CHAPTER 4 — MIA'S FIRST LIE
CHAPTER 4 — MIA'S FIRST LIE
Mia was crying when we brought her downstairs.
Not quietly.
Not gracefully.
She cried the way frightened people cry when they realize the room has stopped believing them.
Her face was pale.
Her hair was still damp.
A white robe covered the clothes she had been wearing in the bathroom, and she kept both hands clutched around the belt as though it could protect her from what was coming.
Julian followed several steps behind her.
He looked exhausted.
His forehead was bandaged.
His shirt was wrinkled.
For the first time since I had known him, he looked less like the polished man who stood beside me at charity dinners and more like a frightened stranger.
Mia stopped when she saw everyone gathered around the dining table.
Richard.
Beatrice.
Claire.
Daniel.
And me.
She looked at Julian.
Then at me.
"Harper..."
I raised one hand.
"Don't."
She stopped.
"I didn't know."
I stared at her.
"Didn't know what?"
"That he was married."
The room went silent.
I almost laughed.
"You've been living in my house for eleven months."
"I know."
"You've attended family dinners."
"I know."
"You've called me ma'am every day."
"I know."
"You knew my name."
She began crying harder.
"I didn't know you and Julian were unhappy."
I stared at her.
"That's what you mean?"
She shook her head.
"I didn't know how bad it was."
"Bad?"
I stepped closer.
"You kissed my husband in my house."
She looked down.
"I know."
"You slept with him."
Her lips trembled.
"I know."
"And now you're telling me you didn't know he was married?"
"I knew he was married."
There it was.
The first truth.
Then the first lie.
I folded my arms.
"Try again."
Mia looked at Beatrice.
It was quick.
Almost invisible.
But I saw it.
Beatrice saw it too.
Richard did not.
Daniel definitely did.
"Mia," Daniel said calmly, "look at Harper."
Mia raised her eyes.
"Tell her the truth."
She swallowed.
"I knew."
"How long?"
"I don't remember."
"How long?"
She closed her eyes.
"From the beginning."
My chest tightened.
"From the beginning?"
She nodded.
"Mrs. Caldwell told me."
I turned toward Beatrice.
Beatrice's face hardened.
"That's not what happened."
Mia looked at her.
"You told me everything."
Beatrice stood.
"Be careful."
Mia flinched.
That was enough.
I looked at Beatrice.
"You threatened her."
"No."
"You did."
"I told her to stay away from my son."
Mia shook her head.
"You told me he was going to leave Harper."
Beatrice's eyes narrowed.
"Because he was."
"Was he?"
I looked at Julian.
He said nothing.
I turned back to Mia.
"What else did she tell you?"
Mia's fingers tightened around the robe.
"She said Harper would never understand him."
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
"She said you were too focused on your business."
I nodded.
"Of course."
"She said Julian was lonely."
I looked at Julian.
"Was that true?"
He didn't answer.
Mia continued.
"She said if I loved him, I should be patient."
Beatrice slammed her hand against the table.
"Enough!"
Mia jumped.
I didn't.
"Let her speak."
Beatrice stared at me.
"You don't understand what you're doing."
"Neither did you."
I looked at Mia.
"What happened next?"
Mia lowered her voice.
"She gave me money."
The room went still.
"How much?"
"Five thousand."
Richard turned toward Beatrice.
"You paid her?"
Beatrice snapped:
"It was not for the affair."
I looked at her.
"Then what was it for?"
She hesitated.
Mia answered for her.
"To keep quiet."
I felt something cold move through me.
"About what?"
Mia looked at me.
"I don't know."
I narrowed my eyes.
"That's your first lie."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Yes."
"I don't know."
"You do."
She began crying again.
I walked to the table and placed the Crownbridge documents in front of her.
Her eyes fell on the company name.
For one second, her expression changed.
Fear.
Recognition.
Then she looked away.
That was enough.
"Mia."
She didn't respond.
"Look at me."
Slowly, she did.
"You've seen this before."
"No."
I slid the document closer.
"You have."
"No."
"Then why did you stop breathing when you saw the name?"
She stared at me.
"I didn't."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Mia, your reaction was visible."
"I was scared."
"Of what?"
"I don't know."
I looked at her.
"Who told you about Crownbridge?"
She shook her head.
"No one."
"Another lie."
Julian suddenly stepped forward.
"Harper, leave her alone."
I turned.
"Why?"
"She's scared."
"So was I."
He looked away.
"She's not part of this."
I laughed.
"You brought her into my bedroom."
"That's not what I mean."
"Then what do you mean?"
He didn't answer.
I walked toward him.
"You know something about her."
"No."
"You know something."
"Harper."
"Why are you protecting her?"
His face changed.
"I don't know."
I stared at him.
Then I looked at Mia.
And I understood.
They were both afraid.
Not of me.
Of someone else.
Daniel placed a chair in front of Mia.
"Sit."
She did.
He sat opposite her.
"I want to make something clear."
Mia looked at him.
"You are not under arrest."
Her shoulders relaxed slightly.
"But lying about financial crimes can become serious."
She nodded.
"I understand."
"Good."
Daniel placed another document on the table.
"Your bank account."
Mia stared at it.
"This account received three transfers."
She swallowed.
"I don't know about those."
Daniel looked at me.
Then back at Mia.
"The first was five thousand dollars."
Mia nodded.
"That was from Beatrice."
"The second was twenty-five thousand."
Mia said nothing.
"The third was fifty thousand."
Her face went white.
I stared at her.
"Who gave you the money?"
"I don't know."
Daniel asked:
"Did Julian?"
"No."
"Did Beatrice?"
"No."
"Richard?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Mia began crying.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"They'll hurt my family."
The room went silent.
I stepped closer.
"Who?"
Mia whispered:
"I don't know his name."
"Describe him."
"Older."
"How old?"
"Maybe sixty."
"Hair?"
"Gray."
"Height?"
"Very tall."
"Where did you meet him?"
She hesitated.
"At the hotel."
"Which hotel?"
"The Bellmont."
I knew the name.
One of the most expensive hotels downtown.
"Why were you there?"
"He called me."
"Why?"
"He said he knew Julian."
I looked at Julian.
His face was blank.
"You knew this man?"
"No."
Mia spoke quickly.
"He said he knew your family."
Julian looked at her.
"Mia."
She ignored him.
"He told me to keep Julian close."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"He said Julian would eventually need me."
"Need you for what?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
I looked at Daniel.
He shook his head slightly.
Something was wrong.
Mia wasn't protecting Julian.
She wasn't protecting Beatrice.
She was protecting someone else.
At 2:15 in the morning, I went upstairs.
The house was finally quiet.
I stood outside the bathroom.
The door remained open.
The jacuzzi was empty.
The candles had burned out.
Rose petals floated in cold water.
I stared at the room.
My room.
Our room.
I thought about the woman I had been that morning.
She had woken up excited.
She had chosen her dress carefully.
She had spent two hours preparing dinner.
She had believed there was still something worth celebrating.
That woman felt impossibly far away.
I sat on the edge of the tub.
Then I heard footsteps.
I turned.
Mia stood in the doorway.
She was wearing one of my old sweaters.
I frowned.
"Where did you get that?"
"You gave it to me last winter."
I remembered.
She had been cold.
I had given her three sweaters.
I suddenly hated how much kindness I had given people who had repaid me with secrets.
"What do you want?"
She stepped inside.
"I need to tell you something."
I didn't answer.
She closed the door.
"I lied."
I stared at her.
"About what?"
"The money."
I waited.
"The fifty thousand."
"Who gave it to you?"
Mia's eyes filled with tears.
"Julian."
I felt nothing.
"Why?"
"He told me to take it."
"Why?"
"He said if things went wrong, I needed to disappear."
"Where?"
"Kentucky."
"With your family?"
She nodded.
"Why?"
"He said someone was coming."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You said that already."
She looked at me.
"This time it's true."
I studied her.
"Then why did you lie?"
"Because Julian told me that if I told you anything about Crownbridge, you'd be killed."
The room went completely silent.
I stared at her.
"What?"
"He said your life would be in danger."
"Who would kill me?"
"I don't know."
"Mia."
"I don't know!"
She covered her face.
"He said his father was involved with people who didn't forgive betrayal."
I stepped closer.
"Did Julian tell you about the account?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Months ago."
"How many?"
"Three."
Three months.
Again.
The same period when I had hired Daniel.
The same period when Julian had begun acting strangely.
"What did he tell you?"
Mia whispered:
"That if Harper ever discovered the account, everything would collapse."
"Everything?"
She nodded.
"What everything?"
"I don't know."
I stared at her.
"That's another lie."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Then what are you afraid to say?"
Mia looked toward the door.
Then whispered:
"The account wasn't created to hide money."
I felt my pulse rise.
"Then why was it created?"
She swallowed.
"To hide people."
I stared at her.
"What people?"
Mia's eyes filled with tears.
"People who disappeared."
I didn't sleep.
At 6:10 in the morning, I was sitting in Daniel's office.
Mia's statement was recorded.
Julian was downstairs with his attorney.
Richard had left with his lawyer.
Beatrice refused to speak.
And Daniel had just received a new file.
He placed it in front of me.
"What is it?"
"Travel records."
"Whose?"
"Mia's."
I opened the file.
The first page showed her passport.
Then hotel records.
Then bank withdrawals.
Then something else.
A flight.
Three months ago.
Mia had flown to Boston.
I looked at the date.
The day after the first fifty-thousand-dollar transfer.
"Why would she go to Boston?"
Daniel turned the page.
"That's not the interesting part."
I looked down.
The return ticket was canceled.
Mia never came back on that flight.
"Then how did she return?"
"She didn't."
I stared at him.
"What?"
Daniel pointed to another record.
"She returned by train."
"Why?"
"Because someone purchased the ticket using another identity."
"Whose?"
He turned the page.
My name appeared.
HARPER CALDWELL.
I couldn't breathe.
"No."
Daniel looked at me.
"Your identity was used again."
"But I wasn't in Boston."
"I know."
"Who traveled under my name?"
"We don't know."
I looked at the document.
Then at Mia's statement.
Then at Crownbridge.
The pieces were beginning to connect.
Someone had used my identity.
Someone had moved money through my company.
Someone had been watching my house.
Someone had brought Mia into my home.
And someone had been using Julian as part of the plan.
But why?
Why me?
Why my identity?
Why my company?
Why my family?
I looked at Daniel.
"Find out who was on that train."
He nodded.
"I already started."
His phone rang.
He answered.
"Daniel Morris."
He listened.
His expression changed.
"What?"
I stood.
"What happened?"
He raised one finger.
Then listened again.
"You're certain?"
A pause.
"Send it immediately."
He ended the call.
I waited.
"What?"
He looked at me.
"The train company found the passenger record."
"And?"
Daniel turned his phone toward me.
A photograph appeared.
A woman walking through the station.
Dark coat.
Black sunglasses.
Long hair.
I stared.
I didn't recognize her.
Then Daniel enlarged the photograph.
A second person appeared in the reflection of a glass wall behind her.
A man.
Gray hair.
Tall.
Exactly as Mia had described.
I felt a chill.
"Who is he?"
Daniel shook his head.
"We're still identifying him."
Then he zoomed in on the woman's face.
My breath stopped.
Because I recognized her.
I had seen that face before.
Not recently.
Not at my house.
Not at my company.
But in an old photograph.
A photograph my mother had kept hidden for twenty years.
The woman in the photograph was my father's sister.
My aunt.
The woman my mother had always told me was dead.
She wasn't dead.
She had been standing beside the man Mia feared.
And suddenly, Crownbridge wasn't just Julian's secret.
It was connected to my blood.
May you like
My family.
And a woman who had supposedly died before I was old enough to remember her.
