Chapter 32

Maisy hasher hands folded in front of her on the table, waiting patiently while Chloe and Bastian are inside on a call with Chloe’s psychiatrist, discussing the advisability of a trip to Pittsburgh. Rich hasn’t said a word since they saw the photographs of Emilie Tremblay. Despite herself, Maisy is grudgingly impressed that he hasn’t bothered to argue she looks nothing like Heather. Even Rich must realize when reality is going to bite him in the behind.

Her cell phone dings and she glances down at the screen. It’s a message from Jordana.

R was sleeping with H. Amy just found out.

She furrows her brow and stares at the words. She must be misunderstanding. R and H have to mean something other than Rich and Heather. Right? She angles herself away from Rich and thumbs out the question.

Rich was sleeping with her sister?

Yeah. Michelle and Lynn were waiting for her this morning when she got home from the airport.

Maisy’s stomach drops.

How is she?

Not great. She’s cleaning.

It’s what women do, Maisy thinks. They work things out by working.

Keep me posted.

Will do. How’s it going up there?

We had a bombshell up here, too. I’ll talk to you later.

She hurriedly finishes typing the text and flips her phone over as Bastian and Chloe open the sliding door and come outside.

“Dr. Marchand thinks that I should go,” Chloe says without preamble. “But I need Bastian and Emilie to come with me.”

“Of course, you’ll want them to meet your family.”

“Yes, but no.” She seems at a loss.

Her husband steps in. “Chloe had an … episode when Emilie was a baby. She wandered away from the house and forgot who she was. It’s a condition called dissociative amnesia. And Dr. Marchand says it could happen again if she’s in a high-stress situation. But if we’re there with her, it will help to ground her.”

Maisy processes this information. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“To find out who I am? To meet my sisters? Yes, I’m sure.”

“Can Emilie miss school? What about the restaurant? How soon can you come?”

Bastian smiles indulgently. “This is important. I’ll make arrangements for my general manager and assistant chef to cover the restaurant. And I’m sure Emilie will be excused from school for something like this. We’ll be ready to go tonight.”

“You’re sure?”

“We’re positive.”

“I’ll call and get three more tickets on our flight. I’ll just need your passports.”

Chloe bustles back into the house to get them.

Rich is still silent.

Bastian throws him a curious look. “So you are Chloe’s brother-in-law, then?”

“I guess I am,” Rich answers before falling silent again.

In light of the news from Jordana, Maisy has to wonder whether he recognized Chloe immediately and pretended not to. If he did, he played it very cool—and that makes Maisy wonder just how skilled a liar Rich Marino is.