“I miss Nina so much.” Diana’s voice was as soft as the shining tumble of her hair. “Sarah left me, then Nina.” Pain in every syllable. “It’s selfish of me, but I always wondered what was wrong with me. Why didn’t they trust me enough to stay in touch?”
I felt like an asshole. “Yeah.” So many times, I’d asked myself how my mother could just leave me.
Tucking her hand into the crook of my elbow, Diana squeezed. “Losing Nina hurt even more than losing Sarah. Sarah was always edgy, moody. She loved me, but she had so much anger inside her and it spilled out onto anyone in her vicinity—with her, I had to be a caretaker always. But with Nina, I could just be. And sometimes, she looked after me.”
Watching Charlie fondly as he snuffled at a bush planted near the Dixon property, Diana said, “You’re too young to remember, but back when I was first pregnant and Calvin and I had decided I’d stay home full-time, I used to be so lonely when he was doing night shifts.
“Nina would put you to bed, then come over and sit with me, and we’d watch movies or talk until I got tired enough to sleep. If Ishaan wasn’t home, I’d go over to her place, because she’d never have left you alone when you were little. She was the best friend I’ve ever had.”
In an effort to redeem myself for my earlier thoughts, I said, “You were never tempted to use your medical degree?” If I was remembering right, she’d married Calvin right out of med school and never actually practiced medicine.
“It’s considered old-fashioned now, but all I ever wanted to do was build a family. Family is very important to Calvin, too—you know he lost them all when he was barely fourteen?”
“I didn’t realize he was so young.” It made his current achievements all the more extraordinary.
“It’s why he’s so protective of us. Beau and Mia chafe at his rules sometimes, but I get it. I wish I could’ve protected Sarah the same way, but she already had such enormous pain inside her by the time I was able to take over her care—she had so much faith in me, and I let her down.”
“Can I ask what happened with you two? You don’t have to tell me.”
She didn’t speak for long minutes, and eventually, we reached the entry to the Cul-de-Sac, the gates closed for the night. As we turned to head back, she said, “I’d rather not, Aarav.” Another squeeze of my arm. “It’s a thing between sisters and I don’t want to break that trust.”
Loyalty like that couldn’t be bought. “I get it.”
We walked in warm silence to her home, with Charlie shuffling forward in a way that said he was ready for another nap. Then Diana gave me a kiss on the cheek and turned to walk up the drive, past the rosebushes gone dormant for the winter. Bushes Sarah had ripped apart in a fury the night she left.
I couldn’t imagine what Diana might’ve possibly done that would’ve justified such a savage depth of anger, but with their childhood, I had no way to predict the trigger. Maybe Diana had hit Sarah?
I’d just reached our private drive when I heard the gates begin to open. Glancing back, I saw a white van roll in, its headlights off. It maneuvered itself so it backed onto Leonid and Anastasia’s property.
I walked as fast as possible to get upstairs to my room, where I’d have a far better view, but half expected the van to be long gone by the time I arrived. But it was still there, its back door open.
Putting my binoculars to my eyes, I watched.
Two big men walked out of the house, a smaller woman between them. I couldn’t see many details, but the woman didn’t have long enough hair to be Anastasia. Had to be the nanny, Khristina. She jerked to a stop, looked back . . . but the two men bundled her into the van, one getting in with her while the other went around the front to the driver’s-side door.
I scanned left toward the house, saw Leonid holding a struggling Anastasia in his arms.
The van pulled away.
When I jerked back to the porch, Leonid and Anastasia were both gone.
I lowered the binoculars as the van exited the Cul-de-Sac, then picked up my phone. I had to call the police . . . but what