Chapter 100 - THE SECOND DAUGHTER
Eleanor opened the door.
She looked at my face.
Then at the phone in my hand.
She knew.
“You found out.”
My voice shook.
“Did my mother have another daughter?”
Eleanor didn't answer.
“Grandmother.”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
I felt the floor disappear beneath me.
“Who?”
“Her name was Anna.”
“Where is she?”
Eleanor looked toward the window.
“She was taken before you were born.”
“By Richard?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
“Your grandfather.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Why?”
“Because he believed two heirs were dangerous.”
I sat down.
“What happened to her?”
“We thought she died.”
“We?”
Eleanor nodded.
“Your mother never stopped searching.”
I looked at the letter again.
“She never told me.”
“She wanted you to have a normal life.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Normal?”
Eleanor looked down.
“I know.”
I stood.
“Is Anna alive?”
Eleanor hesitated.
Then she walked to an old cabinet.
She removed a photograph.
A young woman stood beside a lake.
Dark hair.
Green eyes.
A small scar above her eyebrow.
I stared.
The resemblance was unmistakable.
“She was alive when this photograph was taken.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
My hands began shaking.
“Where?”
Eleanor turned the photograph over.
An address was written on the back.
I recognized the city.
I recognized the street.
And then I recognized the name.
Anna Reed wasn't hiding somewhere across the world.
She had been living less than an hour away.
All these years.
I looked toward the stairs.
Noah was asleep.
Julian was beside him.
For the first time, the future felt uncertain again.
But this time I wasn't afraid.
I picked up my coat.
Eleanor looked at me.
“Emily.”
I turned.
“She may not want to see you.”
I nodded.
“I understand.”
“And if she does?”
I looked at the photograph.
“Then I'll finally meet the sister my mother spent her life trying to save.”
I walked toward the door.
Behind me, Eleanor whispered:
“Be careful.”
I stopped.
“Why?”
She looked at the photograph.
“Because Anna knows something about Richard that none of us ever knew.”
I turned around.
“What?”
Eleanor's voice dropped to a whisper.
“She was the one who created The Circle's original escape plan.”
I stared at her.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
“And she never intended for you to destroy it.”
“She intended for you to take it.”
I looked at the photograph one last time.
Then I opened the door.
Outside, the night was cold.
And somewhere less than an hour away, the sister I had never known was waiting.
The Circle was gone.
Richard was in prison.
The secrets had been exposed.
May you like
But my mother's story had just opened another door.
And this time, I was going to walk through it.
