Chapter 4 - The Woman In The Photograph
The photograph was grainy.
Old.
Taken from a distance.
But the woman in it was unmistakable.
Eleanor.
Mave traced the edge with her finger.
"Where was this taken?"
"St. Louis."
"When?"
"Six months after the fire."
"How do you know?"
"The date was printed on the back."
Mave looked up.
"Who took it?"
Dominic shook his head.
"Unknown."
"Then how did it get into the archive?"
"We don't know."
She looked at him.
"For someone who controls half the city, you don't know much."
His mouth almost curved.
"That's what keeps me humble."
She gave him a look.
"You're not funny."
"I wasn't joking."
Despite herself, Mave almost smiled.
It disappeared quickly.
They spent the rest of the night reviewing the archive.
By dawn, they had found references to a woman using the name Elena Rivers.
An address.
A bank account.
A hospital record.
Then nothing.
Mave felt hope and fear fighting inside her.
"She's alive."
Dominic stared at the records.
"I believe she was."
Mave's hand trembled.
"Why didn't she come back?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe she couldn't."
"Maybe."
"Maybe someone threatened her."
"Likely."
"Maybe she thought I was dead."
Dominic's eyes closed briefly.
"That is possible."
Then Elias entered.
"We have a problem."
Dominic looked up.
"What?"
"The hospital record was accessed yesterday."
"By whom?"
"Someone using a Vale security credential."
Silence.
Mave looked at Dominic.
"Someone inside your organization."
"Yes."
Elias placed a file on the desk.
"The credential belonged to Samuel Crest."
Dominic went very still.
Mave frowned.
"Who is that?"
"My oldest lieutenant."
Elias looked at Dominic.
"He has been with us since before your father died."
Dominic stood.
"Bring him in."
An hour later, Samuel Crest walked into the room.
He was a large man with gray hair and a scar across his throat.
He looked at Mave.
Then he stopped.
"You're Eleanor's daughter."
Mave had heard the sentence too many times.
She almost answered automatically.
Instead, Samuel smiled sadly.
"I thought you were dead."
Dominic stepped forward.
"Why did you access the hospital file?"
Samuel looked at him.
"Because I found something."
"What?"
"Your mother was there."
Mave stepped forward.
"When?"
"Three years after she disappeared."
"Was she alive?"
"Yes."
"Did you speak to her?"
Samuel nodded.
"Once."
Mave's breath caught.
"What did she say?"
Samuel looked at her.
"She said she had a daughter."
Mave's eyes filled.
"What else?"
"She said she could never come home."
"Why?"
Samuel hesitated.
Dominic's voice became cold.
"Answer."
Samuel looked away.
"Because someone had your mother's sister."
"Bridget?"
"No."
Mave froze.
"Another sister."
Dominic's face hardened.
"She had two sisters?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
Samuel shook his head.
"She wouldn't tell me."
Mave stared.
"That's impossible."
"No," Samuel said quietly. "It's the truth."
He took a folded piece of paper from his coat.
"I kept this."
Mave opened it.
A handwritten address.
And beneath it, six words.
Don't trust the man who saved you.
She looked up.
"Who is this about?"
Samuel's eyes went to Dominic.
Dominic did not move.
Mave looked between them.
"Who?"
May you like
Samuel finally answered.
"Your father."
