Chapter 5 - THE AUNT WHO OWNED EVERY SECRET
Evelyn stood between Celeste and the children. “Put the candy away.”
Celeste raised one eyebrow. “You seem to have forgotten whose house this is.”
“No,” Evelyn said. “I remember exactly. It's their home.”
Adrien appeared at the end of the corridor. He took in the overturned chair, the candies, and Sofia trembling behind Evelyn.
“What happened?”
“Your guest is being dramatic,” Celeste replied.
Evelyn looked directly at him. “Your daughter saw those candies and panicked.”
Celeste laughed once. “Children are unpredictable.”
Adrien knelt beside Sofia. She allowed him to take her hand, but she would not look at his aunt. When Celeste stepped closer, all three children moved away.
For the first time, Adrien did not dismiss their reaction as another symptom of grief.
“Celeste,” he said, “leave the house.”
Her face stiffened. “I'm your father's sister.”
“And they're my children.”
She collected her handbag slowly. “You will regret trusting a stranger over family.”
When she was gone, the house seemed to grow warmer.
Adrien asked Evelyn to join him in his study. On the mantel stood a photograph of Isabelle Belandi, a beautiful dark-haired woman smiling beside three newborn babies. Evelyn studied her face and wondered what she had known before the fire.
“I wasn't there the night she died,” Adrien said. “I was in Boston. Celeste called to say there had been an electrical fault. By the time I arrived, the house was ashes.”
“Was there an investigation?”
“A private report. The fire department agreed with it.”
“Who hired the investigator?”
Adrien did not answer immediately. “Celeste.”
Evelyn folded her arms. “You gave her control of everything.”
“I was grieving. My children wouldn't speak. Every doctor said they needed stability. I thought she was helping.”
“I know what it's like to want someone to tell you everything will be okay,” Evelyn said. “But wanting it doesn't make them right.”
He opened a drawer and handed her a photograph recovered from Isabelle's belongings. It showed the triplets at age three, standing beside a young girl in a yellow sweater.
Evelyn stopped breathing.
The girl had Lily's smile.
She was older than the seven-year-old Evelyn remembered, but the same dimple appeared in her left cheek. Her hair was tied with a blue ribbon.
“Where was this taken?”
“Isabelle's country house,” Adrien said. “Six months before the fire.”
“Who told you she was?”
“Isabelle said the girl was a family friend's daughter. She called her Ella.”
Evelyn pressed the photograph against her chest. Lily had been alive at least a year and a half after her disappearance.
Adrien watched her carefully. “I didn't know.”
“I believe you,” she said, surprising herself. “But somebody did.”
A knock sounded. The housekeeper, Mrs. Alvarez, stood in the doorway with an envelope.
“This arrived for Miss Hart. No return address.”
Inside was a photograph of Evelyn leaving the restaurant the night before. A red circle had been drawn around her face.
On the back, in block letters, were six words:
STOP ASKING OR THE CHILDREN PAY.
Adrien read it, then reached for his phone.
Evelyn caught his wrist. “No more threats. No more private revenge. Call Detective Ruiz.”
He hesitated. Then he dialed the detective.
May you like
It was the first time Evelyn had seen the feared Adrien Belandi choose the law over fear.
And it would not be the last.
