Chapter 6 - The Woman Nathan Failed
Mara Ellis arrived the next morning furious.
She was Elena’s closest friend, Sophie’s godmother, and someone Nathan had not allowed inside his home for almost two years.
Rebecca had convinced him Mara was feeding Sophie false hope.
Now Nathan understood why.
Mara walked into his study and slapped a stack of unopened envelopes onto his desk.
“You want to know what your wife did?”
Nathan stared at them.
Every envelope was addressed to Sophie.
Every envelope bore Elena’s handwriting.
Dates stretched across three years.
Nathan looked up slowly.
“Where did you get these?”
“They were returned to me.”
“From where?”
“Different addresses.”
“You knew Elena was alive?”
“I knew she was alive at least for the first eighteen months.”
Nathan stood so quickly his chair fell backward.
“You knew?”
Mara did not flinch.
“She contacted me through an attorney.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“She begged me not to.”
“That is my wife.”
“Was.”
“She was Sophie’s mother!”
“And she believed you were compromised.”
Nathan’s anger disappeared into shame.
Mara opened one envelope.
“She sent this six weeks after disappearing.”
The letter said:
My darling Sophie,
Every night I find Orion before I sleep because you used to call the three stars his belt buttons.
I did not leave because I stopped loving you.
I left because someone threatened to make your father disappear next.
Nathan sat.
Mara’s voice softened.
“Elena believed Rebecca and Gavin had evidence that could frame you for federal fraud.”
“They do.”
“She also believed they drugged you the night she took you to Hart Ridge.”
Nathan looked at the returned letters.
“Why didn’t Sophie receive these?”
“I mailed the first three to this house.”
“Rebecca.”
“Yes. After those disappeared, I used school addresses, then Maria’s sister’s home, then a post office box. Somehow Rebecca found every route.”
Nathan remembered Rebecca managing family mail after Elena vanished.
“I let her.”
“You were grieving.”
“I let her control everything.”
Mara looked at him hard.
“Grief does not absolve you.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
That surprised her.
Nathan picked up another letter.
“Why did Elena stay away?”
Mara hesitated.
“Because she made a deal.”
“With whom?”
“I never knew names.”
“What kind of deal?”
“She said she had turned evidence over to someone investigating Northlight. She was told direct contact with you could compromise the case.”
“Federal agents?”
“Maybe. Maybe private counsel. Elena stopped telling me details because she thought my phone was monitored.”
Nathan’s frustration rose.
“So my daughter lost three years with her mother because everyone decided secrecy was safer?”
Mara’s eyes filled.
“You think Elena didn’t know what it cost?”
Nathan looked away.
Mara gave him a small flash drive.
“This came in the last letter.”
“When?”
“Fourteen months ago.”
“Why didn’t you open it?”
“It is encrypted.”
Sophie entered carrying the damaged astronomy notebook.
Mara dropped to her knees.
“Sophie.”
The child stood uncertainly.
Rebecca had told Sophie Mara was dangerous.
Mara did not reach for her.
“I missed you.”
Sophie studied her face.
“Did Mom send you letters?”
Mara glanced at Nathan.
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you give them to me?”
Mara’s voice broke.
“I tried.”
Sophie began crying.
“You should’ve tried harder.”
The sentence destroyed both adults.
Mara whispered, “Yes.”
Sophie walked away.
Nathan did not stop her.
There were some wounds apologies could not instantly repair.
That afternoon Nathan and Mara examined the encrypted drive.
The password prompt included a star symbol.
Sophie returned quietly.
“Try ‘buttons.’”
Nathan looked at her.
“Why?”
“Orion’s belt.”
He typed BUTTONS.
Wrong.
Sophie frowned.
“Mom always said three buttons.”
Nathan typed THREEBUTTONS.
The drive opened.
Inside were photographs of contracts, internal emails, and a video file.
Nathan clicked it.
Elena appeared on screen.
She looked exhausted.
“If this file has been opened, Rebecca probably knows the planetarium program survived.”
Nathan glanced at Mara.
Elena continued.
“Northlight is not only stealing from Asterion. Rebecca and Gavin have been purchasing Asterion debt through hidden entities. They intend to force Nathan into a merger and convert debt into voting equity.”
Nathan felt cold.
That explained the $42 million credit facility.
Elena looked directly into the camera.
“But money is not why I disappeared.”
The image trembled slightly.
“The night I found Nathan drugged, Rebecca called me.”
Nathan leaned closer.
Elena’s face tightened.
“She told me Sophie would be next.”
Sophie, standing in the doorway, heard it.
Nathan turned.
Too late.
Elena continued.
“She sent me a photograph of Sophie asleep in her bedroom. The timestamp was two minutes old.”
Sophie covered her mouth.
Nathan rushed to stop the video.
Before he reached the laptop, Elena said one more thing.
“I knew then that whoever was inside our home worked for Rebecca.”
The video froze.
Behind Elena in the frame was a motel window.
Reflected in the glass stood another person.
Nathan zoomed in.
A man.
May you like
Asterion’s security director.
Daniel.
