CHAPTER 7: The Nanny's Forgotten Receipt

A woman appeared near the service corridor with a tablet clutched to her chest.
Adrian recognized her after a stunned second. Clara, the nursery assistant his mother had dismissed the month Mara vanished. He had been told Clara stole jewelry. He had never asked why no report was filed.
Clara looked at Mara for permission before speaking. Mara gave it with a small nod.
'Mrs. Blackwood was pregnant when she left the estate,' Clara said. 'I drove her to a clinic outside Westport because the family driver had been ordered not to take her anywhere.'
Adrian felt the floor shift under him.
Clara opened the tablet. 'I kept the receipt because Mrs. Vale told me to say I had never seen her that night. I was twenty-two. I was scared. I am sorry.'
Mara's eyes did not leave Adrian. 'I called you from the clinic. Six times.'
'I never got those calls,' he said, and hated how small the words were.
'I know,' Mara replied. 'Now.'