Chapter 19 - The Letter to Harper
I did not read Harper’s letter immediately.
It belonged to her.
But with legal guidance and because Mia was missing under dangerous circumstances, investigators reviewed it for relevant information.
I received a copy of the portions concerning the search.
Mia wrote:
My sweet Harper,
If Uncle Dominic is reading this because I can’t come home, know that I tried.
I stopped.
Had to.
Then continued.
Mia described the yellow nightgown Harper loved.
The silver bird pendant.
Adrian.
Nothing about revenge.
Nothing about money.
Then:
If Dominic asks where I went after the cabin, tell him the birds always face east.
I looked at the pendant.
A silver bird.
The phrase sounded sentimental.
Luca thought geographically.
Mia and Adrian had used bird symbols in their private notes.
Adrian’s foundation logo included four birds facing different directions.
The east-facing bird marked one program.
East Ridge Recovery Center.
A rehabilitation facility funded by the foundation.
Closed six months earlier.
Victor controlled the property through Northstar.
Investigators searched.
Empty buildings.
Dust.
Abandoned furniture.
Then one basement office showed signs of recent use.
A charger.
Bottled water.
A blanket.
On the wall, Mia had scratched a date.
Three days after Claire visited the cabin.
Below it:
V KNOWS I HAVE COPY.
She had been here too.
But voluntarily?
Held?
Unknown.
Then investigators found security logs.
East Ridge’s electronic gate opened using a credential assigned to Gabriel Russo.
Gabriel swore he never visited.
The credential had been created by Adrian.
Again, old identities reused.
Camera footage showed a vehicle entering.
Not Victor’s.
A gray sedan registered to a Vale Foundation attorney.
Jonathan Pierce.
My estate lawyer.
Another trusted man.
Jonathan came to us immediately when contacted.
“I drove Mia there.”
My chair scraped backward.
“Why?”
“She called me.”
He produced phone records.
Mia had asked for legal help.
She wanted to copy documents and prepare an affidavit concerning Adrian and Victor.
Jonathan took her to East Ridge because she said evidence was hidden there.
“Why didn’t you tell me she was alive?”
“She made me promise.”
“You promised a missing mother while Harper was terrified?”
His face collapsed.
“She said contacting you would expose her location.”
Again, somebody decided for me what I should know.
Jonathan helped Mia retrieve a locked file box.
Then drove her to Albany.
At 9:12 p.m., she exited outside a motel.
“She told me Gabriel would meet her.”
Gabriel denied it.
Phone records supported him.
Mia had lied to Jonathan about who she was meeting.
So who met her?
The motel camera provided the answer.
A woman.
May you like
Diane Mercer.
📖 Mia secretly met Diane after leaving East Ridge, meaning the woman who first warned her to stop investigating may have become her last ally. 👇
