Chapter 9: The Person Who Set the Fire
Vanessa's confession seemed to freeze the room.
Amara took one step toward her.
“Who?””
Vanessa looked at the floor.
“Your biological mother.””
Margaret slowly stood.
“That's not true.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“I'm sorry.””
“You're lying.””
“I wish I were.””
Daniel stepped between them.
“Explain yourself.””
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
“Before the fire, Margaret was receiving letters from Robert. He was trying to convince her to tell the truth about Amara's birth.””
Margaret shook her head.
“He was threatening me.””
Vanessa nodded.
“I know. He told me.””
Daniel frowned.
“Why were you involved?””
Vanessa looked toward the window.
“Because I was working for Robert at the time.””
Amara looked confused.
“You worked for him?””
“I was his assistant. I handled some of his paperwork and helped him organize the trust documents.””
Vanessa turned toward Margaret.
“Robert believed Marcus was stealing money. But he also believed Margaret had helped him hide the original adoption records.””
Margaret's expression tightened.
“I didn't.””
“You signed the papers.””
“I thought they were temporary.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“That's what Robert thought too, until he found the final documents.””
Amara looked at Margaret.
“Why would you do that?””
Margaret's eyes filled.
“Because I wanted you.””
The words were almost a whisper.
“I had lost you once. When I found you again, I couldn't bear the thought of losing you a second time.””
Amara stared at her.
“So you helped keep me from my family?””
Margaret nodded.
“I made a terrible decision.””
Vanessa continued.
“Robert was going to take the documents to the authorities. He told me that if anything happened to him, I should make sure the girls found each other.””
Olivia stepped forward.
“Then what happened?””
Vanessa looked at Denise.
“Denise went to the house that night.””
Denise shook her head.
“I went to retrieve the documents.””
“Exactly.””
“I didn't know the fire would happen.””
Vanessa's voice became sharper.
“But you were there.””
Denise nodded.
“I was.””
Amara looked at her mother.
“What did you do?””
Denise wiped her cheeks.
“I went into the bedroom where Robert kept the original papers. I found the box, but before I could leave, I heard someone coming upstairs.””
“Who?””
Denise looked at Margaret.
“She was there.””
Margaret shook her head.
“I arrived after you.””
“No,” Denise whispered.
“You were already in the hallway.””
Olivia looked at her mother.
“Mama, are you saying Margaret started the fire?””
Denise nodded slowly.
Margaret stood abruptly.
“That's a lie!””
Denise continued.
“I saw her holding a bottle.””
Margaret's face went pale.
“Denise, you need to stop.””
“You were pouring something near the curtains.””
“I was trying to destroy the papers!””
The admission escaped before Margaret could stop herself.
Nobody moved.
Daniel stared at his mother.
“Mom?””
Margaret covered her mouth.
She looked at the floor.
“I didn't mean for the fire to spread.””
Amara stepped backward.
“You started it?””
Margaret began crying.
“I was desperate.””
“You set our house on fire?””
“I thought I could destroy the documents before Robert took them.””
Olivia's hands trembled.
“I was inside that house.””
Margaret looked at her.
“I know.””
“You knew I was inside?””
“I thought everybody had gotten out.””
Olivia stared at her.
“You thought?””
Margaret began sobbing.
“I was trying to protect my family.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Stop saying that.””
Margaret looked at him.
“You don't understand.””
“No. I understand perfectly. You were willing to destroy evidence, and you didn't care who got hurt.””
“I never wanted you to be hurt!””
“But Olivia was hurt. Amara was taken away. Dad disappeared. And you kept lying.””
Margaret lowered her head.
Vanessa reached into her handbag again.
“I have something else.””
She removed a small folded photograph.
It showed the house on the night of the fire.
Smoke poured from the upstairs windows.
A figure stood near the side entrance.
The photograph was blurry, but the figure's face was partially visible.
Amara looked at it.
“That's Margaret.””
Vanessa nodded.
“Taken by a neighbor.””
Margaret stared at the picture.
“I thought nobody saw me.””
Vanessa's voice was quiet.
“Someone did.””
Daniel sat down.
He looked as if the entire world had shifted beneath him.
His mother had raised him to believe that honesty was everything.
Now he was learning that she had helped destroy another family to protect her own secrets.
He looked at Olivia.
She stood motionless, staring at Margaret.
“Olivia,” he whispered.
She turned.
“Did you know?””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
“Did you ever suspect?””
“No.””
Olivia nodded slowly.
Then she looked toward Margaret.
“You were at our wedding. You watched me walk down the aisle. You smiled at me.””
Margaret began crying harder.
“I love you, Olivia.””
Olivia shook her head.
“You don't get to use love as an excuse for what you did.””
Amara stepped forward.
“Why did you adopt me if you were the one who started the fire?””
Margaret looked at her.
“Because I wanted to make things right.””
Amara laughed bitterly.
“You don't make things right by taking somebody's child.””
Margaret lowered her eyes.
“I know.””
Vanessa approached the table.
“There is still one missing piece.””
Daniel looked up.
“What?””
“Robert.””
Vanessa picked up the old letter.
“Robert was inside the house when the fire started. He escaped through the back door, but he was injured.””
Margaret shook her head.
“I didn't know.””
Vanessa looked at her.
“You didn't know because Marcus took him away.””
Daniel stood.
“What?””
Vanessa nodded.
“Marcus found Robert outside. Instead of calling for help, he took him to a private clinic.””
Amara's eyes widened.
“Why?””
“Because Robert had copies of the trust documents. Marcus wanted to know where they were.””
Denise covered her mouth.
Vanessa continued.
“Robert was treated under a false name. After he recovered, he disappeared again.””
Daniel's voice trembled.
“Where is he now?””
Vanessa looked at her phone.
“I received a message this morning.””
She unlocked the screen.
There was a recent photograph of an older man sitting in a wheelchair outside a small house.
His face was thinner.
His hair was almost completely gray.
But Daniel recognized him immediately.
His father.
Beneath the photograph was a location.
Savannah, Georgia.
Daniel took the phone.
“He's alive.””
Vanessa nodded.
“Yes.””
Daniel looked at Margaret.
“Did you know?””
She shook her head.
He looked at Olivia.
“I'm going to find him.””
Olivia nodded.
“Go.””
Daniel hesitated.
“I don't want to leave you.””
Olivia took his hand.
“Your father needs you.””
Amara stepped forward.
“I want to go too.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Are you sure?””
She nodded.
“I want to meet the man who tried to find me.””
Vanessa picked up her handbag.
“I'll take you.””
But before they could leave, Denise spoke.
“Wait.””
She approached Amara.
“There's something else you need to know.””
Amara closed her eyes.
“Please, Mom. Not another secret.””
Denise reached into her handbag and removed a small, worn envelope.
“I kept this for you.””
Amara took it.
On the front was her childhood nickname.
*My little sunshine.*
Her fingers trembled as she opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
She read the first line.
My dearest daughter, if you are reading this, then somebody has finally told you the truth.
Amara's eyes filled.
She continued.
I did not leave you because I didn't love you. I left because I was afraid that the people around me would use you to hurt each other.
At the bottom was a name.
Robert Brooks.
Amara looked up.
“This is from my father?””
Denise nodded.
“He left it with me before the fire.””
Amara read the final paragraph.
There is one person you must never trust with the original trust documents. That person has been pretending to help you find your family.
She stopped.
Her eyes moved toward Vanessa.
Then toward Margaret.
Then toward Denise.
The letter continued.
And if that person is standing beside you when you read this, remember that the fire was only the beginning.
Amara slowly lowered the paper.
Vanessa's phone rang.
She answered.
A man's voice spoke.
“Have they read the letter?””
Vanessa froze.
“Who is this?””
The voice replied:
“Tell Amara her father wants to see her.””
Amara stepped forward.
“Where is he?””
There was a pause.
Then the man said:
“I'm standing outside the church.””
Everyone turned toward the window.
A black car was parked near the entrance.
The rear door opened.
An older man slowly stepped out.
Daniel dropped the phone.
“Dad?””
But the man didn't look toward him.
He was staring at Vanessa.
And Vanessa, for the first time that day, looked terrified.
Because the man had not come back alone.
A second person stepped out of the car.
Someone Vanessa had claimed was dead.
Someone whose face appeared in the photograph taken the night of the fire.
Margaret whispered:
“Oh, God.””
The second person looked toward the church window.
Then raised one hand.
It was Robert's former business partner.
The man who had signed the insurance policy.
May you like
And the man who had been missing for twelve years.
*But he was holding a document that could prove Margaret wasn't the only person responsible for the fire.*
