Chapter 6 - The Woman in the Photograph
The photograph showed Hannah standing outside a brick building beside a smiling woman in a green coat. Behind them hung a sign: THE HARBOR HOUSE FAMILY CENTER.
"Hannah was funding this place privately," Nora said. "Not through the Bennett family foundation. Through an inheritance from her grandmother."
Nathan stared. "I knew she volunteered there. I didn't know she owned a stake."
"She was planning to place a significant portion of her inheritance into an independent trust. The money was meant to keep families housed while they got back on their feet."
"And my mother wanted control."
"That's what Hannah suspected. She never accused anyone without proof."
Nora turned over the picture. Hannah had written: If they say I changed my mind, ask Rosa what she saw.
"Rosa? Our cook?"
"She worked for Hannah before she worked for your mother."
Nathan called her. The phone went directly to voicemail. He tried again.
Across the kitchen, Lucy had fallen asleep in an armchair, one hand buried in Duke's fur. Nathan lowered his voice.
"I should've noticed."
"Then notice now," Nora said. "You can feel guilty after you protect her."
At 11:18 p.m., Nathan received a message from an unknown number: Stop looking for the blue box. You have no idea what your wife was hiding.
A second message arrived with a picture of his driveway taken minutes before he left the mansion. Lucy's face was visible through the rear window.
Nora leaned over his shoulder. "Don't answer. Save both messages."
A car door slammed outside. They looked through the curtain. A silver sedan idled across the street, headlights off.
Nathan's phone rang. This time it was Rosa.
"Mr. Bennett," she whispered, "I can't stay at that house anymore. Your mother knows I helped Lucy."
"Where are you?"
"At the bus station. I have something Hannah asked me to keep."
May you like
A man's voice sounded in the background. Rosa stopped speaking.
Then the call ended.
