Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller(68)

Mom paled. “You were suffering from survivor’s guilt, feeling helpless and having trouble sleeping. Dad wanted to protect you.”

Nora brushed her fingers over her temple. Her hand trembled. “Did you know that Lucas’s sister’s name was Jane?”

Mom nodded. She looked sad. “When I first met Jane Bell and learned she wasn’t married, I was relieved because that meant she couldn’t be Lucas’s sister.” Mom’s shoulders fell as if they were suddenly weighed down by a bagful of bricks. “I had no reason to think she would have changed her name. Why would she unless she was trying to hide her identity?” Mom closed her eyes. “Please tell me Jane Bell isn’t Jane Schaefer.”

“One and the same,” Nora said. “She was born Jane Schaefer. After losing her parents, she was adopted by her aunt and uncle and became Jane Lewitt. She left home at the age of seventeen, and they haven’t talked to her since.”

Mom’s eyes widened. “You talked to the Lewitts?”

“Yes. I wanted to know more about Jane and find out if they were as horrible as she led me to believe. So I drove to Auburn, where they live, and—”

“Did they know who you were?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you mention the accident you were in when you were a teenager?”

“No. Why would I? Until two minutes ago, I thought Jane was an only child. I had no idea there was any connection between my accident and Jane’s.”

Mom put a hand on her chest. Her shoulders relaxed a bit. “They wouldn’t know Nora Harmon because Dad made sure your full name—Eleanor Ruth Williams—wasn’t used in the settlement.”

“Greg and Barbara Lewitt were not good people. Did you know that?”

Mom kept shaking her head as if trying to will it all away.

“What do you remember about Barbara Lewitt?”

“In court, they were unrelenting. Barbara’s sister had been killed in that crash, and she wanted you put away for life.”

Nora’s stomach turned. She felt as if she might be sick.

Mom added, “Jane must have gone through their lawyers to collect the five-million-dollar settlement when she turned thirty.”

Five million dollars. Nora always figured the settlement must have been a large number, but she had no idea it had cost Mom and Dad in the millions. That’s how Jane Bell had funded IMPACT, Nora thought.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I really am. I caused you and Dad so much pain.”

Mom’s watery eyes met Nora’s gaze. “We never meant to make things worse for you. We—I should have told you long ago that Lucas had an older sister.”

“You and Dad lost everything.”

“But we didn’t lose you,” Mom said. “We were the lucky ones.”

Nora thought about Trevor and how, in the blink of an eye, she’d nearly lost him. Nora’s heart broke for Jane. “Jane lost everyone she loved in an instant. I ruined so many lives that day.”

“It was an accident. You must remember that.”

“Inadvertent or not, I killed three people.”

Mom kept shaking her head, refusing to hear Nora speak that way.

“A urine test proved you had been drugged,” Mom said. “There was no alcohol in your system. You never would have gotten behind the wheel if you had known that boy put something in your drink.”

It was all true, but it didn’t change the fact that Jane had lost her entire family . . . so much pain and suffering. “Jane was young at the time. Why wasn’t she with them?”

“Will it change anything?” Mom asked.

“Maybe not. But I’m tired of being in the dark. I need to know everything.”

Mom sighed heavily. “Jane was twelve. She was at a slumber party . . .” Mom closed her eyes for a moment before saying, “Jane called home. She was upset and asked her parents to pick her up.”

“Upset about what?”

“The girls at the party were teasing her, calling her names.” A tear slid down Mom’s cheek. “I don’t recall the exact details . . . only that it was beyond heartbreaking.”

Nora pulled Mom into a warm embrace. All these years, Mom had been forced to live with knowing what happened. “I’m so sorry. You’ve suffered so much, and I had no idea.” Nora wished she had known the truth earlier. Maybe she could have found a way to help Jane. Maybe she still could.

Mom stepped back, frowning. “Where is Jane now?”

“I found out from Richard that she lied about him breaking off the engagement. When I confronted her about it, she left . . . took a taxi home.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Mom said. “I’ll never understand why she went to all the trouble to hire you . . . and then show up here after you quit.”

Like a lightning bolt shot down from the sky, the answer came to Nora. She had taken Jane’s family from her, and now Jane intended to do the same. “I don’t know the answer to that,” Nora said, not wanting to worry her mom. “I need to discuss it all with David. For now, I think it’s best if we focus on getting through the holidays. Between Trevor’s pool incident and the sudden move, the kids have been through a lot. I’m off to the store. I’ll be back soon.”