I pressed both hands to my mouth.
The recording continued.
“Carl, if you receive this, then Elaine reached Westbridge. Do not come after us. Lenora has men watching every road. She believes Lucas hid the trust documents before the boat f/i/re.”
There was a pause. Evelyn seemed to be crying.
“Lucas is gone. I saw him fall into the water. I tried to reach him, but the smoke—”
The recording dissolved into sobs.
I closed my eyes.
The details were not graphic, yet the grief in her voice was unbearable.
After several seconds, Evelyn continued.
“I cannot stay with Claire. Lenora will search every place connected to me. Elaine can disappear in a way I cannot.”
“Why?” I whispered.
As though answering me across three decades, Evelyn said:
“Because my mother will never stop searching for her bloodline.”
She took a shaky breath.
“I am going north. There is a clinic beyond the border where someone owes Lucas a favor. If I survive, I will send word through Thomas.”
