“No. He would have used her against me.”
I looked at Evelyn again. Tears moved silently down her cheeks.
“Did you know where I was?” I asked her.
She shook her head.
“I sent Thomas a message.”
“He received it.”
“I waited.”
Thomas went still.
“What message?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“The photograph. I wrote the address on the back.”
“I never received a photograph.”
Lenora’s fingers tightened against Evelyn’s shoulder.
I saw it.
A tiny movement.
But Evelyn saw it too.
For the first time, clarity sharpened her face.
“You took it,” she whispered.
Lenora removed her hand.
“You were unwell.”
“You took my photograph.”
“You were confused.”
Evelyn’s breathing quickened.
“You told me Claire was d/e/@/d.”
The room froze.
Lenora’s composed expression finally cracked.
Only for an instant.
But that instant was enough.
I moved between them.
“You told her I was gone?”
