Virginia nodded slowly. Another look of sadness swept over her wrinkled features. “A long time ago. When you were just a baby. But I met your sister, many years ago. You look a lot like her.”
Rachel’s heart squeezed. “You knew Carrie?”
“Yes…” Virginia paused, pain etched in her face. “I…Rachel, my maiden name is Chambers.”
The blood drained from Rachel’s face. Chambers. That was her mother’s maiden name. She stared at Virginia in shock, murmuring, “You’re…”
“Hattie’s sister.”
The revelation made Rachel gasp. Her mother had never spoken of her family, save to say that they were all dead. And yet this woman in front of them…she was her aunt?
“Hattie said her family was all dead,” Rachel whispered.
Virginia’s eyes clouded over. “I’m not surprised. Our parents died when we were kids, yes, but I’m still alive and kicking. Not that Hattie ever made an effort to see me. She didn’t like the disapproval I showed her, didn’t want to listen to my pleas to go into rehab and straighten herself out. She forbade me from seeing you girls too.”
Rachel swallowed, unsure what to say to that.
As if sensing her distress, Travis touched her knee and took over. “Mrs. Forrester, are you aware Carrie killed herself?” he asked quietly.
A flash of what appeared to be guilt crossed the woman’s face. “Yes, yes, I’m aware of that.”
“Well, Rachel and I have been trying to learn about the circumstances that led to Carrie’s suicide, and our investigation brought us to you. Did you know your husband had gotten close to Carrie when she volunteered at the hospital fifteen years ago?”
Virginia nodded.
“Mrs. Forrester, do you know anything about your husband planning to take Carrie and her sister away from their mother?”
A heavy silence fell over the room. Rachel had trouble breathing as she watched Virginia, saw the woman’s rosy cheeks pale and her brown eyes fill with remorse and regret.
“Please, Mrs. Forrester, can you tell us anything?” Rachel pleaded.
Virginia nodded again. “I’ve waited for this day, you know. I always wanted to contact you, Rachel, but…” She sighed. “Let me start from the beginning.”
Rachel’s heart began to pound as she settled on the couch and waited for Virginia to speak.
“Like I said, Hattie didn’t want anything to do with me. When your father married Hattie, I stopped trying to make contact. John was aware of her problem, but he figured that as long as he was around to take care of you girls, he could control the situation.” Virginia paused. “But he came to see me once. He asked Barry and me to watch out for you and your sister in the event something happened to him. But after John died, we were told Hattie left town.”
Rachel frowned. “But…I’ve lived in Chicago all my life.”
Virginia’s features softened. “Yes, you’ve always lived in Chicago, but not in the house you were raised in by Hattie. When your father was alive, you girls lived a few streets away from here, in a big Victorian house—you don’t remember?”
Rachel’s throat tightened. “No.”
Virginia sighed. “It was a beautiful house. After John died, your mother sold it and moved away, to another city, we thought. But when Carrie started volunteering at the hospital, I instantly recognized her. I was having lunch with Barry and saw her in the corridor, and I knew she was Hattie’s daughter.”
“Why didn’t you try to track down Hattie and the girls when they moved from the neighborhood?” Travis cut in, looking wary.
Virginia avoided his gaze. “It was my fault, Mr. Gage. I thought about it, thought about the promise I’d made to John to take care of the girls, but…I was pregnant at the time, and didn’t want the burden of two more children.” She stared at Rachel with pleading eyes. “Can you understand that?”
Rachel wrung her hands together. “Yes,” she finally said. “Carrie and I weren’t your responsibility. Nor Barry’s.”
“No, but you were,” Virginia insisted. “And I failed you. Your father was such a good man, and I let him down.” A tear slid down the woman’s cheek. “I lost the baby five months into the pregnancy. Barry and I never had any other children.”
“I’m sorry,” Rachel said softly.
Virginia wiped her cheek. “When Carrie showed up at the hospital, I asked Barry to get close to her. I would have done it myself, but I was afraid your mother would find out and take you girls away. So Barry befriended Carrie, and when he found out the life you girls were living, he and I were livid. We were determined to get you out of that house.”
“How did you plan on taking the girls away?” Travis asked, again sounding suspicious.
Virginia met his wary gaze. “By the books, Mr. Gage. I was a blood relative, which made it easier. Barry and I were going to take Hattie to court and sue for custody of the girls. We contacted a lawyer, who got us a protective order of custody, which meant the girls would live with us until the custody trial. That was what Barry was coming to tell Carrie the night she died. The night he died.”