That was when I knew.
He recognized the words.
“Who was she?” I demanded.
He opened the car door but didn’t get inside.
“Her name was Elena. She worked for my father for almost fifteen years.”
“And my mother?”
Jonah looked at me.
“Your mother’s name was Elena.”
The world seemed to stop.
I shook my head.
“No. My mother’s name was Maria.”
“Maria was the name she used after she disappeared.”
I backed away from him.
“Stop. Just stop. You can’t stand there and tell me that my mother
had another identity, that she was connected to your family, and that somehow my marriage was part of all this.”
“I wish I could tell you it wasn’t true.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Because I only discovered her name three days ago.”
I wanted to believe him.
God, I wanted to believe him.
But every new revelation made the man I loved feel like a stranger.
We drove to my brother’s workplace.
His manager told us he had left early after receiving a phone call. He had
