who Wayne said you were.”
