The Family Next Door(63)

46


ISABELLE


“Are you just going to sit there looking out the window for the rest of your life?” Jules asked.

“Probably,” Isabelle said, because maybe she would stay in this window forever. She couldn’t focus on anything except Essie. She’d called and texted her a dozen times and, as expected, Essie hadn’t responded. The whole thing had left her feeling flat and empty. After all these years she’d finally found Sophie—and she couldn’t see her. And while she understood that Essie needed time to catch up, it still hurt.

Jules came and sat behind her in the armchair and began massaging her shoulders. “I don’t know if I could do this without you, you know,” she told him.

“You definitely couldn’t.”

She smiled, getting a glimmer of understanding of what it must be like to be in a real relationship—a relationship where you shared things, talked things through, sorted things out. It was … nice. She was about to say so when, through the window, she noticed Barbara letting herself out of Essie’s place, holding Mia’s hand. Before she knew what she was doing, Isabelle was out of her seat and out the front door.

“Barbara!”

Barbara stopped and looked around.

“Oh, hello, Isabelle.” She looked so nice, so normal. The quintessential woman next door who stole her sister. “I’m glad I ran into you. I’m sorry about yesterday. I don’t know why Essie has decided not to see visitors. But it’s probably for the best.”

“Best for who?”

Isabelle hadn’t meant to confront Barbara—she wanted to give Essie a chance to catch up first, but all at once, she couldn’t help herself.

“I’m sorry?” Barbara said, her smile slipping.

“Who is it best for? You? Is it best for you that Essie doesn’t see visitors? After all, you like to keep her separate from people, don’t you? Isn’t that what you’ve done all her life?”

Barbara blinked. “I … I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I think you do.”

She laughed, a little disconcertedly. “I can assure you, I don’t.”

“I know Essie is not your daughter.”

To her credit, Barbara did a good job of acting surprised. Amused even. She glanced around, as though she suspected Isabelle was playing some sort of joke on her. “What?”

“On June tenth, 1985, my sister Sophie Heatherington was snatched from the Royal Sydney hospital. The same day Essie was born at the same hospital.”

Barbara’s head drew back into her neck, like a turtle into its shell. “Your sister was stolen from the Royal Sydney hospital?”

“And never found.”

Barbara was at a loss for words. “I’m sorry, Isabelle. I can’t imagine what that must have been like for your family.”

“No, you can’t imagine. If you could, you never would have stolen her.”

Barbara scratched her head, perplexed. “Isabelle, why do you think your sister is Essie?”

“I have proof, Barbara. DNA evidence.”

Barbara’s frown deepened. “Well … I also have proof. I gave birth to her. I brought her home from the hospital as a newborn.”

“A large newborn?” Isabelle said. “A nineteen-day-old newborn? And then, swiftly moved to Melbourne?”

Barbara hesitated. Then she shook her head. “Look, this is all very strange. But I can assure you I would never, ever, steal a baby. The idea is absolutely abhorrent. As a mother, I can understand the pain it would cause—”

“But you’re not a mother! What did you do, fake a pregnancy? Was it to hold on to a man? Or did you lose a baby? Did you just have an insatiable need to be loved?”

“Gran,” Mia said. “Why is Isabelle yelling at you?”

Barbara’s hand found Mia’s face and stroked it. But her gaze remained on Isabelle. Something had changed. She was hearing what Isabelle was saying. Still, there was no guilt on her face, only shock. She was either a wonderful actress, or something else was at play here.

“You say you have proof?” Barbara said, after a moment.

“Yes,” Isabelle said. “DNA.”

“And that DNA says I’m not her mother?”

“It says that I am Mia’s aunt. Which means Essie is my sister.”

“That’s impossible,” Barbara whispered. She muttered something softly, something Isabelle couldn’t make out.

“Gran!” Mia said.

“Yes, darling?”

“I thought we were going to see Mummy.”

“We are,” she said. “Yes. We are.”

She took Mia’s hand and headed away from Isabelle without another word. The car was parked at the end of the drive and in stiff, robotic movements Barbara loaded Mia into her booster seat and then walked around to the driver side. From there, she held Isabelle’s gaze above the car. It occurred to Isabelle then that it might not be a good idea to let Barbara drive away with Mia, but before she had a chance to do anything about it Barbara had got into the driver’s seat and was driving away.





47


ESSIE


Essie got out of her bed and sat in the chair in the corner. In the last few hours it had occurred to her that it was strange for her to be in bed all day. After all, she wasn’t sick, was she? She didn’t feel sick. Stressed, maybe. Confused, certainly. But not sick.