He opened the old safe.
Inside were financial records.
Photographs.
A wedding ring.
And one letter.
It was addressed to Edward.
The handwriting belonged to Anna.
Dad,
If I leave, don't come looking for me.
They know about Richard.
They know about Mom.
And now they know about Ethan.
The only way to protect him is to make him believe I never existed.
Ethan dropped the letter.
His knees weakened.
For twenty-two years, his father had allowed him to believe he was an only child.
Not because Anna was dead.
Because she was hiding.
Nolan entered the room.
"Ethan."
Ethan didn't answer.
Nolan saw the letter.
"Is that her?"
"Yes."
"She's alive."
Ethan nodded.
"Where?"
"We don't know."
Nolan looked at the photograph on the desk.
"Maybe she does."
Ethan looked up.
"What?"
"Maybe she left a trail."
They searched every property connected to Anna.
There were seventeen.
Six had been sold.
Five demolished.
Four belonged to shell companies.
Two remained.
One was an old lake house.
It had been purchased in 2001.
Under the name:
Elaine Hayes.
Marissa stared at the document.
"My mother."
Ethan looked at her.
"She owned a house?"
"I've never heard of it."
They drove there that night.
The house stood alone beside the lake.
Old.
Abandoned.
The windows were boarded.
Marissa unlocked the front door.
Dust covered everything.
Then she saw the photograph.
It sat on the mantel.
Her father.
Anna.
Elaine.
And a baby.
Marissa stared.
"Who's the baby?"
Ethan stepped closer.
He looked at the photograph.
Then at Marissa.
"It's me."
Marissa's face changed.
"You were there?"
"I was six."
"Why would my parents have a photograph of you?"
Ethan didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
Anna had not simply been hiding.
She had been protecting him.
A noise came from upstairs.
Marissa froze.
Ethan reached for her hand.
"Stay behind me."
They climbed the stairs.
A bedroom door was open.
Inside was a desk.
On it sat a notebook.
The first page contained a single sentence.
If Ethan ever finds this, tell him I loved him.
Ethan stopped.
He could barely breathe.
He turned the page.
The next sentence was worse.
Tell him I didn't disappear. I was taken.
THE WOMAN WHO DISAPPEARED
Anna's notebook contained sixty-three pages.
Most were coded.
Dates.
Initials.
Bank accounts.
Locations.
Names.
But one name appeared again and again.
M. Vale.
Margaret.
Ethan stared at the pages.
"She lied to me."
Marissa looked at him.
"Maybe she was protecting Anna."
"She knew."
"You don't know that."
"She knew Anna was alive."
He closed the notebook.
"We need to find her."
Margaret Vale was gone.
Her apartment was empty.
The building manager said she had left three days earlier.
No forwarding address.
No explanation.
Nolan traced her financial activity.
"She withdrew everything."
"How much?"
"Nine million."
Ethan's expression hardened.
"From where?"
"Three Northstar accounts."
Marissa looked at him.
"Then Margaret isn't just a witness."
"No."
"She's involved."
That night, they received a message.
A photograph.
Margaret standing beside a young woman.
The woman was wearing sunglasses.
But Ethan knew her face.
Anna.
Alive.
The message beneath the photograph contained four words.
SHE WANTS TO MEET.
There was an address.
An abandoned train station.
Midnight.
Ethan wanted to go alone.
Marissa refused.
"I'm coming."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know what we're walking into."
"Neither do I."
"Exactly."
She looked at him.
"You don't get to protect me by leaving me behind."
Ethan stared.
"You sound like my sister."
Marissa smiled faintly.
"Maybe she was right."
The station was empty.
Rain fell through the broken roof.
Ethan stood beneath the old clock.
Marissa beside him.
Midnight passed.
Nothing.
Then footsteps.
A woman appeared.
She wore a dark coat.
Her hair was shorter than Ethan remembered.
But he knew her.
"Anna."
She stopped.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then she smiled.
"Ethan."
His eyes filled.
He walked toward her.
She stepped back.
"Don't."
"Why?"
"Because if you hug me, I might not leave."
Ethan stopped.
"You've been alive all these years."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because people wanted me dead."
"Who?"
Anna looked at Marissa.
"Your father."
Marissa froze.
"What?"
Anna shook her head.
"Not Edward."
She looked at Ethan.
"Richard."
Marissa stepped forward.
"My father?"
"Richard helped me disappear."
"Why would he do that?"
"Because Northstar was bigger than all of us."
Anna pulled out a photograph.
It showed Victor Hale.
Margaret Vale.
And a third person.
Marissa looked closely.
She recognized him.
Roger Vance.
"Roger?"
Anna nodded.
"He wasn't just a restaurant manager."
Ethan's expression hardened.
"What was he?"
Anna answered:
"Northstar's courier."
Marissa felt sick.
"Then why did he apologize?"
Anna looked at her.
"Because he knew they were coming for you."
"And he tried to warn us."
"Yes."
"Who shot him?"
Anna looked away.
"Victor."