Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO STOLE EIGHT YEARS
The investigation uncovered something worse.
My letter hadn't disappeared.
It had been delivered.
Someone had signed for it.
The signature belonged to Richard Carter.
He had never given it to David.
Instead, he had sent a photograph of the envelope to Vincent Hale.
I felt sick.
Eight years.
Eight years of believing David had chosen not to know.
He hadn't.
Someone had stolen our daughter's childhood from him.
And someone had stolen eight years from me.
David sat across from me.
"I'll fix this."
"You can't."
"I can try."
"You can't give him back eight birthdays."
His eyes lowered.
"I know."
"Or first words."
"I know."
"Or the day she lost her first tooth."
"I know."
My voice broke.
"You don't get to fix everything."
David nodded.
"Then I'll start by making sure she has every day from now on."
I looked at him.
"That's all you can do."
"Then that's what I'll do."
For the first time, I saw a different David.
Not the crime boss.
Not the feared king.
A father.
A man trying to understand what he had lost.
Chloe began spending time with him.
They played chess.
She beat him.
Repeatedly.
He accused her of cheating.
She laughed.
He bought her books.
I reminded him that she didn't need a diamond necklace.
He bought her a bicycle instead.
That was progress.
One afternoon, she asked him:
"Did you know Mom when she was young?"
David smiled.
"She was beautiful."
"She still is."
I rolled my eyes.
"Both of you stop."
Chloe giggled.
For a while, life almost felt normal.
Then Vincent attacked.
Not physically.
He went after David's businesses.
Accounts were frozen.
Three warehouses were raided.
A trusted lieutenant disappeared.
David became increasingly tense.
One evening, I found him in the kitchen.
"You need to leave."
"No."
"Natasha."
"You're bleeding."
He looked at his sleeve.
"I'll handle it."
"That's what you always say."
He stared at me.
"You're right."
He sat.
I cleaned the cut.
"What happened?"
"Someone tried to send a message."
"What message?"
He looked at me.
"That they know where Chloe goes to school."
My blood turned cold.
"She's not going back."
"I agree."
"Where is she?"
"With Michael."
He stood.
"We're moving her."
"Where?"
"Somewhere Vincent can't reach."
I grabbed his arm.
"No."
He stopped.
"I'm not hiding her forever."
"I know."
"I don't want her growing up afraid."
"I know."
"Then what do we do?"
David looked at me.
"We end it."
"How?"
"By taking away the one thing Vincent wants."
"What?"
"Control."
David revealed his plan.
He would expose Vincent's financial network to federal investigators.
It meant sacrificing parts of his own empire.
"You're willing to lose everything?"
"If that's what it takes to keep Chloe safe."
I stared at him.
"You've changed."
"No."
He looked toward Chloe's room.
"She changed me."
That night, Chloe came downstairs.
"Dad?"
David turned.
"Yes?"
"Can you read me a story?"
He froze.
Then smiled.
"Of course."
May you like
I watched him follow her upstairs.
And for the first time, I wondered whether the man I had feared for eight years might become the father our daughter deserved.
