Daniel closed the door.
They stood in darkness again.
Naomi whispered.
"Where does this lead?"
"Parking garage."
"Good."
They moved through the corridor.
After several minutes, they emerged near the underground garage.
A black SUV waited near the exit.
Daniel looked at it.
"That's mine."
Evan frowned.
"How did you get here before us?"
"I had someone bring it."
Daniel unlocked the doors.
They climbed inside.
As the SUV drove into the street, Naomi looked back at the building.
The upper floors remained dark.
She wondered who had entered.
And why.
Daniel drove for several minutes before speaking.
"Your grandmother left one more message."
Naomi looked at him.
"Where?"
"At her old house."
"I thought she died in California."
"She did."
"Then what house?"
Daniel glanced at her.
"The house she left behind."
Evan asked, "Where?"
"Oakland."
Naomi's heart began racing.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"Because the property was transferred into a trust under a different name."
Richard spoke quietly.
"Jonathan never knew about it."
Naomi looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"Because I helped Eleanor establish it."
The car became silent.
"Then you knew where she lived?"
Richard nodded.
"After she disappeared, I visited her twice."
"Why didn't you tell my family?"
"Because she begged me not to."
Naomi looked out the window.
She suddenly felt angry.
Everyone seemed to know something about her grandmother except her.
"You all made decisions about my life."
Nobody answered.
"You decided what I should know."
Still silence.
"You decided what I could handle."
Richard looked ashamed.
"You are right."
Naomi turned toward him.
"Then no more secrets."
Richard nodded.
"No more."
The SUV stopped outside a modest hotel.
Daniel parked.
"We can't go directly to Oakland."
"Why?"
"Because if someone is monitoring the company, they'll know where we're going."
Evan looked at him.
"Then where?"
Daniel removed a folded map.
"There's an old property in Indiana."
Naomi stared at him.
"What?"
"It's where Eleanor stored her original records."
"Why would she keep them there?"
"Because no one would look."
Daniel unfolded the map.
"There is a farmhouse."
Evan looked at Richard.
"Does it still exist?"
Richard nodded.
"Yes."
Naomi stared at the map.
"Let's go."
They drove through the night.
Hours passed.
Naomi barely spoke.
She watched the highway lights disappear behind them.
Eventually, she fell asleep.
She dreamed of her grandmother.
In the dream, Eleanor was standing in the kitchen of their old apartment.
She was holding the same silver pendant.
"Naomi," she said.
Naomi reached for her.
"Grandma."
Eleanor smiled.
"Don't be afraid of what you find."
"What happened to you?"
Eleanor's expression became sad.
"I trusted the wrong person."
"Who?"
Before Eleanor could answer, the dream changed.
Naomi was standing in a dark hallway.
The old clock was ticking.
Eleven forty-seven.
Then the clock struck twelve.
She woke suddenly.
The SUV had stopped.
Evan was looking at her.
"We're here."
Naomi looked outside.
An old farmhouse stood beneath a gray morning sky.
The windows were boarded.
The roof needed repair.
Tall grass covered the yard.
"This place?"
Daniel nodded.
"Your grandmother owned it."
They entered through the back door.
Inside, everything smelled of dust.
There were old chairs.
Boxes.
Books.
A broken radio.
Naomi walked slowly through the rooms.
She found a photograph on the wall.
It showed Eleanor holding Naomi as a baby.
Naomi touched the glass.
"She brought me here?"
"Once," Richard said.
"When?"
"You were two."
Naomi turned.
"I don't remember."
"You wouldn't."
She walked farther into the house.
Then she noticed something.
The kitchen wall had a small wooden clock.
It was stopped at eleven forty-seven.
Naomi stared.
"No."
Evan approached.
"What?"
She pointed.
"The time."
Daniel looked at the clock.
"Eleven forty-seven."
Naomi removed the silver pendant.
The clock had a tiny keyhole beneath it.
She inserted the pendant.
Nothing happened.
Then she remembered the letter.
The evidence is with the person who betrayed me.
She turned toward Richard.
"You said you helped my grandmother."
Richard nodded.
"What did she give you?"
He hesitated.
Naomi's voice became firm.
"Richard."
The old attorney reached inside his coat.
He removed a small envelope.
"I've carried this for twenty-seven years."
Naomi stared.
"Why?"
"Because Eleanor told me to give it to you only when you found the clock."
Naomi took it.
Inside was a single photograph.
She turned it over.
There was a sentence.
The person who betrayed me is the one you trust most.
Naomi looked around the room.
Evan.
Daniel.
Richard.
Three men.
One secret.
Then she noticed something else.
The photograph showed Eleanor standing with three people.
Jonathan Carrington.
Thomas Mercer.
And Richard Hale.
But behind them, partially hidden by a doorway, stood a fourth person.
Naomi zoomed in.
She recognized the face.
Her heart stopped.
It was Victoria Carrington.
But the photograph had been taken twenty-seven years ago.
Before she had supposedly known anything about Eleanor's disappearance.
Naomi turned toward Evan.
"Your mother was there."
Evan looked at the photograph.
His face went pale.
"My mother told me she only met Eleanor once."
Daniel shook his head.
"She lied."
Naomi felt the room closing around her.
Richard whispered:
"There's more."
He pointed toward the photograph.
Look at Eleanor's hand.
Naomi stared.
Eleanor was holding a piece of paper.
On it was a name.
Naomi read it.
Evelyn Carrington.
Evan's grandmother.
Naomi's eyes widened.
"Why would Eleanor write her name?"
Nobody knew.
Then the old farmhouse door slammed shut.
Everyone turned.
A voice came from the hallway.
"You shouldn't have come here."
Naomi froze.
The voice was female.
Victoria.
She stepped into the room.
But she wasn't alone.
Two men stood behind her.
Evan stared at his mother.
"What are you doing here?"
Victoria looked at Naomi.
"I came to finish what should have ended twenty-seven years ago."
Chapter 9
Nobody spoke.
Victoria stood in the doorway.
The woman who had apologized to Naomi hours earlier now looked completely different.