PART 2 — The Photograph
Grace couldn't take her eyes off the photograph.
It was old.
At least four years old.
The edges were creased from being folded and unfolded countless times.
Two young women stood in front of an ivy-covered brick building.
One was Beatrice Morgan.
Grace recognized her immediately.
The bright smile.
The long auburn hair.
The tiny dimple in her left cheek.
The other woman...
Was Katherine.
She looked younger.
More carefree.
Her hair was shorter.
She wore jeans, a university sweatshirt, and her arm was wrapped comfortably around Beatrice's shoulders.
They looked like sisters.
Or best friends.
Certainly not strangers.
Grace slowly lowered the photograph.
"You knew Beatrice?"
Caleb nodded without lifting his head.
"They were roommates during their final year of college."
Grace looked stunned.
"Katherine never told us."
"No."
Caleb's voice was barely audible.
"She didn't."
Robert folded his arms.
"And because of one old photograph..."
"...you destroyed your wedding night?"
Caleb immediately shook his head.
"It wasn't the photograph."
"Then what was it?"
Caleb closed his eyes.
"It was the letter."
Grace frowned.
"What letter?"
Without speaking, Caleb reached into another pocket and removed a faded cream-colored envelope.
It looked as though it had been opened hundreds of times.
The handwriting across the front had nearly disappeared.
"For Caleb."
Grace accepted it carefully.
Inside was a single handwritten page.
She unfolded it.
The first lines made her heart tighten.
Caleb, if you're reading this, something has already gone terribly wrong.
Grace looked up.
"This is Beatrice's handwriting?"
Caleb nodded.
"It's the last letter she ever sent me."
Grace continued reading.
There are things Katherine doesn't know. Please don't blame her for my decisions. If anything happens to me, promise me you'll find the truth before you hate the wrong person.
Grace stopped.
She looked at Caleb.
"This doesn't accuse Katherine of anything."
"I know."
"Then why..."
Caleb covered his face.
"Because I never received the second page."
Robert frowned.
"Second page?"
Caleb nodded.
"The envelope arrived torn."
"I searched for years."
"I thought someone had removed part of it."
Grace looked back at the letter.
"There isn't another page."
"There was."
"How do you know?"
"Because Beatrice told me."
He swallowed hard.
"She said she had finally discovered something."
"Something important."
"She wrote that she'd explain everything in two pages."
Grace stared at him.
"But only one survived."
Caleb nodded.
"So you assumed Katherine knew what the missing page said?"
"I didn't know what to think."
His voice broke.
"Then, six months after Beatrice disappeared..."
"I accidentally saw Katherine's face in this photograph."
Grace frowned.
"You recognized her immediately?"
"No."
"At first I thought it was someone else."
"But then I started asking questions."
"What questions?"
"I learned Katherine had transferred universities immediately after Beatrice disappeared."
Grace looked surprised.
"Did you ask Katherine about it?"
Caleb laughed bitterly.
"I tried."
"And?"
"She always changed the subject."
Grace slowly sat down.
Something wasn't fitting together.
If Katherine truly had something terrible to hide...
Why would Beatrice write...
Don't blame her?
She looked at her son.
"What exactly did you tell Katherine tonight?"
Caleb remained silent.
"Caleb."
"I showed her the photograph."
Grace waited.
"And then?"
"I asked why she'd lied."
"What did she say?"
"She said she hadn't lied."
Grace blinked.
"What?"
"She said..."
His breathing became uneven.
"...that she'd spent two years trying to tell me."
Robert frowned.
"Trying?"
"Every time she mentioned Beatrice..."
"...I stopped the conversation."
Grace stared at her son.
"You never let her explain?"
Caleb slowly lowered his head.
"No."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Finally Grace asked the question neither man wanted to hear.
"Did Katherine know..."
"...that Beatrice was your former girlfriend?"
Caleb looked surprised.
"I..."
He hesitated.
"I don't know."
Grace stood abruptly.
"You don't know?"
"I never asked."
"You married this woman..."
"...without asking whether she even knew who Beatrice was?"
"I couldn't."
"Why not?"
"Because every time I thought about Beatrice..."
"I became angry."
Robert rubbed his forehead.
"So instead of asking questions..."
"...you built an entire relationship on assumptions."
Caleb didn't argue.
Because he couldn't.
A soft knock interrupted the silence.
Frank stepped into the room.
"Katherine's asking for you."
Grace immediately followed him.
The guest room was dimly lit.
Katherine had changed out of her wedding dress.
She now wore one of Grace's soft cotton robes.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Yet despite everything, she managed a small smile when Grace entered.
"I'm sorry."
Grace crossed the room.
"For what?"
"For ruining your son's wedding."
Grace gently took both her hands.
"No."
"The wedding was ruined long before tonight."
Katherine lowered her eyes.
"I should have told him."
"Told him what?"
She hesitated.
"About Beatrice."
Grace pulled a chair closer.
"I think it's time you told me everything."
Katherine closed her eyes.
For several moments, she simply breathed.
Then she whispered,
"Beatrice saved my life."
Grace frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I met her during my second year of college."
"I was working two jobs."
"My father had just died."
"My mother was ill."
"I couldn't afford tuition."
She smiled sadly.
"Beatrice shared everything."
"Her notes."
"Her apartment."
"Her groceries."
"She never let me feel ashamed."
Grace listened quietly.
"She was the closest thing I ever had to a sister."
"So why didn't you tell Caleb?"
Fresh tears filled Katherine's eyes.
"Because Beatrice begged me not to."
Grace blinked.
"What?"
"One week before she disappeared..."
"...she made me promise."
"Promise what?"
Katherine whispered,
"If Caleb ever came looking for answers..."
"...I was never to tell him where she had gone."
Grace felt a chill run through her body.
"Gone?"
"You mean..."
"Katherine."
"Beatrice didn't disappear?"
Katherine slowly shook her head.
"No."
Grace stopped breathing.
"She left."
The room fell silent.
"But..."
Grace whispered.
"Everyone believed she vanished."
Katherine looked toward the window.
"That's because..."
"...someone wanted the world to believe exactly that."
Just then, headlights swept across the curtains.
A black luxury SUV rolled slowly through the front gates of the Holloway estate.
Frank looked outside.
His face turned pale.
"Grace..."
"What is it?"
He stared at the vehicle parked in the driveway.
"You'd better come see this."
Grace walked to the window.
A tall man in an expensive charcoal suit stepped out of the SUV.
Silver hair.
Perfect posture.
Cold expression.
He carried a leather briefcase in one hand.
Katherine saw him.
Every trace of color disappeared from her face.
"No..."
She whispered.
"He found me."
Grace turned.
"Who is he?"
May you like
Katherine's voice trembled.
"The reason Beatrice ran."
