He did not hide the final sentence.
When he finished, Maya reached across the table.
“Are you all right?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s allowed.”
David turned his mother’s key over in his palm.
“She admitted she paid Jonathan. She says he was helping her investigate Marisol.”
“Do you believe her?”
“I believe she believed him.”
“That’s different.”
“Yes.”
Maya looked toward the window.
“Maybe all of us were paying for the same thing.”
“What?”
“Hope.”
David frowned.
“I paid because I hoped my mother wanted me. Your mother paid because she hoped she could control the past. You paid because you hoped supporting everyone would keep the family peaceful.”
“And Jonathan?”
“He hoped none of us would speak to each other.”
The thought silenced them.
Late that evening, after Liam was asleep and Maya had taken her medication, Daniel sent a new email.
The subject line read:
