Naomi did not sleep that night.
She and Miriam returned to the apartment after checking their surroundings twice. Naomi locked the door, closed the blinds, and placed a chair beneath the handle even though she knew it would offer little protection against anyone determined to enter.
Her mother sat at the kitchen table, staring at the photograph of Parker House.
For almost an hour, Naomi waited.
Finally, she placed two mugs of tea on the table.
"Mom, I love you. But I need the truth."
Miriam wrapped both hands around her mug.
"I know."
"Was that woman in the photograph your sister?"
A long silence followed.
"Her name was Evelyn."
Naomi sat down.
"You had a sister?"
"An older sister. She was four years older than me."
"Why have I never heard about her?"
"Because she disappeared when I was thirty-one."
Naomi did the math.
"That was thirty years ago."
Miriam nodded.
"She vanished after a terrible argument with our father. The police searched for her, but nobody found anything. Eventually, everyone assumed she'd left California and started a new life."
"Did you believe that?"
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Miriam lowered her eyes.
"Evelyn would never have left without saying goodbye. We were close. She practically raised me after our mother died."
"Then why did you never tell me about her?"
"Because your grandmother begged me not to."
Naomi felt a chill move through her.
"Why?"
Miriam looked at the photograph again.
"Your grandmother believed Evelyn had uncovered something dangerous. She thought someone was watching our family. She made me promise that if anything happened to her, I would keep you away from the past."
"And you did."
"I thought I was protecting you."
"By letting me get engaged to a man who might be connected to it?"
Miriam flinched.
Naomi immediately regretted the sharpness in her voice.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"No, sweetheart. You have every right to be angry."
Miriam took a shaky breath.
"When you brought Brandon home for the first time, he was polite. Charming. He listened when I spoke, helped me carry groceries, and called me Mrs. Parker. I thought he was a good man."
"He fooled all of us."
"Perhaps. But there was something else."
"What?"
"He asked about your grandmother's estate."
Naomi frowned.
"What estate? Grandma left us a few pieces of furniture and a small amount of money."
"That's what I told him."
"Was that true?"
Miriam looked away.
"No."
The room became very quiet.
Miriam explained that her grandmother had owned a small commercial building in downtown San Jose, along with a parcel of land that had once housed a family business. The property had been called Parker House, and it had provided a modest income for decades.
When Evelyn disappeared, the family discovered that several business records were missing.
Their father had died soon afterward, leaving Miriam with few answers and a complicated collection of documents.
Eventually, she had been told that the property was burdened by debt and that selling it was the only practical option.
But Miriam had never completed the sale.
"Why not?" Naomi asked.
"Because I couldn't understand the paperwork. There were conflicting ownership records, missing signatures, and documents that didn't match the dates. I was frightened of making a mistake."
"So you kept the property?"
"Technically, yes. I paid the taxes whenever I could, but the building remained empty for years. Eventually, I hired someone to investigate."
"Who?"
"A lawyer named Thomas Bell."
Naomi reached for her phone.
"Is he still practicing?"
"I don't know. He stopped answering my calls several years ago."
"Did you ever tell Brandon about the property?"
"Only that your grandmother had owned a building. I never gave him the address."
Naomi looked at the photograph.
"Then how did he find out?"
Miriam's expression changed.
"Because Brianna came to see me six months ago."
Naomi went completely still.
"What?"
"She said she was researching local businesses and wanted to know whether I would consider selling the property. She offered to help me understand its value."
"And you trusted her?"
"I didn't. Not completely. But she seemed to know things about the property that I hadn't told her."
"Such as?"
"She knew Evelyn's name."
Naomi pushed back from the table.
"Mom, why didn't you tell me any of this?"
"Because she threatened to expose something about our family."
"What could she possibly know?"
Miriam's eyes filled.
"She told me that Evelyn had a daughter."
Naomi stared at her.
"A daughter?"
"She said the woman was alive, that she lived somewhere in California, and that she had been searching for our family."
"Did you believe her?"
"I didn't know what to believe. Brianna showed me a photograph of a young woman. She looked like Evelyn."
Naomi felt her pulse quicken.
"Where is the photograph?"
"I never kept it. Brianna took it away when she left."
"And what did she want from you?"
"She wanted me to sign documents giving her company permission to investigate the property."
"Did you sign them?"
"No."
Miriam's answer brought Naomi a small measure of relief.
"But she kept calling," her mother continued. "And then Brandon started asking questions. He told me that Brianna was trying to help you build a secure future."
Naomi remembered the business loan.
The paperwork Brandon had placed in front of her.
The reassuring smile he had worn while telling her that everything was routine.
She suddenly felt sick.
"Did he ever mention Parker House?"
Miriam hesitated.
"Once. He asked whether you had inherited any property from your grandmother."
"What did you say?"
"I told him no."
Naomi rose and began pacing the kitchen.
Brandon had not merely been planning a wedding.
He had been asking questions about her family's assets, persuading her to sign financial documents, and working with a woman who had targeted her mother months before the ceremony.
Then, on the morning of the wedding, he had helped destroy the one thing Miriam treasured most.
Was it possible the humiliation had been intended to provoke Naomi into leaving before she could discover something else?
Her phone rang.
This time, the caller ID displayed a name.
DANIEL REEVES.
Naomi answered immediately.
"Did you find something?"
"I did," he said. "And I think you should hear it before you contact Mr. Cole again."
Naomi placed the call on speaker.
Daniel explained that Westbridge Holdings had financed a proposed redevelopment project through a company connected to Brandon and Brianna. The project involved several parcels of commercial property, including land that appeared to overlap with the historical records for Parker House.
The loan application listed Naomi as a personal guarantor.
It also listed Miriam Parker as a beneficiary who had supposedly consented to the transaction.
Neither woman had authorized the documents.
"Can you prove that?" Naomi asked.
"We have copies of the submitted paperwork. The signatures need to be independently examined, but there are inconsistencies. More importantly, the application contains a valuation report suggesting your family property is worth substantially more than the amount recorded in older documents."
"How much more?"
"Preliminary estimates put the combined development value in the millions, depending on ownership and planning approvals."
Naomi gripped the edge of the table.
Millions.
Her mother had spent decades worrying about ordinary bills while sitting on a property that might be worth a fortune.
But Daniel's next words were even more disturbing.
"There is also a reference to an individual named Evelyn Parker."
Miriam gasped.
"What does it say?" Naomi demanded.
"That she may have held an ownership interest in the original property before her disappearance."
Miriam covered her mouth.
Daniel continued.
"Someone submitted an affidavit claiming Evelyn transferred her interest to a third party thirty years ago. The affidavit is dated several months after she disappeared."
"That makes no sense," Naomi said.
"I agree. The signature and notarization require further investigation."
"Who received the interest?"
There was a pause.
"Brianna Vale's company."
Naomi felt the room close in around her.
Then Daniel added one more detail.
"The transfer was apparently approved by a witness whose name appears on another document connected to your family's records."
"Who?"
"Thomas Bell."
Miriam's face turned white.
"No," she whispered.
Naomi looked at her.
"Mom?"
Miriam rose so quickly her chair scraped across the floor.
"Thomas Bell wasn't just our lawyer."
She looked at the photograph of Evelyn.
"He was the last person who saw my sister alive."
Before Naomi could ask another question, someone knocked on the apartment door.
Three slow, deliberate knocks.
Then a woman's voice came from the hallway.
"Naomi? My name is Claire Bennett. I believe I'm your cousin."
Miriam dropped her mug.
It shattered against the floor.
And through the closed door, Claire said the words that would change everything.
"I know where Evelyn is."
