Chapter 2: The Photograph Beneath the Table

I stared at the groundskeeper.

“Missing daughter?

My mother’s name was Eleanor Miller.”

“No,” he said softly.

“Miller was the name she used after she disappeared.”

Vanessa stepped forward.

“This is ridiculous.

Grace is a maid looking for money.”

“I never asked for anything,” I said, my voice shaking.

“You brought me into this room and cut my hair.”

Richard held up the pendant.

“How do you know this belonged to Eleanor?”

The groundskeeper pointed to the initials inside.

“Your grandfather had it made for her eighteenth birthday.

There was only one like it.”

Vanessa suddenly reached for the necklace.

“Give me that.”

Richard pulled it away.

“Why are you frightened?”

“I’m not frightened,” she snapped.

“I’m protecting this family from a fraud.”

Then the groundskeeper noticed something beneath Vanessa’s dressing table.

He bent down and pulled out an old photograph.

It showed a young woman wearing my pendant—and holding a newborn baby.

On the back, someone had written: Eleanor and Grace.

My knees nearly gave way.

Richard looked at Vanessa.

“Why was this hidden in your room?”

Before she could answer, the doorbell rang downstairs.

The groundskeeper glanced toward the hallway.

“That will be your father’s lawyer.”

Vanessa’s face lost all color.

Then she whispered, “Grace must leave before he sees her.”

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Why was Vanessa hiding Eleanor’s photograph, and what did the lawyer know about Grace?

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