Chapter 7 - THE DAUGHTER THERESA LOST
Theresa was waiting at my restaurant when I returned.
She didn't try to run.
She simply sat at my favorite table.
A cup of untouched coffee sat in front of her.
I walked toward her.
“Is it true?”
She looked up.
“What did Mark tell you?”
“That you're my mother.”
Her eyes closed.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Yes.”
The word destroyed everything.
I sat across from her.
“Why?”
“I was eighteen.”
“You had me.”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
“My husband found out.”
“And?”
“He took you.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed you were in danger.”
“From whom?”
“His partners.”
I stared.
“Why didn't you come for me?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“For years.”
“Then why did I grow up believing someone else was my mother?”
“Because I thought it would keep you alive.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You let me hate you.”
“I know.”
“You treated me like a daughter-in-law.”
“I know.”
“You humiliated me.”
“I know.”
“You stole from me.”
She cried harder.
“I was trying to get you to leave.”
“Leave what?”
“Aura.”
I froze.
“Why?”
“Because Aura isn't just a restaurant.”
She looked around.
“It's a vault.”
“A vault?”
“The building contains records.”
“Of Crown Harbor?”
“Yes.”
“Why were they hidden here?”
“Because your father trusted no one.”
I whispered,
“Who was my father?”
Theresa looked at me.
“Jonathan Reeves.”
My heart stopped.
“Mark's father?”
“Yes.”
The room spun.
I was Mark's wife.
But Mark was my half-brother.
I stood so quickly the chair fell backward.
“What?”
Theresa immediately said,
“No.”
I stared at her.
“What do you mean no?”
“You are not related to Mark.”
“Then you just said—”
“Jonathan wasn't Mark's biological father.”
Silence.
“He raised him.”
I breathed again.
“Then who was my father?”
Theresa whispered,
“Richard Miller.”
I froze.
Chloe's father.
“That means…”
“You and Chloe are half-sisters.”
I stared at her.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did Chloe—”
“She doesn't know.”
I sat down.
Everything became tangled.
Mark.
Chloe.
Theresa.
Amelia.
Crown Harbor.
The ledger.
All connected by secrets that had survived decades.
Theresa reached across the table.
I pulled my hand away.
“Don't.”
She nodded.
“I understand.”
“Where is my birth certificate?”
“I have it.”
“Give it to me.”
She reached into her purse.
Before she could remove it, the restaurant doors opened.
Chloe walked in.
She looked at me.
Then at Theresa.
“Tell her.”
Theresa froze.
Chloe placed a folder on the table.
“I already know.”
My heart stopped.
“How?”
Chloe looked at me.
“I found the DNA records.”
She opened the folder.
Two reports.
My name.
Chloe's name.
A relationship probability.
Half-siblings.
I stared.
Chloe sat beside me.
“I hated you.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because I thought you had everything.”
“I didn't.”
“I know that now.”
Silence.
She looked at Theresa.
“You lied to both of us.”
Theresa cried.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid.”
Chloe laughed bitterly.
“Everyone in this family is afraid.”
Then she turned to me.
“There is one more thing.”
“What?”
“Your father didn't die twenty-one years ago.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Richard Miller is alive.”
The room went silent.
Theresa stood.
“No.”
Chloe nodded.
“I found him.”
“Where?”
She looked at the door.
“Outside.”
I turned.
A man stood behind the glass.
Older.
Gray-haired.
But unmistakable.
Richard Miller.
Alive.
May you like
Watching me.
Then he smiled.
