“And the man at the hospital?” I asked.
“Was a courier. He worked for your father. He believed Evelyn was being watched because one of the people named in the ledger knew about the pregnancy.”
“Who?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Your uncle Matteo.”
The name was familiar. My father’s younger brother had left Chicago years ago after a disagreement over the charitable foundations. I had been told he was living in Arizona.
“Is he still alive?”
“Yes. He is a private investor in New York.”
“Does my mother know?”
“She knew his name was in the ledger. She did not know whether he had acted alone.”
I looked at Victoria’s actions differently—not absolving them, but understanding the fear beneath them. She had chosen secrecy because she believed disclosure would bring danger. Daniel had done the same. Clara had done the same.
Each person had protected a fragment of the truth until the truth became a prison.
