Chapter 5 - THE MAN FROM HER PAST
My mother refused to talk.
That was her first mistake.
Her second was trying to leave town.
I found her at the airport.
She looked at me through the glass doors.
“You should have left this alone.”
I had heard those words before.
From my father.
From relatives.
From lawyers.
Everyone who wanted the past buried used the same sentence.
I stepped closer.
“Was Mom with Daniel?”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He called me.”
“About what?”
“Your father.”
I waited.
“He knew your father was stealing money.”
My chest tightened.
“How much?”
“Enough to destroy the company.”
I shook my head.
“My father built that company.”
“He built it after destroying another one.”
She looked toward Claire.
“Her father worked for him.”
Claire stepped forward.
“What happened to my father?”
My mother sighed.
“Thomas discovered the fraud.”
Claire's face tightened.
“What did my father do?”
“He tried to expose him.”
“And?”
“Your father threatened him.”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“What happened?”
“He disappeared.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
I stared at my mother.
“You said he died.”
“I assumed.”
Claire looked away.
For years, she had believed her father abandoned her.
Now she discovered he might have been running from something.
That night, Claire didn't cry.
She became silent.
Too silent.
I found her sitting on my balcony after midnight.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“Because you needed somewhere safe.”
“I don't know who I am anymore.”
“You're Claire.”
She looked at me.
“That's not enough.”
“It is for me.”
Her eyes filled.
“You don't know me.”
“I know you work too much.”
A tiny smile.
“I know you burn toast.”
She laughed weakly.
“I know you pretend you're okay when you're terrified.”
The smile disappeared.
“And I know you love Emma more than anything.”
She looked down.
“I do.”
I sat beside her.
Neither of us spoke for a while.
Then she whispered,
“Why are you doing all this?”
I knew the answer.
Because somewhere between rescuing a little girl in a red coat and drinking terrible hospital coffee, I had fallen in love with the woman who thought she didn't deserve help.
But I wasn't ready to say it.
So I said,
“Because you're important to me.”
She looked at me.
“That's dangerous.”
“Probably.”
“You don't even know if I'm good for you.”
“I don't care.”
She stared at me.
Then she leaned her head against my shoulder.
I didn't move.
It was the first time anyone had touched me without wanting something.
I closed my eyes.
For ten minutes, we simply sat there.
Then Claire whispered,
“I think I'm falling in love with you.”
My heart stopped.
I turned toward her.
She looked frightened.
“I shouldn't have said that.”
“No.”
I took her hand.
“Don't take it back.”
She looked at me.
I kissed her forehead.
Nothing more.
It was soft.
Careful.
A promise rather than a demand.
But the next morning, everything changed.
Marcus disappeared.
His car was found abandoned.
His phone was smashed.
And on Claire's doorstep was another envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
Daniel.
Alive.
Taken three days before his supposed death.
May you like
On the back:
HE DIDN'T DIE THAT NIGHT.
