Chapter 3: The Woman in Sloane's Car
The security command center fell silent.
Marcus stared at the live surveillance footage.
On one screen, Sloane Fairchild was still standing in the ballroom, surrounded by guests and two police officers.
On another...
Her white Bentley had just passed through the east gate.
Caleb frowned.
"Zoom in."
The technician enlarged the driver's image.
The woman's face remained hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat and oversized sunglasses.
Only one thing stood out.
A silver bracelet.
Henry gasped.
"I've seen that before."
Caleb looked at him.
"Where?"
Henry's voice became almost a whisper.
"Your sister."
"Claire wore the same bracelet every day."
Lily Recognizes the Bracelet
Nora carried Lily into the security room.
The little girl had finally stopped crying, though she still clutched her stuffed bunny tightly.
Caleb knelt beside her.
"Lily."
She looked up.
"Can you tell me about the lady who brought you into the tunnel?"
Lily nodded.
"She smelled like flowers."
"What else?"
"She cried."
"Did you see her face?"
Lily shook her head.
"She wore a big hat."
Marcus exchanged a glance with Caleb.
"The same woman."
Then Lily suddenly pointed at the security monitor.
"That's her bracelet!"
Everyone turned.
The camera froze on the woman's wrist as she gripped the steering wheel.
A delicate silver bracelet with a tiny angel charm.
Henry covered his mouth.
"It really is Claire's."
A Bracelet Buried Years Ago
Caleb's heartbeat quickened.
"That's impossible."
"I buried Claire wearing that bracelet."
Henry nodded slowly.
"I remember."
"So do I."
No one spoke.
After several moments, Eleanor Holloway quietly said,
"What if..."
"...it wasn't buried with her?"
The room fell silent.
Caleb frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Eleanor hesitated.
"The day of Claire's funeral..."
"I remember someone removing jewelry before the casket was closed."
Henry's eyes widened.
"Mrs. Whitmore."
Eleanor nodded.
"She said..."
"'Claire wanted one thing returned to the living.'"
The Jewelry Box
Caleb suddenly remembered the velvet jewelry box they had found in the Blue Room.
"I never opened it."
Henry immediately hurried upstairs.
Minutes later he returned carrying the small blue velvet box.
Everyone gathered around.
Caleb slowly lifted the lid.
Inside...
The bracelet's matching necklace.
Along with another folded note in his mother's handwriting.
If the bracelet ever returns before the necklace does, follow the one wearing it. She is trying to protect, not destroy.
Marcus looked up.
"Your mother expected this?"
Caleb nodded slowly.
"Years ago."
"But why?"
Police Make a Discovery
A detective entered the room carrying a tablet.
"Mr. Whitmore."
"We found the Bentley."
"Where?"
"Abandoned near the old lighthouse."
"No driver."
"But..."
He enlarged a photograph.
"There was this."
On the driver's seat rested another envelope.
Addressed to Caleb.
The Lighthouse Letter
They drove to the abandoned lighthouse overlooking Narragansett Bay.
The wind roared against the cliffs.
Police had already secured the area.
Caleb carefully opened the envelope.
Inside was a single handwritten page.
The writing wasn't his mother's.
It wasn't Claire's.
It belonged to someone else.
I never wanted Lily involved.
But the people hunting your family finally found her.
If you want the truth, stop looking at Claire's death.
Start looking at the day she disappeared six months before anyone knew she was missing.
Caleb's hands trembled.
"What?"
Henry frowned.
"Claire never disappeared."
Caleb nodded.
"That's what we've always believed."
Marcus looked toward the ocean.
"What if you were told the wrong story?"
Nora's Memory
As everyone tried to understand the letter, Nora suddenly spoke.
"My mother once said something strange."
Caleb turned toward her.
"When I was little..."
"...she told me never to trust newspapers."
"Why?"
"She said..."
"'Rich families bury scandals better than poor families bury loved ones.'"
Silence.
Nora looked at Lily.
"I thought she was angry."
"Now..."
"I'm not so sure."
The Hospital Record
Back at Whitmore Estate, Detective Sarah Monroe arrived carrying a sealed evidence bag.
"We found this in your mother's hidden desk compartment."
Inside lay an old hospital bracelet.
The faded label still remained.
Baby Girl Whitmore
Birth Date:
June 14
Caleb frowned.
"Claire was born in October."
Sarah nodded.
"I know."
"So who is this?"
Everyone stared at the tiny bracelet.
There had been another Whitmore baby.
No one had ever mentioned her.
Eleanor Finally Speaks
Eleanor slowly sat down.
Tears filled her eyes.
"I promised Margaret I'd never tell anyone."
Caleb knelt beside her.
"Tell me now."
She nodded.
"There were twins."
Silence.
"Claire..."
"...and another baby girl."
Caleb stared.
"What?"
"The second baby disappeared from the hospital."
"No ransom."
"No investigation."
"No newspaper."
"Edward Whitmore buried everything."
Henry whispered,
"My God..."
Caleb felt dizzy.
"I had..."
"...a twin sister?"
Eleanor nodded through tears.
"Yes."
"And your mother spent the rest of her life searching for her."
Lily's Drawing
Meanwhile, Lily sat quietly in the library coloring with crayons.
No one noticed.
Until she tugged on Caleb's sleeve.
"I drew the flower lady."
He smiled gently.
"May I see?"
Lily handed him the drawing.
A woman wearing a hat.
A silver bracelet.
Standing beside...
An old stone church.
Marcus leaned closer.
"What church?"
Lily pointed confidently.
"The place where she told me to sing."
Caleb looked carefully.
Behind the church Lily had drawn...
A stained-glass window shaped like an angel.
Henry suddenly stood.
"I know that church."
Everyone looked at him.
"Saint Gabriel's."
"The old Whitmore family chapel."
"It closed twenty-two years ago."
Marcus grabbed his keys.
"If that's where she went..."
"...she may still be there."
The Cliffhanger
As police cars sped toward Saint Gabriel's Church...
A call came through Marcus's phone.
He answered immediately.
"This is Sullivan."
The dispatcher sounded breathless.
"We've identified the mystery woman."
Marcus stopped walking.
"Who is she?"
There was a long silence.
Then the dispatcher quietly answered,
"According to facial recognition..."
"...her name isn't unknown."
"It's Claire Whitmore."
Marcus's face turned white.
"That's impossible."
The dispatcher spoke one final sentence.
May you like
"Not according to the DNA results we just received."
End of Chapter 3
