Chapter 5
Evelyn, the attorney in the beige trench coat, finally stepped forward, her boots clicking softly against the asphalt. She reached into her leather briefcase and produced a secondary, thinner file, holding it out toward Randall without making direct eye contact. Professionalism dictated her detachment, yet the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth betrayed a quiet sympathy for the man standing before her.
"The recipient of the deed is not entirely a stranger, Mr. Hayes," Evelyn said, her voice measured and precise. "She is the legal daughter of your father’s sister, Clara’s youngest, who was given up for adoption in the winter of 1974. Your father spent the final decade of his life tracking her down through private investigators and church registries. When he found her living two counties over, struggling as a single mother after her husband’s passing, he sought to make amends for the sins of his youth."
Randall stared at the attorney, the world spinning slightly on its axis. "An adoption? My father had another daughter? And he gave our house to her?"
"He gave his house to her," Martha corrected gently. "The house he bought before I even met him. The house where his first family lived before the fire that took everything from him. You never knew about that fire, Randall, because your father buried the past so deep he forgot it existed until the shadows caught up with him."
Randall backed away from the truck, shaking his head in absolute denial. He looked at the blue siding, the manicured lawn, and the maple tree in the front yard that he had climbed as a boy. Every memory he possessed felt suddenly counterfeit, painted over with a history that excluded him.
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"So what happens now?" Randall asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Do we pack up the truck and leave by sundown? Am I supposed to hand over the keys to a sister I didn't know I had, and walk away with nothing?"
"You don't have to walk away with nothing," Clara said, stepping closer and placing a heavy, trembling hand on his arm. "She’s coming here today, Randall. She’ll be here in twenty minutes. And she doesn't want to throw you out on the street. She wants to know if there's any room left in this family for someone who spent her whole life wondering where she came from."
