Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN IN MAINE
We arrived in Portland shortly after sunrise.
The drive from New York had been long, but I barely noticed it. My mind kept returning to the photograph of Sofia asleep in her hospital bed.
Whoever had sent the threat had access to information that should have been private.
Marcus had arranged for additional security at the hospital. A trusted family friend had agreed to remain with Sofia until we returned.
I had hated leaving her.
But if Caroline was alive, I needed to find her before my mother could.
Margaret Ellis lived in a small blue house overlooking the Atlantic. Wind chimes hung beside the front door, and a row of potted herbs lined the windowsill.
She opened the door before we knocked a second time.
Her eyes moved from my face to Marcus, then toward the road behind us.
"You're Nathaniel."
It wasn't a question.
"Yes."
She looked exhausted.
"I wondered when you would come."
"Do you know where my wife is?"
Margaret hesitated.
"Not now. But I helped her when she needed somewhere safe to go."
"Why didn't you contact me?"
"Because Caroline believed your mother controlled every channel through which you could be reached. She had copies of messages that appeared to come from you. They said you wanted no further contact."
"I never sent them."
"I know that now."
She stepped aside.
Inside, the house smelled of coffee and lavender. A framed photograph showed Margaret standing beside a younger Caroline at a hospital fundraiser.
I recognized Caroline immediately.
She was smiling.
It was the smile I remembered from our wedding day.
Margaret placed a folder on the kitchen table.
"Caroline arrived at the clinic late one night three years ago. She had a head injury and was terrified someone would find her. She was carrying Sofia, who was still a baby."
I gripped the edge of the table.
"Was she attacked?"
"She told me she'd been involved in a car accident. But the injuries didn't tell the whole story. She kept asking whether anyone had followed her."
"Who brought her to the clinic?"
"An older woman who identified herself as a friend. She left before I could obtain her details."
My heart sank.
"My mother?"
Margaret nodded slowly.
"Caroline later told me Eleanor had threatened her. She said your mother knew about the foundation accounts and wanted the original records destroyed."
"Did Caroline tell you why she didn't come home?"
"She tried. Several times."
Margaret opened the folder.
Inside were copies of letters addressed to me.
Every one had been returned unopened.
Some bore my office address. Others had been sent to the Whitmore mansion.
"I never received these," I said.
"I believe Eleanor intercepted them. Caroline kept copies of everything."
I examined the dates.
The first letter had been written six weeks after the disappearance.
The final one was dated eleven months later.
Each contained a plea for help.
The last was only three sentences long.
Nathaniel, Sofia asks about you every day. She has begun calling strangers Daddy because she thinks every man might be you. Please, if you receive this, come find us.
I covered my mouth.
Margaret looked away, giving me a moment.
"Where did Caroline go after she left the clinic?"
"She rented a cottage farther north. She used another name and worked remotely doing bookkeeping. She believed it was safer to stay away until she could prove what Eleanor had done."
"And Sofia?"
"She was with her most of the time."
"Then how did my daughter end up with my mother?"
Margaret's expression darkened.
"Caroline made one mistake. She trusted a woman who claimed she could arrange a safe meeting between you and Sofia."
"Who?"
"Your mother's former assistant, Rebecca Shaw."
I recognized the name.
Rebecca had worked for Eleanor for twelve years before leaving the foundation shortly after Caroline disappeared.
"Where is she?"
"Dead."
The word landed heavily between us.
Margaret explained that Rebecca had died in a car crash two years earlier. The accident had been ruled accidental, and there had been no criminal investigation.
"But before she died," Margaret continued, "she called Caroline. She said she had evidence that could prove Eleanor arranged the disappearance."
"Did she send it?"
"She said she had hidden it somewhere Eleanor would never think to look."
I glanced at the photograph on the wall.
"Did Caroline ever tell you where she went after that?"
Margaret nodded.
"She left for a town near Boston. She said she had a plan to expose Eleanor, but she wouldn't tell me the details. A few weeks later, I received a message saying she had found someone she could trust."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
Margaret walked to a drawer and removed a small envelope.
"She left this for you. She told me to give it to you only if Sofia was safely back in your care."
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Caroline standing beside a brick building.
The sign above the entrance read:
HARBOR LIGHTS FAMILY SHELTER.
On the back, she had written:
Nathaniel, I never stopped loving you. But love alone could not protect our daughter. If you are reading this, the truth has finally reached you. Please find the shelter records. They will tell you what happened the night I disappeared.
I looked at Marcus.
"We're going to Boston."
Margaret caught my arm before I could leave.
"There's something you need to understand."
I turned.
"Caroline was not the only person Eleanor threatened."
"Who else?"
"Anyone who tried to help her."
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"I stayed silent because I was afraid. I have regretted it every day for three years."
I wanted to tell her that I understood.
But I couldn't.
Not yet.
I had spent three years mourning a woman who was alive. I had watched my daughter grow up in fear while I believed she was gone.
Forgiveness would take time.
Before leaving, I promised Margaret that the truth would be investigated and that no one who helped Caroline would be left alone.
Then Marcus received a call.
His face changed as he listened.
"What is it?" I demanded.
He lowered the phone.
"Someone tried to remove Sofia from the hospital."
My blood turned cold.
"Is she safe?"
"Yes. The nurses intervened, and security detained the person. But there's a problem."
"What problem?"
Marcus hesitated.
"The person had credentials identifying them as a representative of your mother's legal team."
I stared at the ocean through Margaret's window.
Eleanor was no longer merely hiding the truth.
May you like
She was trying to take my daughter again.
And this time, I would not let her.
