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By now you’ve figured out you’re an aunt. I had a baby girl the following April. I named her Lilian Grace, for mom and you. I call her Lily. I fell immediately in love, and knew I needed to be the best mom I could be, which meant straightening up my life and making amends. By then you were in prison, and I didn’t know how to get you out. I should have come forward, but I was so afraid they’d take Lily from me. I even convinced myself that maybe you were safer in jail, that no one from Paul could get to you. You weren’t answering my letters. Not that I could blame you. As I look back over this long letter, I wonder if you’ve made it this far in reading it or if you saw my handwriting and threw it out. But I won’t stop trying, Maddy. One day, I’ll figure out how to get out of this mess. I’ll never be able to make it up to you, but I owe you my life and the life of the one thing that means more to me than anything, and some day, I hope you’ll find that person who makes you happier than anything. I want you to meet Lily. I know you’ll love her. I tell her all the time about my sister who protected her and is a hero. I want her to grow up like you.
I guess you’re wondering why I’m putting all this in writing. I don’t know how to explain it. I have a bad feeling the people Paul knew have figured out the money is in your name. I can’t put you in danger, so I’ve decided to go to the police and tell them everything. I can’t hide anymore. I’ve been afraid I’d go to jail myself for identity theft, and then Lily wouldn’t have family left. But now you’re free. Maybe, if you can find it in your heart to love a little girl who is innocent in the entire matter, she can still have family if something happens to me.
I do love you, Maddy.
Charly
42
Maddy
These past few days
had been overwhelming with fear, sorrow, and enormous revelations. The police were making arrests, thanks to the combination of information from Charly’s letter, including the bank account numbers she’d attached, and from the investigator Holt had hired. It turned out Paul Regis was trafficking timber, importing wood from a protected tree in Russia and illegally selling it to the Chinese. I’d never heard of such a thing, but it was obviously profitable. It was his cut that he was trying to hide in case the Feds caught on. But apparently, he was also lying about the profit margins to his crime partners. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided the corporate headquarters of the parent company and arrests had already begun, although it would be a long process until the Department of Justice would have everything they needed to go to court.
The men who’d held me hostage and shot Holt were paid thugs trying to pass as something more. They’d been hired by a couple of Paul Regis’s partners-in-crime, trying to rattle loose information so they could get their hands on his share of the money. Fortunately, they hadn’t been true professionals, just some idiots willing to break the law for some extra dough. They were daring enough to be bold and dangerous, but not smart enough to pull off their crimes. I guess it was true that if you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch. But we weren’t complaining. The one holding me had been shot by a sniper who arrived on the scene at the courthouse, and according to the police, he was singing like a canary to the Feds.
We still weren’t quite sure why Charly was at the courthouse. We thought it was possible that she was going to try to make contact with me that day. Maybe that’s why I felt like someone was watching me when we were in court. Regardless, somehow she’d seen what was taking place. I wondered if she planned to confront the gunmen and tell them what they wanted. A witness said she’d seen Charly start toward Holt and had almost made it to him when all hell broke loose instead. We’d just been so focused on the people involved, we didn’t even notice her until it was too late. It didn’t change anything; she’d taken a bullet that would have otherwise hit Holt.
I was still trying to process it all, but sometimes it felt like trying to separate water with a sieve. Sometimes there just weren’t enough answers for all the questions, but we knew enough to begin to attempt to put it all behind us.
Holt’s family met us at his apartment after he was released from the hospital a few days ago. With Holt’s help, I nervously told them everything. Needless to say, they were shocked. I clutched Holt’s hand, terrified his family would find me unworthy of their son, but the only thing they were upset about was why we hadn’t confided in them sooner.
Now three days later, I found myself trying to deal with one of the hardest pieces of the entire event.
“Are you ready?” Holt asked me for the second time this week. I knew he was worried about me.
“Not really, but I don’t have a choice,” I answered softly, biting my thumb while I gazed out the window.
We sat in Cal’s SUV along the green grass at the cemetery where Charly would be laid to rest next to our mother. It was a pretty cemetery, well-tended and lined with trees on the edge with a pretty stone chapel near the entrance. It was located on the other side of town where my parents had lived before I was born - before my father lost everything due to his drinking habits.
Earlier today we’d had a service at the church where Vic and Francine Barnes attended. They insisted on helping to pay for the funeral services, which I tried to refuse, but eventually accepted when Holt reminded me that they loved Lily like a granddaughter, and to let them do it for her. It was a fairly small assembly, but several parents from Lily’s school and the principal attended, and I could read the sincerity in their voices as they told me what a wonderful mother Charly had been. Others had taken time off from the law firm to attend. I didn’t miss the look of surprise on Holt’s face when he saw Linda Talbot wipe her eyes as she gave me a warm hug. He didn’t think his secretary had a soft spot anywhere in her.
There were a few cars behind us; others who had chosen to make the drive to the town where Charly and I grew up – all of the Andrews family, the McCloskeys, and the Barnes. Cal and Sara had driven us since Holt needed his pain meds for the long day, and I didn’t have a license.
“Take your time,” Cal said, turning around and smiling gently at me. “I’ll speak to the funeral director and just have him wait until you’re ready.” He and Sara got out, taking Cara’s carrier, and quietly shut the doors.
“How about you?” I asked him. “This can’t be easy for you, either.” The last time he’d been to a funeral had been to bury his wife, and I knew this couldn’t be easy on him.
Holt brushed his hand over my cheek. “I’ll be fine. It’s a hard day for everyone, but we’ll all be okay, I promise.”
“You really think so?”
“Maddy, I know so. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be a walk in the park. It doesn’t mean there isn’t going to be some tears and some struggles, but we’ll all get through, and you know why?”
I smiled, confident in my answer. “Because we have each other.”
His smiled beamed back at me. “That’s right, sweetheart. Whatever you both need, I’m here for you. And we’ll be here together for Lily.” His hand cupped my cheek, and I nuzzled into it. “I love you, Holten Andrews.”
“I love you, too.”
His eyes shifted to the cemetery and back to me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about today. It was an odd feeling. My sister had been lost to me long ago, yet it felt like I was losing her all over again. This time it was permanent, but with less anger. I grieved over not getting to talk to her, over what could have been. I wanted to rant at her, shake her for her stupidity, while simultaneously wanting to hold and hug her and tell her how proud I was of the mother she’d turned out to be and thank her for trying to look out for me.
I drew a calming breath and nodded. He opened the door and assisted me while I slid out. Everyone else had already gathered outside of their cars, patiently waiting for us.
“Aunt Maddy, is this where you and my mommy grew up?” a little voice asked.
I squatted down in front of the adorable little girl who had slightly darker hair and greener eyes than her mom or me, but no one could question we were related. “Very close to here, sweetheart. Did you see that big field we drove past? I used to play in it. I’d pretend I was a princess locked up in a tower waiting for a handsome prince to rescue me.”
