Chapter 9 - The Woman in the Photograph
Audrey flew back to Chicago that night.
Declan came with her only after she asked.
That distinction mattered.
Nathan had secured the photograph inside an evidence bag.
Audrey stared at it.
The woman was older than her mother would have been in Audrey’s memories, but the resemblance was unmistakable.
Same eyes.
Same mouth.
Same small scar above the eyebrow.
On the back were six words.
THOMAS NEVER TOLD YOU EVERYTHING.
Audrey called her father.
Thomas became silent.
“Dad?”
“Come here.”
Those three words confirmed everything.
At his new care facility, Thomas stared at the photograph.
Then he began crying.
Audrey had seen her father weak.
Ashamed.
Frustrated.
Never like this.
“Your mother didn’t die.”
Audrey felt the room tilt.
Declan moved closer but did not touch her.
“What?”
Thomas wiped his face.
“Twelve years ago, your mother discovered Hale was laundering money through the company where she worked.”
Audrey stared.
“She was an accountant.”
“Yes.”
“Hale threatened us.”
“So she disappeared?”
Thomas nodded.
“We staged the accident.”
Audrey stood so quickly her chair fell.
“You let me bury an empty coffin?”
“I was protecting you.”
“Stop saying that!”
Thomas flinched.
“Everyone keeps destroying my life and calling it protection.”
Declan lowered his eyes.
The words included him.
Audrey paced.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“She contacted me twice in twelve years. The last time was four years ago.”
“When you took the ledger.”
Thomas nodded.
“She told me Hale was preparing to move against Mercer. She believed the ledger could destroy him.”
Audrey suddenly understood.
Her father’s theft.
Elliot.
The ledger.
Her mother.
Everything was connected.
“Why appear now?”
Declan answered.
“Because Hale is finished.”
Three days later, Audrey met her mother in a quiet house near Lake Michigan.
Elizabeth Collins opened the door.
Audrey stared at her.
Then slapped her.
Declan, standing several feet behind Audrey, wisely said nothing.
Elizabeth touched her cheek.
“I deserved that.”
Audrey slapped her again.
“That was for Dad.”
Then she collapsed into her mother’s arms.
For several minutes, neither could speak.
The truth came slowly.
Elizabeth had entered witness protection unofficially through a corrupt federal contact who later disappeared. Hale had continued searching for her, making any return dangerous.
She had watched Audrey from a distance.
Graduation.
Her first job.
Her father’s stroke.
Even her years working for Declan.
“You watched me suffer?”
Elizabeth cried.
“I thought approaching you would get you killed.”
Audrey walked outside.
Declan followed minutes later.
She stood near the lake.
“My entire life was built on other people deciding what I could handle.”
“Yes.”
“My father.”
“Yes.”
“My mother.”
“Yes.”
“You.”
His answer was quieter.
“Yes.”
She turned.
“And you’re the only one not defending yourself.”
“I don’t deserve a defense.”
Audrey studied him.
“Do you know what I want?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He almost smiled.
“I want choices.”
“Then choose.”
She stepped closer.
“I choose Chicago.”
His expression barely changed, but she saw the pain.
“My company is here.”
“I know.”
“My mother is here for now.”
“I know.”
“I’m not moving to New York.”
“I understand.”
Audrey waited.
Declan looked confused.
“That’s it?”
“What else would there be?”
“You’re supposed to argue.”
“No.”
“Offer me a penthouse.”
“No.”
“Buy my company.”
“Definitely no.”
She smiled.
Declan stared.
“What?”
“You passed.”
Realization appeared.
“A test?”
“Maybe.”
“That seems manipulative.”
“You survived.”
He laughed.
Audrey took his hand.
“You could come to Chicago.”
Declan blinked.
“What?”
“You don’t run Mercer Holdings anymore.”
“The center—”
“Has competent staff.”
“Yes.”
“Gideon?”
“Would celebrate getting rid of me.”
“Then?”
Declan looked at her carefully.
“You want me here?”
Audrey squeezed his hand.
“I want you to decide whether you want a life that happens to include me.”
His eyes softened.
“I do.”
“No empire?”
“No empire.”
“No debt?”
“Never again.”
“No orders?”
He smiled faintly.
“I reserve the right to strongly recommend things.”
“Declan.”
“Fine.”
Audrey laughed.
He kissed her beneath the cold Chicago sky.
For once, no one was running.
No one was trapped.
No one owed anything.
Six months later, Audrey woke at 6:30 on a Sunday morning and discovered Declan standing in their kitchen.
He was staring at a small white object on the counter.
Audrey stopped.
Declan looked at her.
For a man who had once faced guns without blinking, he appeared terrified.
“You left this beside the sink.”
Audrey slowly approached.
It was a pregnancy test.
Positive.
Declan looked from it to her.
Then back again.
“Audrey?”
May you like
She smiled.
And this time, when Declan saw that radiant smile, he knew exactly who it was for.
