Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Lied About My Mother|
Miriam Bell lived in a small yellow house surrounded by roses that had somehow survived the November cold.
There was a porcelain angel beside her front door.
A wind chime hung from the porch.
Everything about the place looked peaceful.
I hated that.
Peaceful things had become difficult to trust.
Luca remained beside me as I rang the bell.
A woman with gray hair and tired brown eyes opened the door.
She looked at me.
Then she looked at my necklace.
The color drained from her face.
"Elena?"
My heart nearly stopped.
"No."
I swallowed.
"I'm Avery."
Miriam grabbed the doorframe.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then tears filled her eyes.
"Oh, sweetheart."
I stepped backward.
"Don't."
She froze.
"Please, let me explain."
"You told me my mother was dead."
Her face crumpled.
"I know."
"You hugged me at the hospital."
"I know."
"You told me she wasn't suffering anymore."
A tear slid down her cheek.
"Avery—"
"Was she alive?"
Miriam looked toward Luca.
He stepped forward.
"Miss Bell, answer her."
Miriam's hands trembled.
"Yes."
The word struck harder than any scream.
I stared at her.
"Say it again."
"Your mother was alive when she left St. Catherine's."
My knees weakened.
Luca reached toward me.
I stepped away before he could touch me.
"Where did she go?"
Miriam shook her head.
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"Then why didn't she come back?"
Miriam covered her mouth.
"Because they threatened you."
The porch fell silent.
I could hear a dog barking somewhere down the street.
"What?"
"Your mother discovered money being moved through the hospital's charity accounts."
Miriam lowered her voice.
"She reported it to a member of the board."
"Vincent Moretti?"
Miriam nodded.
"He told her he could make the problem disappear."
My stomach tightened.
"Instead, he made her disappear."
Miriam began crying.
"Your mother was terrified."
"Of him?"
"Of what he would do to you."
I stared at the old woman.
"She could have taken me with her."
"No."
"Why not?"
Miriam looked straight into my eyes.
"Because Vincent knew where you attended college, where you worked, and who your friends were."
I felt sick.
"He told Elena that if she tried to take you, both of you would be killed."
Luca's expression became frighteningly still.
"Did my uncle personally make that threat?"
Miriam nodded.
"I heard him through the hospital room door."
I closed my eyes.
For years, I'd thought my mother had abandoned the world through death.
Now I was being asked to believe she'd chosen to abandon me in order to keep me alive.
I didn't know which explanation hurt more.
"Why didn't you tell the police?"
Miriam laughed bitterly.
"I did."
Luca looked up.
"Who took your statement?"
"Detective Harold Crane."
His jaw tightened.
I noticed.
"You know him?"
"He's retired," Luca said.
"That wasn't my question."
"Yes."
I stared at him.
"Another secret?"
He didn't look away.
"Crane worked for my uncle."
Miriam disappeared into the house.
When she returned, she was carrying a small tin box.
"I kept something."
She placed it in my hands.
Inside was a folded letter.
My name was written across the front.
The handwriting was my mother's.
For a moment, the world stopped moving.
I remembered that handwriting on grocery lists.
On birthday cards.
On little notes tucked inside my lunch bag.
I unfolded the paper.
My darling Avery,
If you ever read this, then someone has finally told you that the story of my death was not true.
I need you to know that leaving you was the hardest thing I have ever done.
I cannot ask you to forgive me.
I can only hope that one day you'll understand why I believed disappearing was the only way to keep you safe.
The stars were always meant to help us find each other.
Never forget that you are braver than you know.
Love, Mom.
I couldn't see the words by the time I reached the bottom.
Tears blurred everything.
I pressed the letter against my chest.
For seven years, I'd imagined hearing my mother's voice one more time.
Now her handwriting was in my hands.
And somehow, that hurt even more.
Luca remained silent beside me.
I was grateful.
Miriam touched my arm.
"Your mother had a matching necklace."
I looked up.
"She gave me mine on my nineteenth birthday."
"She kept the first one."
Miriam pointed toward my pendant.
"Your grandfather made them."
"Why two?"
"Elena said one would always belong to the daughter who needed to find her way home."
I swallowed hard.
"And the other?"
"The mother who would always leave a light on."
Something inside me broke.
I began crying so hard that I couldn't stand.
Luca caught me before my knees hit the porch.
He didn't ask permission to fix my grief.
He didn't tell me everything would be all right.
He simply held me while the truth tore through me.
For one terrible moment, I let myself lean against him.
Then my phone rang.
It was an unknown number.
I answered with trembling fingers.
A woman's voice whispered, "Avery Bennett?"
"Yes?"
"Your mother is alive."
I gripped Luca's coat.
"Who is this?"
"Someone who worked with Sofia Moretti."
My breath caught.
"Where is she?"
The woman hesitated.
Then she whispered, "North Star isn't just a charity."
"What does that mean?"
"It's where your mother left the evidence."
A noise sounded in the background.
A door slamming.
Footsteps.
Then the woman said something that made my blood freeze.
"Don't trust anyone who wears the foundation's silver star."
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Behind me, Miriam suddenly gasped.
Across the street, a gray car was parked beneath a maple tree.
May you like
A man sat behind the wheel.
And on the wrist resting against his window was a small silver star tattoo.
