“What is that?”
Hailey shoved it under the covers so that it was hidden away.
“Why are you so angry with me?”
“You sent Jane away, and all I can think about is her sitting in her big house all alone.”
“I did not send Jane away, although if she hadn’t left on her own, I might have.”
Hailey said nothing.
“Did Jane give you that card?”
“Why do you care?”
“Because I’m worried she’s doing her darndest to try and drive a wedge between us. You used to talk to me . . . about everything.”
“That was before I found out you were keeping secrets from me. I never understood why you were so against teaching me to drive, but I get it now. I didn’t even know you were ever in a car accident until Grandma mentioned it. You were driving when you crashed into another car . . . and killed a family.” Hailey’s eyes watered. “Why didn’t you ever talk about it?”
Jane must have learned about the accident through the PI she’d hired. It wouldn’t surprise Nora if Jane was the one who had written the message on the wall. And if she had broken into the house and taken the time to scrawl something so cruel, that would point at Jane being unpredictable. How far would she take this weird obsession she had with Nora and her family? “I didn’t tell you about it because Grandma and Grandpa asked me not to.”
“Why would they do that?”
“Because they’re from another time. A lot of past-generation parents didn’t talk to their children about difficult subjects. The boundaries between parents and children were stricter. I don’t know why. It’s just how it was.”
Hailey reached under the covers and then tossed the card her way, causing $100 bills to fly off the bed and scatter about the floor. Hailey pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs and gestured with her chin toward the card next to Nora. “Jane must have snuck it into my room last night or early this morning. There’s a message inside along with a thousand dollars I’m sure you want to give back to her.”
Nora picked up the card. The face of it was a glittery angel with a gold halo. She opened it and read Jane’s message written in cursive:
Dear Hailey, you will always be my special girl. I am sorry I wasn’t truthful about Richard, but I was sad about the breakup. We both knew he wasn’t the man for me. The only place I wanted to be for Christmas was with all of you—my family. Please don’t be disappointed with me. Your mom hasn’t been truthful with you, either. When she was seventeen, she climbed behind the wheel of her father’s car and killed a family, a happy family like yours. Enjoy your holidays. We will see each other again. I’m certain of it. ——J
Nora set the card on the bed between them. She didn’t appreciate being called out by Jane or feeling as if she were being forced to have this conversation with Hailey. The thought that Jane did her best to control the narrative was revealing. She was a skillful manipulator and a narcissist, which told Nora that underneath it all, she had cripplingly low self-esteem.
Despite her thoughts about Jane, Nora knew in her heart that she should have told David and the kids everything that had happened a long time ago. “It’s true,” Nora said. “My friend called me from a party. She was drunk and needed a ride . . .” Nora told her daughter everything, including her promise to her father not to tell anyone. “I never would have gotten behind the wheel of a car if I had known the punch I drank had been spiked with drugs.”
“What kind of drugs?”
“Rohypnol.”
“You were roofied,” Hailey said.
“Yes.” She felt sick that she hadn’t had this discussion with her daughter before now.
“And that was it. You just forgot about that little boy and his parents and went on with your life?”
Nora swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’ve never forgotten what happened. I’m not going to sit here and try to gain your sympathies, but you need to know that it was a terrible, terrible accident. People were killed. That’s not something anyone could ever forget.”
The silence squeezed the air from the room, making it difficult to breathe.
“Why would Jane tell me all this?” Hailey asked.
“I don’t know.”
After a moment passed, Hailey said, “I’m sorry that happened, Mom.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you years ago. Maybe if I had, you would have known you could talk to me about anything.” The silence hovered between them before Nora added, “I want you to feel comfortable enough to talk to me about anything.”
Hailey met her gaze. “Okay.”
Nora stood, went to her daughter, and opened her arms.
Hailey came to her feet, too. They hugged. It was a real hug, and Nora never wanted to let go. Patience, understanding, and communication were so important, Nora realized. One hug wouldn’t resolve their issues, but it was a start. For the first time in months, Nora felt close to her daughter. “I love you,” Nora said.
“I love you, too.”
When Nora finally did release her, Hailey scratched the side of her head. “Alex might come by later to bring me a Christmas present. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine.” When she got to the door, Hailey asked, “What should I do with this money?”
“Keep it. Maybe save it for that car you’ve been wanting.”
Hailey smiled.
Nora made her way down the hallway to Trevor’s room. The second she walked through the door, he jerked around, his eyes round and fearful.
“Oh,” he said, his shoulders slumping forward. “I thought it was Jane.”
“She’s gone.”
“Really? Like, gone gone?”
“Yes.” It made Nora’s heart break to think he’d been so frightened of her. “She really did scare you, didn’t she?”
“She’s evil, Mom. I don’t understand why everyone else can’t see that.”
Nora noticed some photos of Mr. and Mrs. Lewitt on the screen. “It’s time for us to put all of this behind us. It’s over.”
Trevor shook his head. “But, Mom, wait. I bought a database. A good one that professionals use. I discovered something big.”
Nora walked to his side. “What did you find?”
“Jane’s birth name was Jane Schaefer. Her aunt and uncle, Greg and Barbara Lewitt, adopted her, and her name became Jane Lewitt.”
Nora felt the room tilt, the earth crumbling beneath her feet. “Schaefer? Are you sure?”
Nora had thought Jane’s birth name was Bell, assuming Barbara’s sister married into the Bell family, then was changed to Lewitt after Greg and Barbara Lewitt adopted her as their own. “But if her surname was Schaefer, why would she change her name to Jane Bell?” Nora put her fingers through her hair.
“But there’s more. Jane Schaefer had a younger brother named Lucas.”
Nora felt the blood drain from her face.
Trevor clicked on another tab. A black-and-white photo popped up and filled the screen. It was Greg and Barbara Lewitt at the wharf, along with a couple and two children.
The caption read: Greg and Barbara Lewitt at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Also pictured are Barbara Lewitt’s sister and brother-in-law and their two children, two weeks before Bill and Dorothy Schaefer and their son, Lucas, were killed in a head-on collision.