Every answer created three more questions.
“Escaped from what?”
Daniel and Thomas exchanged a look.
Thomas finally lowered the crowbar.
“Thirty-one years ago, the Bennett family owned nearly half the land surrounding Bellmere Lake. Your grandfather, Andrew Bennett, planned to create a conservation trust so the forests could never be sold to developers.”
He pointed across the water.
“Lenora Vale wanted that land.”
“Why?”
“Because beneath the northern ridge were mineral deposits worth a fortune. Lenora was a businesswoman. Brilliant, ruthless, and incapable of accepting refusal. Her daughter Evelyn fell in love with Lucas Bennett, Carl’s older brother. They married in secret.”
“My parents.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to them?”
Thomas’s expression changed.
“Officially, there was a boating @ccident.”
My chest tightened.
“Officially?”
“The boat was found burned near the eastern shore. Lucas and Evelyn were declared d/e/@/d. You disappeared the same night.”
I looked at Daniel.
