Chapter 5
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Maya sat down.
She looked tired.
Like she'd been carrying this secret for a long time.
"Cara's mother… she didn't die of Huntington's," she said.
I stared at her.
"What?"
"The official cause of death was Huntington's disease," she said. "But that's not what really happened. Cara found out the truth from her doctor. The day she got her own test results."
She paused.
"Her mother was murdered, Ethan."
The room spun.
"Murdered?"
"Her father," Maya said. "He poisoned her. Made it look like the disease had progressed faster than expected. He was having an affair. He wanted her out of the way. And he almost got away with it."
I thought about Cara.
Finding out she was pregnant.
Finding out she had a terminal disease.
And then finding out her mother had been murdered by her own father.
All in one day.
"Why didn't she go to the police?" I asked.
"She was scared," Maya said. "Scared of what her father would do. Scared he'd come after her. Scared he'd find out about the baby. She was already dealing with so much. So she ran. She hid. She changed her name. She made sure her father could never find her. Or Lily."
I opened the first journal.
The first entry was dated the day she left.
*I'm so sorry, Ethan. I'm so sorry. The doctor called. I have Huntington's. And Mom didn't die from it. Dad killed her. I'm pregnant. I can't stay. I can't put Ethan in danger. I can't put our baby in danger. I have to run. I have to protect us all. Even if it means breaking my own heart.*
I flipped through the journals.
Ten years of entries.
Some happy.
Some sad.
Some desperate.
*Lily said her first word today. "Daddy." I didn't teach her that. She just said it. I cried for an hour. I wish Ethan could have heard it.*
*The symptoms are starting. Small things. Tremors in my hands. I'm losing time. I don't know how much longer I have.*
*I drove past Ethan's office today. Just to see him. He looks good. He's still single. I want to run to him. To tell him everything. But I can't. I'm too sick. And Lily is too young. I have to wait until the time is right.*
*I found out my father died last year. Heart attack. I should feel sad. But I just feel relieved. He can't hurt us anymore. Maybe now I can finally go home.*
*I'm getting weaker. The doctors say I have weeks. Maybe days. It's time. I'm going to find Ethan. I'm going to marry him. And then I'm going to give him the greatest gift I have. Our daughter. I just hope he can forgive me.*
I closed the journal.
Tears were streaming down my face.
She'd been so close.
So many times.
She'd watched me.
She'd cared about me.
All while suffering alone.
"She came back once before," Maya said quietly. "Three years ago. She was going to tell you everything. But then she saw you with someone. A woman. She thought you'd moved on. She thought you were happy. So she left again."
I thought about Sarah.
The woman I'd dated for a few months.
The woman I'd tried to love.
The woman who could never be Cara.
Cara had seen us together.
And she'd walked away.
Again.
I looked at Lily.
She was in the living room, coloring.
Humming to herself.
Happy.
Oblivious to the pain and secrets that surrounded her birth.
"She needs to know," I said. "About her grandfather. About everything. When she's old enough."
Maya nodded.
"Cara thought so too. She wrote her letters. For every birthday. For every important moment. She wanted Lily to know the truth. But only when she was ready."
That night, I held Lily while she slept.
I thought about everything Cara had been through.
Everything she'd sacrificed.
She'd run away to protect me.
To protect our daughter.
And she'd suffered alone for ten years.
Because she loved us too much to let us suffer with her.
I kissed Lily's forehead.
"I'll never leave you," I whispered. "Never."
The next morning, I got a call from a lawyer.
"Cara's father's estate is being probated," he said. "And it seems your daughter is the sole heir."
I froze.
May you like
"What?"
"Her father had no other living relatives," he said. "The estate is worth approximately 4.2 million dollars. And it all goes to Lily."
