Page 13 of The House on Forgotten Hill

“I never thought you were.” She reached across the table and patted my hand. “I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.”

We sat for a moment, and then she asked the question I’d been expecting. “What brought you back after all these years?”

“I never wanted to leave. This place has always felt like home to me. When my mother died and I was forced to decide whether to stay where I’d built my life or begin again somewhere else, my thoughts kept leading me back here.”

It was one reason, but there was another.

Part of me wanted to keep my mother’s final words to myself.

But if there was anyone I could trust, I suspected it was Estelle.

I had a good feeling about her.

“The last thing my mother ever said to me before she died ...”

I stopped.

Even now, saying the words aloud wasn’t easy.

Estelle waited.

“She told me my father didn’t die in an accident.” I looked into Estelle’s eyes. “She said he was murdered.”

For several seconds, Estelle said nothing.

She just sat there, studying me.

Then she let out a slow breath. “So that’s why you’re here, or one of the reasons, at least.”

“What I don’t understand is why my mother told me that. I always believed my father died in a hit-and-run. My mother believed it too, didn’t she?”

Estelle shook her head. “I suppose you’re old enough now, and besides, if I don’t tell you, I expect you’ll figure it out on your own soon enough. No, your mother never believed it was a hit-and-run.”

My heart felt like it had skipped a beat. “Then why did she tell me it was an accident?”

Estelle looked out the window. “She was trying to protect you.”

“From what?”

“Everything that happened afterward.”

I stared at her. “I don't understand.”

“I know.” She folded her hands together on the table. “When your father died, Naomi was terrified. I tried to get her to talk about it, but she wouldn’t. She only said the less I knew, the better, and that she believed moving you far away from here was the best decision she could make for both of you.”

I couldn’t make sense of what I was hearing. “I never questioned anything my mother told me about that night. I believed it had been a tragic accident, and I never felt compelled to dig any deeper. Until now, I saw no reason to revisit one of the most painful chapters in our family’s history.”

I felt foolish admitting it.

“I can’t believe I just accepted what I’d been told,” I said.

“You were twelve. You had no reason to question your mother.”

“Not then. But now, as an adult, I’m surprised I didn’t want to know more.”

The realization settled over me like a weight.

Estelle nodded. “Perhaps part of you knew that digging deeper would only reopen a wound you weren’t ready to relive.”