Mom sat down at the kitchen table, her expression serious. “You know I’d never do anything to hurt Suzie or the family,” she started. “But there’s something I need to tell you. Something from before you met her.”I stopped pacing and turned to face her. “What do you mean?”“Years ago, before you even started dating Suzie, I had an encounter with her family,” she confessed, her eyes not meeting mine. “Her mother and I… we had a disagreement about something personal. I thought it was settled.”“A disagreement? About what?” I pressed, my patience wearing thin.

“It was about a piece of land,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “Her family wanted to buy it, but it was part of your father’s estate. I refused to sell, and things got tense. I never thought it would have led to this.”I tried to process the information, piecing together fragments of a history I was previously unaware of. “Do you think this disagreement could have driven Suzie away? Why wouldn’t she have mentioned it?”Mom shook her head, tears in her eyes. “I don’t know, but it must have weighed heavily on her. Maybe her mother said something to her after the babies were born. But I assure you, I never meant for any of this to happen.”I collapsed into a chair, my mind racing. I needed to find Suzie, to understand her reasons. But where to start? She hadn’t left any clues, just the cryptic note.