receptionist looked up.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Melissa Brooks.”
Her expression changed instantly.
“There’s nobody here by that name.”
Then a door opened behind her.
Melissa stepped into the hallway.
Our eyes met.
The color drained from her face.
“Dad?”
My knees nearly gave out.
“Melissa.”
She ran toward me, but the receptionist quickly locked the front door.
Melissa grabbed my hands.
“You weren’t supposed to find me.”
“What happened? Why did everyone tell me you were dead?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Because Calvin needed you to believe it.”
She told me the accident had been real, but she had survived with serious injuries and months of memory loss.
Calvin had moved her into private care under another name.
Then he told everyone she had died.
“But why?”
Melissa’s voice dropped.
“The money.”
My stomach twisted.
“The $40,000?”
She shook her head.
