Quinn stood and Helen did, too, facing her, suddenly strong and imposing. “You’ve known where this story was going all along, Quinn. You could’ve stopped it at any time. You wanted to know the truth.”

Quinn reached up and felt behind her left ear, her finger rubbing the birthmark she’d hated her entire life. Yes, she’d known it at least halfway in. But that lost child didn’t exist anymore. Nama, Quinn thought, finally admitting it to herself. I’m Nama. She sat back down, weak in the knees. She closed her eyes and tried to process the sudden realization. If she belonged to Jules and Noah, then Elizabeth wasn’t her mother?

“I want to hear the rest of it,” Quinn said.

“I tried to bribe Carmen to take you to the mainland,” Helen said. “I told her I’d give her enough to get a new start, and I’d arrange for the best identification documents that could be had, that she’d never be found out. I just wanted her to keep Nama safe until she was older. I planned to also set aside a trust for Nama that she would get one day when I was gone. But Carmen wouldn’t leave Maui. She couldn’t break the connection to her people’s land for any price.”

Quinn’s anger was chased away in a rush of adrenaline and realization. She couldn’t pretend she didn’t know who she was anymore. But their stories still didn’t answer everything she needed to know.

She locked eyes with Carmen. “So tell me, who is my mother? Not my biological mother, because obviously you think that was Jules, but Elizabeth, the woman who raised me?”

“Beth was my best friend,” Carmen said. “I chose her because I could trust her, and I knew she could disappear without it looking suspicious.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Helen got so weak she nearly crumpled over in the rocking chair. Once they determined she was okay, Carmen called off the rest of the meeting, saying she’d fill them in on the last details as they drove home. Helen didn’t argue. She actually seemed relieved.

“Before I leave, what about Jules and Noah? Are they both still living?” Quinn asked, nearly holding her breath as she waited for the answer.

“They are,” Helen said, her voice now a hoarse whisper.

She allowed Carmen to help her to her room, settle her into her bed, and bring her a hot cup of tea before they locked up and left.

Though Quinn felt a slow stirring of anger at the old woman, she felt bad for leaving her all alone in the spooky house so far up and away from everyone.

The thought that Helen was her grandmother was one that still felt bizarre, and Quinn barely said goodbye to her as Carmen walked her down the hall.