Chapter 4 - Elena Was Eleanor’s Younger Sister
Harold explained carefully.
Vanessa’s mother, Eleanor Whitmore, had a younger half-sister.
Elena.
Same father.
Different mothers.
The Whitmore family never publicly acknowledged Elena because her mother
had not been married to Charles Whitmore.
But Charles quietly supported Elena’s education.
He also included her in an early version of his estate plan.
Then Charles died.
The final estate documents were handled by Vanessa’s father, Richard
Cole, who had married Eleanor.
Harold had objected to how quickly several family records disappeared
after the funeral.
Elena received a modest settlement.
Far less than what Charles’s earlier documents suggested.
Sophia listened in silence.
“My mother never told me.”
Harold nodded.
“She may have been trying to protect you from a fight she had already
lost.”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“This is ancient history.”
Harold looked at her.
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“Then why did you plant your grandmother’s bracelet in Sophia’s apron?”
Vanessa had no answer.
