the world.
And suddenly, I remembered something she had told me when I was little.
That there had once been another child in our family.
A child she had lost.
A child whose name she never spoke.
I stepped away from Jonah.
“No,” I whispered. “That doesn’t make sense.”
He reached for me, but I couldn’t move.
Because if my mother had been hiding a child from Jonah’s family, if Daniel had murdered her to protect a secret, and if my marriage had somehow been connected to all of it…
Then the truth wasn’t simply about money.
It was about who I really was.
My phone vibrated again.
Another unknown number.
One final message appeared on the screen.
ASK JONAH WHY HIS MOTHER CHOSE YOU. SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHO YOU WERE.
I slowly raised my eyes to my husband.
“Jonah,” I whispered. “Did your mother know my mother before she paid me to marry you?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
And that silence was more frightening than anything Daniel had said.
Finally, Jonah took a deep breath.
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
