Chapter 17 - THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT
Marisol arranged for temporary security while investigators pursued the threats.
I hated needing it.
Our home had always been the place where my daughters felt safe, the place where birthday candles mattered more than bank balances.
Now every unfamiliar car made me reach for the curtains.
Sophie wanted to go public with everything we knew.
Lily wanted to wait until the evidence could survive questioning.
Emma wanted us all in one room where she could see our faces.
For once, none of them could persuade the others.
Rebecca listened from the doorway, then asked whether she might join us at the table.
She had been free for only a short time, and we still didn't know how to fit twenty-two stolen years into ordinary conversation.
“I don't get a vote in how you were raised,” she said gently.
“But I know what secrecy does to a family.”
We agreed to tell the truth to one another, even when it hurt.
Sophie admitted she had spoken with Daniel before the graduation without telling her sisters everything he said.
Lily admitted she had opened a private bank account for the foundation because she was afraid I would refuse any gift.
Emma confessed that she had been searching for Rebecca for nearly a year, far longer than her sisters knew.
And I told them the secret I had carried since they were little.
There had been a day, during their first winter with me, when I drove to the social services office and sat outside with all three in the back seat.
“I was so afraid,” I whispered.
“I thought you deserved someone stronger.”
Lily crossed the room and rested her forehead against mine.
“You drove us home,” she said.
“Yes.”
“That's the part that matters.”
At that moment the power went out.
Outside, a car door slammed.
Our security officer shouted for everyone to remain inside.
Then my phone lit up with a message from an unknown number.
May you like
Come to the window, Emily. I want you to see what your loyalty has cost.
