Eve held the item out to him, but he didn’t move. Didn’t even seem to see it. He just stood staring at Mia as if he was transfixed.
Eve took a step closer, pushing the item toward him. “David, what is this?”
When he still didn’t respond, Eve turned, her eyes finding Mia’s. She moved forward, closing the distance, and Mia instinctively let go of Lila to reach for whatever Eve was holding.
It was a photograph. In a simple wooden frame.
Mia’s vision blurred as she looked down at it.
What was this?Her hand trembled as she held the frame.
Her head shot up, and her eyes met his again. “Who are you?” Her voice came out harsh, scared. “And why do you have a photo of my mother and me?”
Everyone had moved closer now. Lila beside her. Eve a step away. Brian and two other people she didn’t know formed a semicircle. And the man called David was standing directly across from her. He still hadn’t moved or said a word.
His face was pale with shock, and his eyes were exploding with a mixture of pain and guilt.
David
Shockwaves resounded through him when he saw Lila rush forward and cry, Mom.
Mom?That was Mia? Lila’s mother and the woman Eve called her niece?
His mind reeled, and his ears roared. He hadn’t even realized he’d dropped one of his most treasured possessions. He hardly heard Eve demand to know what was going on.
He’d barely heard Mia’s question, which now hung in the air as David stood rooted to the spot, staring at the woman in front of him, wondering if he was dreaming.
“Answer me!” Mia growled. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears, and her voice was hoarse with barely contained emotion. “Why do you have a photo of my mother and me?
When David finally found his voice, the words came from somewhere deep. From a place that had been locked away for twenty-eight years. “That’s a picture of my late wife, Nancy, and my daughter, Morgan.”
Mia
The world fractured.
Nancy.
Morgan.
The names crashed into her like physical blows.
“No.” The word tore from her throat. Tears filled her eyes, spilling over. Her chest heaved. She shook her head violently. “No. You’re a liar.” Her finger jabbed at the glass. “This is Mary Gray-Duncan and her daughter Mia Duncan.”
“No,” David said. His voice was low and hoarse. His eyes never left hers. “It’s Nancy and Morgan. My late wife and daughter.”
“No,” Mia yelled, her voice breaking.
Her hand moved without conscious thought. Reaching up. Pulling the chain and yanking the locket hanging from it free from beneath the top of her dress. The ruby caught the light and glinted like a star.
“I have the pendant on.” Her voice shook. “The same one around the little girl’s neck in this photo. See?” She held it up, her hand trembling so badly the locket swayed on its chain.
And as she said it, as she held up the proof?—
Everything shattered.
The wall inside her mind that had held for twenty-eight years cracked.
Then exploded through her brain, memories crashing in like a flood.
