Chapter 3 - Eleanor's Second LifeRichard moved Maya into the east guest wing that night.
Too quickly.
One second fear had flashed across his face. The next, he was smiling with the polished calm that had made him one of the most respected attorneys in Boston.
"What is going on?"
Richard bent and picked up Maya's photograph.
"Close the door."
Marcus hesitated.
"Richard—"
"Close it."
The door clicked shut.
Maya stood beside the bookshelves, suddenly aware that she was alone in a room with two enormously powerful men discussing a secret that might involve her entire life.
Richard laid the two photographs beside each other.
"You remember this."
Marcus barely looked.
"Of course. Eleanor."
"The other one."
Marcus's jaw tightened.
"I've never seen it."
Maya knew he was lying.
She couldn't explain how.
Maybe it was the tiny pause before his answer.
Maybe it was the fact that his eyes had gone directly to the infant rather than Eleanor.
Richard noticed too.
"Look at Maya."
Marcus did.
"She says Eleanor was her mother."
Marcus laughed softly.
Not because anything was funny.
Because laughter bought him time.
"Richard, grief does strange things to people."
"I'm not grieving."
"You have spent twenty-five years wanting Eleanor to walk through that door."
Richard stepped closer.
"And now a young woman who looks like her is standing in my library with a photograph of Eleanor holding a baby."
Marcus finally looked properly at Maya.
His eyes moved across her features.
Her cheekbones.
Her dark eyes.
The small cleft in her chin.
His face tightened.
Maya felt suddenly exposed.
Richard saw it too.
"My God," he whispered.
Marcus turned sharply.
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Build a fantasy because you want it to be true."
Maya found her voice.
"I didn't come here asking for money."
Marcus's attention snapped back to her.
"I didn't say you did."
"You were thinking it."
For the first time, something colder entered Marcus's expression.
Richard moved between them.
"That's enough."
Marcus exhaled.
"Fine. Then do this properly. DNA test. Private lab. No publicity."
Richard studied him.
"You sound nervous."
"I sound responsible."
Richard picked up the photograph.
"Why?"
Marcus frowned.
"Why what?"
"Why did Eleanor disappear?"
"You know everything I know."
"No, Marcus. I know everything you told me."
The sentence changed the room.
Maya looked between the brothers.
Marcus's smile vanished.
Richard continued.
"You were the last member of this family to see her that night."
"We've been through this."
"You said she left the charity dinner upset."
"She did."
"You said she took her own car."
"Yes."
"You said she was alone."
Marcus's eyes hardened.
"I gave the police my statement."
"Twenty-five years ago."
Richard suddenly reached for his phone.
"I'm ordering DNA testing tonight."
Marcus's composure broke.
"Richard, don't rush this."
Richard stared at him.
That was the wrong thing to say.
Marcus seemed to realize it immediately.
Richard spoke quietly.
"Why shouldn't I?"
Marcus looked toward Maya.
"Because you don't know who she is."
Maya's stomach twisted.
Richard's expression became ice.
"Her name is Maya Bennett. She's worked in my home for three months. Apparently, that's more than enough time for her to find something my investigators couldn't uncover in twenty-five years."
Marcus stepped closer.
"Exactly. Doesn't that bother you?"
Richard looked at Maya.
It did bother him.
She could see that.
So she told him everything.
Her mother's refusal to discuss her past.
The farmhouse.
The cedar chest.
The envelope.
The final warning.
Don't trust the name Ashford.
Marcus went completely still.
Richard noticed.
"What did you say?"
Maya repeated it.
Marcus turned toward the window.
Richard's voice lowered.
"Eleanor said that?"
"Yes."
"Exactly?"
"Yes."
Richard looked at his brother.
"Why would my wife say that?"
Marcus turned back.
"Maybe because she was mentally unwell."
Richard's face changed.
Maya saw rage enter it slowly.
"Eleanor was not mentally unwell."
"We don't know what happened after she disappeared."
"You used to tell me she was the strongest person you knew."
"People change."
"Stop."
Marcus did.
Richard walked to the locked cabinet beside his desk and removed a small metal box.
Inside were documents, old letters, and a velvet pouch.
He opened it.
A tiny silver bracelet rested inside.
Maya stared.
Richard looked at her photograph.
Then at the bracelet.
"They're identical."
Marcus said nothing.
Richard lifted the bracelet.
"I bought two."
Maya's breath caught.
"Why two?"
Richard's eyes became distant.
"Eleanor said babies lose things. She wanted a spare."
He turned over the bracelet.
Inside was a tiny engraving.
E + R
Maya rushed to her purse.
"My mother's things..."
Her hands shook as she pulled out a small cloth bag.
Inside were a few pieces of jewelry.
One was a silver infant bracelet.
Richard stared.
Maya turned it over.
Even after twenty-five years, the engraving remained visible.
E + R
Richard sat down heavily.
Marcus backed toward the door.
Nobody noticed except Maya.
"Where are you going?"
He stopped.
"Home."
Richard looked up.
"No."
Marcus's hand remained on the doorknob.
"You don't get to leave until I understand why my wife vanished carrying my child and spent the rest of her life under another name."
Marcus's face hardened.
"You think I did something to her?"
"I don't know what to think."
A long silence passed.
Then Marcus said something Maya would remember for the rest of her life.
"Some doors were closed for a reason, Richard."
Richard rose.
"And some were locked by someone."
Marcus's expression flickered.
That was enough.
Richard pressed a button beneath his desk.
Seconds later, his head of security entered.
"Mr. Ashford?"
"Daniel, nobody leaves the property with any documents, computers, or files belonging to this family until I say otherwise."
Marcus gave a humorless laugh.
"You're imprisoning me now?"
"No."
Richard stepped closer.
"I'm finally asking questions."
Marcus opened the door.
Before leaving, he looked directly at Maya.
The warmth had vanished from his eyes.
"Be careful what you uncover."
Richard heard him.
"So help me God, Marcus—"
But Marcus was already gone.
Maya let out a breath.
Richard remained staring after his brother.
Then his phone rang.
His security chief checked the screen.
"Sir, it's the gatehouse."
Richard answered.
Thirty seconds later his face changed.
"What happened?"
He slowly lowered the phone.
"Someone broke into the staff parking lot."
Maya felt cold.
Richard looked directly at her.
"Your car was searched."
She stopped breathing.
"What did they take?"
Daniel answered from the doorway.
"Nothing obvious."
Then he held up a clear evidence bag.
Inside was a small torn piece of paper recovered beneath Maya's windshield wiper.
May you like
Three words had been written across it in black ink.
YOUR MOTHER LIED.
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