“You’re right about that,” Quinn said. “My mother refused to let me set her up on anything that she’d have to give out any information or post pictures that included her. She said the world was too nosy.”

“I know you’ve probably already considered this,” Auntie Wang said, “but do you think your mother could’ve been running from something?”

Her words grieved Quinn, but after all she’d learned in the last weeks, she knew it was a possibility. Yet it was hard to believe someone as kind and doting as her mother could’ve done something so bad that she’d go to such lengths to run from it and never look back.

Auntie Wang reached over and took Quinn’s hand, rubbing the top of it with her thumb. “Dear, I’m sorry, but there are two definite possibilities: she was either hiding from someone, or hiding from something. If it’s the first one, she could’ve been a victim of some sort, but if it’s the second, then, well . . . are you sure you want to open a possible can of worms? Are you ready for any conclusion, even if it isn’t a happy one?”

Quinn nodded. “I have to know.”

“Then we should start digging,” Auntie Wang said.

“Oh. Quinn also sent her DNA into one of those lineage websites,” Liam said.

That got Auntie Wang’s attention. “And have you gotten any results back yet?”

“Not really,” Quinn said. “So far the only surprise has been that my ethnicity includes East Asian and Scandinavian. Along with Polynesian descent, of course.”

That pleased the old woman too. Quinn could tell by the way her eyes danced with the news.

“Well, you should know that many, and maybe even most, native Hawaiians are mixed with Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian cultures too. It’s only logical, as Hawaii started out with mostly immigrants from those countries.”

Quinn shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I was surprised, though. My mother always said my father was fair, and that was where my European features come from.”

Auntie Wang raised her eyebrows, studying Quinn’s face. “European features? Hmm . . . Sometimes we see what we want to see, or what we expect to see. And then many of us only see ourselves as someone told us we should be.”

Quinn didn’t understand. She looked at Liam. “Does that mean that I don’t look . . . ?”

He shook his head. “Let’s not even go into what you—or we—think you look like. We need evidence to send us in the right direction, not suppositions.”

“Very smart, Liam,” Auntie Wang said, flashing him a proud smile. “I see your parents have raised a very wise son.”