Her Dead Sister Was Watching From Across the Street
CHAPTER 2 - The Mother-in-Law Who Stole Seven Years
Ava took Emma and Noah to a hotel under different names.
There, Emma finally explained what happened.
Seven years earlier, Emma was married to Richard Whitmore, heir to a successful hotel company. Richard loved her, but his mother never accepted her.
Margaret considered Emma socially unsuitable. She also resented that Richard transferred a portion of his company shares into a trust for Noah.
If Emma controlled the trust, Margaret could no longer dominate the family business.
Then company funds disappeared.
Documents bearing Emma's signature made her appear responsible. Richard was traveling when Margaret confronted Emma and ordered her to surrender Noah.
Emma refused.
That night, someone forced her car off the coastal road.
The vehicle crashed through a barrier, but Emma escaped with Noah before it caught fire. A fisherman found them and took them to a small clinic.
Emma had a head injury and suffered memory loss for months.
When she recovered, she contacted Margaret.
Margaret showed her letters allegedly written by Richard and Ava. Both claimed Emma was a thief and that no one wanted her back.
Margaret also threatened to use psychiatric records to declare Emma unfit and take Noah permanently.
"I believed her," Emma whispered. "I had no money and no proof."
She changed her name and moved from town to town. Noah's worn clothing came from the shelter where they had recently stayed after Margaret's investigators found their apartment.
Ava knelt before her nephew.
"I never wrote that letter. I thought both of you were dead."
Noah looked at his mother.
"I told you Aunt Ava would help."
Emma's eyes filled with guilt.
She had told Noah about the matching earrings and the cafe their mother once loved. When they saw Ava online, Noah recognized the location.
He had run ahead before Emma could stop him.
Ava reached for her sister's hand.
"Come home with me."
"I don't have a home anymore."
"Then we'll build one."
A knock sounded at the hotel door.
Ava opened it cautiously.
A sixty-three-year-old woman stood outside holding a leather document case. Ava recognized Rose, Margaret's former housekeeper.
Rose entered and locked the door behind her.
"I helped Mrs. Whitmore hide the truth," she confessed. "I was afraid of losing my job."
She placed the case on the table.
Inside were forged letters, financial records, and a photograph of Margaret meeting the driver who forced Emma's car off the road.
Rose then revealed why she had finally come forward.
"Margaret is announcing Richard's marriage to another woman tomorrow, and that woman helped her frame Emma."
