I read the sentence until the letters stopped resembling words.
HE ACTED FOR ELAINE CARTER.
“No.”
My voice came out quietly.
Gregory said nothing.
Lila stood behind us, staring at the enlarged microfilm image.
“My mother was eighteen,” I said.
“I know,” Gregory replied.
“She had no money.”
“I know.”
“She was a hospital trainee.”
“I know.”
“She could not have ordered a kidnapping.”
“I’m not saying she did.”
“But that is what this says.”
Lila leaned closer to the monitor.
“Maybe T.B. doesn’t mean Thomas Bennett.”
Gregory shook his head.
“Who else?”
“Maybe the same mistake we made with J.M.”
I looked again.
Initials.
We had assumed J.M. meant Judith Mercer before learning Jonathan Michael Mercer existed.
Now we were assuming T.B. meant Thomas Bennett because his initials fit.
“What was Thomas’s middle name?” I asked.
“Edward.”
“So Thomas Bennett is T.B.”
“Yes.”
“But that doesn’t prove Jonathan meant him.”
Gregory looked at the rest of the ledger.
“We need the full film.”
The strip contained more than one frame.
The technician advanced it.
Another page appeared.
Then another.
Most showed payment records.
Names we recognized surfaced repeatedly.
Charles Whitmore.
Richard Sloan.
Jonathan Mercer.
Samuel Pierce.
Thomas Bennett.
Then a different entry appeared.
E.C. – STORAGE / STATEMENTS / CHILD.
My stomach tightened.
“That could be Elaine Carter.”
“Yes.”
The amount beside it was zero.
Instead, a handwritten word appeared.
PROTECT.
I pointed.
“My mother wasn’t being paid.”
Lila nodded.
“She was being identified as someone to protect.”
The technician advanced another frame.
This one contained correspondence.
A typed note.
IF E.C. IS CONTACTED, DO NOT THREATEN HER. SHE IS NOT TO BE HARMED.
Gregory exhaled.
“Your mother wasn’t ordering anything.”
“Then why did Jonathan write that T.B. acted for her?”
“Maybe ‘acted for’ means protected her.”
“By abducting Eleanor?”
“That makes no sense.”
The next frame was damaged.
Only fragments remained visible.
…ELAINE DID NOT KNOW…
…T.B. INSISTED…
…CHILD COULD NOT REMAIN…
Then a name.
THEODORE BLACK.
Gregory leaned forward.
“There.”
“T.B.”
Lila whispered, “Who is Theodore Black?”
The technician advanced again.
A photograph appeared.
A man standing beside Jonathan Mercer.
On the back had been photographed a handwritten label:
THEODORE BLACK – WESTBROOK MEMORIAL DIRECTOR.
My skin prickled.
“The hospital director.”
Lila searched online records.
“He died in 1997.”
“Then Thomas wasn’t the T.B. in Jonathan’s confession.”
“Not that T.B.”
Gregory sat back.
For the first time since seeing my mother’s name, I could breathe.
But relief lasted only seconds.
“Why would Theodore Black act for my mother?”
Lila looked at the screen.
“Maybe he wasn’t acting on her orders.”
“What else does ‘for’ mean?”
Gregory answered.
“On her behalf.”
I stared at him.
“My mother witnessed the baby being removed.”
“Yes.”
“What if Theodore Black claimed he was doing something to protect her?”
“From what?”
We needed someone who had been there.
Judith.
We returned to Westbrook the following morning.
She had been admitted overnight for observation after the assault.
Lila entered her room first.
Judith looked exhausted.
When we mentioned Theodore Black, she closed her eyes.
“So you found Jonathan’s film.”
“You knew it existed.”
“Yes.”
“Who was Black?” I asked.
“Hospital director. Friend of both families.”
“Why did Jonathan say he acted for Elaine?”
Judith studied me.
“Because Theodore used Elaine as his excuse.”
“For kidnapping a child?”
“He claimed Eleanor was in danger.”
“From whom?”
“Daniel Whitmore’s father.”
Lila moved closer.
“Was she?”
“Yes.”
Judith looked toward the window.
“The elder Whitmore wanted no permanent evidence that Daniel had fathered Margaret’s child.”
My stomach tightened.
“He intended to kill Eleanor.”
“That was what Theodore believed.”
“So he arranged for the baby to be removed first.”
“With Jonathan.”
“And my mother?”
“She overheard part of their conversation.”
I stared.
“She knew they planned to take Eleanor?”
“She knew someone planned to move a baby temporarily.”
“Temporarily.”
“That was what Theodore told her.”
“Did she agree?”
“She was eighteen and terrified. Theodore told her the child would be returned once the immediate danger passed.”
“But Eleanor never returned.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Jonathan changed the plan.”
Lila’s eyes filled with anger.
“He kept her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Your grandparents had lost a baby months earlier.”
Lila went still.
“Judith?”
Judith nodded.
“I had delivered a stillborn daughter.”
Her voice thinned.
“I was barely functioning. Jonathan brought Anna home and told me her mother had died.”
“You believed him.”
“I wanted to.”
The words contained decades of shame.
“By the time I learned the truth, I loved her.”
“That didn’t make her yours.”
“No.”
Lila’s voice broke.
“You could have returned her.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Cowardice.”
No justification.
No elaborate defense.
Just the word.
Lila turned away.
I asked, “Where does Thomas Bennett enter the story?”
Judith looked at Gregory.
“Later.”
“How much later?”
“Six years.”
“Why?”
“Margaret discovered evidence Eleanor might be alive. Thomas was working for Whitmore Security.”
Gregory’s jaw tightened.
“He was paid to stop her.”
“Yes.”
“Did he hurt her?”
“He frightened her.”
“How?”
“Photographs. Phone calls. Following her.”
“The same tactics being used against us.”
Judith nodded.
“Charles learned from his family.”
“Then Thomas later married Evelyn.”
“Yes.”
“Did she know what he had done?”
“Not initially.”
“And when she found out?”
“She left him.”
Gregory laughed bitterly.
“She left both of us.”
Judith looked at him.
“She intended to take you.”
He stopped.
“What?”
“Thomas threatened to accuse her of kidnapping you. He had documents prepared claiming she was mentally unstable.”
Gregory stared at her.
“She believed nobody would believe her.”
“Not against the Whitmores, Thomas, and several local officials.”
“So she staged her death.”
“With help.”
“Whose?”
“Elaine’s.”
I closed my eyes.
My mother again.
“She helped Evelyn disappear.”
“Yes.”
“And then pretended never to know Gregory’s family.”
“To protect both of you.”
Gregory looked at me.
The lie had reached into our marriage before it began.
“Did our mothers arrange for us to meet?” I asked.
Judith shook her head.
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. That frightened them more than anything.”
“Why?”
“Because when Elaine told Evelyn that her daughter Claire was dating a Bennett, Evelyn thought Thomas had somehow arranged it.”
Gregory frowned.
“My father was already dead when Claire and I met.”
“Exactly. That’s why they eventually accepted it was coincidence.”
The thought was almost stranger than conspiracy.
Our marriage had not been engineered.
It had accidentally reunited two families whose histories had been deliberately separated.
I asked the question that mattered now.
“Who is sending the messages?”
Judith looked frightened.
“I don’t know.”
“Who attacked you?”
“I had never seen him.”
“Who photographed Toby?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then who still cares enough about this to threaten children?”
“Charles.”
“But the message said Charles isn’t the person we should fear.”
Judith shook her head.
“Charles is dangerous, but he is frightened too.”
“Of whom?”
She hesitated.
“Thomas.”
Gregory stared.
“My father is dead.”
Judith’s eyes filled with something close to pity.
“No, Gregory.”
He did not move.
“What did you say?”
“Thomas Bennett is alive.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Your father’s death certificate was arranged the same way Evelyn’s was.”
Gregory gripped the bed rail.
“I went to his funeral.”
“So did everyone.”
“I saw the coffin.”
“Closed.”
He looked physically ill.
“Why?”
“Because after Evelyn disappeared, Thomas became useful to Charles.”
“For what?”
“Keeping the surviving witnesses quiet.”
I remembered the man outside the bank.
The photographs.
The anonymous messages.
“Is Thomas the one watching us?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is he?”
Judith shook her head.
“Elaine knew.”
“My mother?”
“She discovered his location shortly before she died.”
“Where?”
“She never told me.”
Gregory asked, “Did Thomas know Claire?”
“Of her.”
“Did he watch her?”
“Yes.”
The childhood photographs.
I suddenly understood.
“Those pictures of me.”
Judith nodded.
“Thomas took some of them.”
“Why?”
“Because he suspected Elaine had hidden evidence with you.”
Gregory’s face hardened.
“My father watched my future wife before I met her.”
“Yes.”
The enormity of it silenced us.
Then Lila asked, “Did Thomas kill my mother?”
Judith looked at her.
“I don’t know.”
“Did he kill Elaine?”
“I don’t know.”
“My mother’s crash and Claire’s mother’s death—”
“My mother died from cancer,” I said.
Judith looked at me.
“Yes.”
Something in her tone bothered me.
“What?”
“She was ill.”
“I know.”
“But she died earlier than the doctors expected.”
My chest tightened.
“Are you suggesting someone killed her?”
“No.”
“Then don’t imply it.”
“I’m telling you Elaine believed Thomas found her before she died.”
“When?”
“Three weeks before.”
“What happened?”
“He visited her.”
“Where?”
“Hospital.”
I felt anger rise.
“My hospital?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To ask for the ledger.”
“She refused.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“She called Evelyn.”
“What did she say?”
Judith looked at Gregory.
“She said Thomas was afraid of his own son.”
Gregory blinked.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Why would he fear me?”
“Because Evelyn had arranged something he never discovered.”
“What?”
Judith pointed toward him.
“The anniversary necklace.”
Gregory looked confused.
“He knew about the microfilm?”
“He knew there was evidence hidden somewhere in your life. He didn’t know where.”
The room went quiet.
Then Judith said, “That is why he watched Claire. Why he watched your house. Why he may be watching Toby.”
Lila looked toward the doorway.
“So what now?”
Judith’s gaze settled on Gregory.
“You stop following the trail Thomas expects.”
“How?”
“By finding Evelyn.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“You spoke to her yesterday.”
“No.”
We stared.
Gregory’s expression changed.
“The woman who called me…”
“Wasn’t Evelyn.”
Cold moved through me.
Judith shook her head.
“Evelyn would never send you to that rail building.”
“Why?”
“Because Thomas owns it.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART11: The Woman Pretending to Be Evelyn Had Led Us Into a Trap, and Gregory Chose to Meet the Father Who Had Watched Us for Years
My Son Recognized a Woman I Had Never Met, and the Jewelry at Her Throat Made His Impossible Story Suddenly Real
Part 10 of 12
