Debra had told me about the family mystery, regurgitating the macabre details as if she had lived them herself. A couple months after giving birth to Olivia, on a cool April evening, Alvera disappeared, never to be heard from again. No one knew exactly what had happened to her, though many suspicions arose. Olivia had been told by her father, Robert, that her mother was kidnapped and murdered by someone seeking revenge on the family over their wealth and prestige. Others speculated that, in order to send a strong message, she had been killed by a faction trying to squash the women’s suffrage movement. But a few rumors circulated that she went on to fight the battle under a new identity. That the mystery went unsolved, and we would never know the truth, was heartbreaking.

Another leather journal rested in the pile of memorabilia. I opened it up and scrolled through the pages, coming near the end where I saw a drawing of a symbol, followed by Alvera’s explanation for its significance:

This Celtic sign of courage depicts the shared struggle that we as women must face and conquer together. Only through courage can we fight for our voice and win.

It was Vera’s tattoo.

Vera had seen this.

“Oh my God,” I whispered.

“What?” Oliver echoed.

“I think I know how to find Vera!”

It was the first warm thought in a heart that had been frozen for months.

Carrying Alvera’s journal with me, I ran downstairs and into our bedroom, Oliver’s loud footsteps storming behind mine. I pulled open my bedside drawer and flipped open Vera’s journal. I had memorized its contents page by page, finding the image within a moment. The same exact drawing—mimicking the symbol from Alvera’s journal.

“Look, Oliver. It’s like she’s following the path of her great-great-grandmother. Down to the very same day she disappeared.”

April 16 was the day Alvera had found the courage to leave her husband, her child, and rediscover herself. One hundred and eleven years later, my daughter had done the same.

“Well, obviously she didn’t run off to join the women’s suffrage movement, Felicity. So what does this mean? And what does this have to do with where she is?”