The Housemaid (The Housemaid, #1)

by Freida McFadden

“I never knew him personally,” Connors says. “But my daughter did.” “Your… daughter?” He nods. “Her name is Kathleen Connors. Actually, small world—she and your husband were engaged a long time ago.” I blink at him. Kathleen. The fiancée who Andy broke up with before the two of us got together. The one I tried to find so many times, but kept coming up empty-handed. Kathleen is this man’s daughter. But what does that mean? He lowers his voice several notches until I have to strain to hear. “The breakup was rough on her. She wouldn’t talk about it. Still won’t. She moved far away after that and she even changed her name. She hasn’t been out on a date with a man since.” My heart speeds up. “Oh. I…” “I always wondered what exactly Andrew Winchester did to my daughter.” He presses his lips together until they form a straight line. “So when I transferred out here about a year ago and started poking around, I thought it was interesting that you claimed he had been locking you up in the attic, but nobody could verify your story was real. Although truthfully, it looks like nobody did very much to try. The Winchesters used to have a lot of pull out here before they moved down to Florida, especially with some of the cops.” He pauses. “But not me.” My mouth is too dry to get any words out. I just stare at him, my jaw hanging open.