Chapter 16 - June's Empty House
June's house stood behind a white fence on a quiet street. Police had searched it after the arrest, but Ruiz agreed to let the sisters walk through with an officer present.
The rooms were spotless. Family photographs lined the hallway: Claire as a baby, Robert at a company dinner, Evelyn smiling beside a birthday cake. There were no photographs of Lena.
“That's how she erased you,” Claire said.
Lena touched the edge of a frame. “She didn't erase me. She made sure no one knew to look.”
In the study, they found a locked desk drawer. The officer opened it. Inside were bank receipts, old letters, and a small brass key taped beneath the bottom.
The key fit a cabinet in the pantry.
Inside the cabinet sat a blue design book wrapped in cloth.
Claire opened it carefully. The pages were filled with sketches, fabric samples, measurements, and notes in two different hands. Evelyn's handwriting was rounded and quick. Rosa's was precise, with tiny stars beside ideas she liked.
The final page showed the wedding gown Claire had worn. Beneath the drawing, both women had signed their names.
A note was tucked into the binding.
For Claire and Lena. If you are standing together, then the dress has done its job.
Claire sat down.
“She knew,” Lena whispered. “She knew we'd find each other.”
A floorboard creaked behind them.
June stood in the doorway, pale and thin, her wrists free but a police officer beside her. She had been brought back to collect personal items.
“You found it,” she said.
Claire closed the book. “You kept it.”
“I couldn't destroy it.”
“You destroyed everything else.”
June's eyes filled. “I was jealous of Evelyn. She had talent. Your father loved her. Rosa was her friend. I was always the one left outside.”
“So you burned their lives down?”
“I wanted to scare them. I didn't want anyone dead.”
“You signed the payment.”
“I know.”
June looked at Lena. “I should have told you who your father was.”
Lena's voice was flat. “You should have told me my mother was alive.”
June began to cry.
Then Ruiz's phone rang. The district attorney had found a new account linked to June.
A payment had been made two weeks ago.
To Margaret Mercer.
May you like
Daniel's confession left a bitter taste. Claire had hoped that the last secret would be something simple, something that could be filed away with the rest. Instead, it showed how easily fear could turn into action. She did not know whether he had wanted to help Margaret or save himself. Perhaps he had wanted both. Either way, Frank had paid the price.
THE DRESS FULL OF SECRETS |
