He swallowed.
“She said the cake was going to be funny.”
“Funny?”
“She said everyone would laugh.”
He looked ashamed.
“But then I saw what was behind the table.”
My heart started beating faster.
“The bag?”
He nodded.
“I didn’t know what it was.”
“Then why did you tell me?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because I saw Mom take it out of Grandma’s room last night.”
The words hit me harder than the cake.
“Grandma’s room?”
“Yes.”
I looked toward my mother.
She was across the yard, smiling and accepting congratulations from guests.
Like nothing had happened.
Like her daughter’s pregnancy reveal wasn’t hiding something much darker.
Cormac grabbed my hand.
“Madison, listen carefully.”
His journalist instincts had taken over.
The same instincts that had made him spend years investigating corruption, fraud, and people who believed they could hide the truth forever.
“The binder label.”
“What about it?”
“BUTLER, M. CASE FILE.”
He paused.
“Volume 4.”
I frowned.
“I don’t understand.”
“Your maiden name.”
My blood ran cold.
Butler.
My family name.
“M. Butler could mean anyone.”
Cormac shook his head.
“No.”
His expression hardened.
“Because I’ve seen that name before.”
“Where?”
He looked directly at me.
“In old investigation files.”
My breathing slowed.
“What investigation files?”
