“Mara,” she said, “are you home?”
“Yes.”
“You may want to sit down.”
“People keep telling me that.”
“This time I mean it.”
I sat on the kitchen floor because the chair was too far away.
Sarah took a breath. “The estate attorney for Thomas and Evelyn Hale contacted me.”
The names landed softly.
The parents of the real Ryan.
The baby whose name had been stolen.
“They’re alive?” I asked.
“Evelyn is. Thomas passed away six years ago. Evelyn is eighty-three.”
I closed my eyes.
“She knows?” I asked.
“She knows now. Investigators contacted her during the identity review. She had no idea Linda had used her son’s name.”
A deep sadness moved through me.
“What does she want?”
“To meet you.”
I opened my eyes.
“Me? Why?”
Sarah’s voice softened. “Because you helped return her child’s name.”
I could not speak for several seconds.
