Anna’s eyes filled with fury.
“She stole me for land?”
“For control,” I said.
I understood Lenora now.
The land was only a symbol.
She could not endure a future she did not command.
Anna looked at me.
“Who are you?”
“Your cousin.”
Her face changed.
For the first time since arriving, she appeared vulnerable.
“I have a cousin?”
“And an uncle. And an aunt.”
“Carl had a brother?”
“My father.”
I told her everything.
The cabin.
The chest.
The false wedding.
The archive.
Lucas and Evelyn.
By the time I finished, Anna had sat down after all.
She covered her face.
“All those years,” she whispered. “He thought I was gone.”
“He searched for you,” Daniel said.
“How do you know?”
“Because I filed the requests. Private investigators in seven countries. Hospital records. Immigration lists. Missing-person databases. He never stopped.”
“Then why didn’t he find me?”
“Margaret changed your name repeatedly. Your records were sealed under false guardianship orders.”
