“It’s so strange,” Ella whispered. “Twenty-five years ago, these people lost millions of dollars.”
“Most of them got it back with insurance,” Julia pointed out.
“And they were able to get over it by demonizing our father,” Alana said. “Everyone needs a scapegoat.”
“He was an easy target,” Ella breathed. “All roads pointed back to him.”
“And now, all roads point back to this journal,” Alana affirmed. “Jeremy's already confirmed that he can help us tomorrow. His handwriting analyst will be at-the-ready. You said that she gets in around one?”
“That’s right,” Ella said. “According to her personal assistant, she plans to check in at the Nantucket Community Music Center before heading to wherever she’s staying.”
“I hate the idea that she has a private residence on Nantucket,” Alana muttered.
“I’m pretty sure she does. How else did she maintain a friendship with Gregory Puck all these years?” Ella said, remembering that Gregory had agreed to make a speech before Marcia’s film premier.
“For twenty-five years, the four of us and Dad didn’t have anything to do with the island,” Julia muttered angrily. “But she was allowed to traipse around, use her money for whatever she pleased, and basically make the island her own.”
“I can’t stand it,” Ella breathed.
For a moment, they held the silence. All of them brimmed with fear and hope for the following day.
“Oh, look! There’s Danny and Will.” Julia’s smile brightened as she pointed out across the crowd.
Sure enough, Danny and Will walked side-by-side along with a number of Danny’s teammates from the football team. Will and Danny looked confident and easy as they bantered, each with a coke in hand. Ella’s heart swelled with love for them.
“So. You and Will were in the practice room last night?” Alana asked mischievously.
Ella rolled her eyes, sensing where Alana wanted to take the conversation. “We just wanted to play some of our old songs to see if we still could.”
“And? Did you find that old, sweet rhythm?” Julia teased.
“Julia!” Ella hissed, feeling as silly and vibrant as a teenage girl in love.
“Oh my gosh. Something happened,” Alana whispered. “I would recognize Ella’s ‘lying face’ anywhere.”
“I’m not lying,” Ella lied, searching through her mind for any other subject. After a moment, however, a spontaneous smile burst across her face. She’d given herself away. “I swear! I’m not lying!” she lied again as she shivered with laughter.
Julia rubbed Ella’s shoulder lovingly and said, “Yeah, yeah. We believe you,” in a sarcastic tone.
“You guys are such ‘older sisters,’” Ella said, heaving a sigh. “What the heck would I do without you?”
The following afternoon at twelve-thirty, Ella, Alana, and Julia sat in stunned silence in the small office directly beside the main foyer in the Nantucket Community Music Center. Only moments before, Marcia Conrad’s personal assistant had texted Stephanie and Julia to say that Marcia was “right on time and ready for the big day.” It felt as though a hurricane was headed straight toward them, threatening to destroy everything they’d newly built that summer. Marcia certainly had a good track record for ruining their lives.
“Just make sure I don’t storm out there and start screaming,” Ella muttered under her breath. “It would blow our cover.”
“If you do, I’ll be right behind you,” Julia affirmed.
“Me, too,” Alana said.
They held the silence again. Ella blinked back anxious tears, then muttered, “I just hate the fact that I would never have known about my real mother if it wasn’t for her.”
Julia squeezed Ella’s elbow kindly and tilted her head. “She wanted to use that information to manipulate you and control you. Now, we’re using her own manipulation tactics against her. It’s invigorating.”
“But nobody’s blaming you for feeling complicated about your real mother,” Alana affirmed. “Least of all, our own mother. I’ve hardly seen her this week.”
“She’s keeping a low profile,” Julia affirmed. “I know the guilt is eating her alive.”
Ella nodded sorrowfully. “I just haven’t known what to say. But once this is over with Marcia, I’ll find a way to talk to her. I have to.” She sighed, then added, “She’s the only mother I’ve ever known. I’ve loved her, and I’ve hated her, and I’ve missed her, and I’ve…”