Claire took my phone from my hand and read the two messages twice.<\/p>\n
Her face did not change immediately. That frightened me more than panic would have. She simply stood beside my kitchen table, Milo\u2019s bottle warmer humming on the counter behind her, and stared at the screen with the concentration of someone fitting a new piece into an old pattern.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t answer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t planning to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t delete them either.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been saving everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
She handed the phone back, then looked toward the windows.<\/p>\n
I followed her gaze.<\/p>\n
My apartment faced a narrow parking lot, three low buildings, and a row of winter-bare trees. Nothing moved except a plastic grocery bag dragging along the asphalt.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think he\u2019s outside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we need to stop assuming the only information he has is what we tell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
A chill moved across my shoulders.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would he know you\u2019re here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire walked to the window but did not stand directly in front of it. She angled herself beside the curtain.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe may not know where I am. The message could be a guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounded pretty specific.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Milo began fussing against my chest.<\/p>\n
I lifted him free of the carrier, and Claire\u2019s attention moved instantly to him. Her expression softened in a way I had not seen before.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s hungry?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can warm the bottle if you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
The offer surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure.\u201d<\/p>\n
She moved around my kitchen with careful restraint, asking before opening a cabinet, checking the bottle temperature against her wrist.<\/p>\n
For half a second, she looked less like Julian\u2019s wife and more like what she also was.<\/p>\n
A mother.<\/p>\n
I settled Milo in my arms and fed him while Claire returned to the folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe residential program Elias entered wasn\u2019t the one he stayed in,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did he go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat took months to trace.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pulled out several pages covered in dates and handwritten notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first organization closed after a funding investigation. Children were transferred. Elias moved three times before he was four.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea of a baby being moved from place to place without his mother even knowing he was alive made me physically ill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA nonprofit residential school called Briar Glen.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchool?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s licensed as both an educational and medical-care facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow far?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout six hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes dropped to Milo.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019ve seen Elias?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot in person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you have that photograph.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn investigator got it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s voice lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to figure out how to approach him without making everything worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thinks you\u2019re dead?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one of the things I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer landed heavily.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was he told?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know that either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked toward the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what Julian told them about me. I don\u2019t know whether Elias knows he has a mother. I don\u2019t know what name they use for me, if any.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her composure cracked around the edges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even know if he would want me there.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood then why she had not simply driven to Briar Glen the moment she found him.<\/p>\n
Finding a living child was not the same as reclaiming eight lost years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does your investigator say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat we should move carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd legally?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cLegally, I was his mother the entire time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless those signatures changed something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t change biology.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. But they may have changed custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what my lawyer is trying to untangle.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced at the forged-looking signature.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you were trying to prove who signed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think it was Julian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came too fast for uncertainty.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s where the evidence points.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I could ask more, my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Julian.<\/p>\n
We both stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnswer it,\u201d Claire said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just told me not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the messages. This is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I want to hear what he thinks he knows.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then I turned on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian\u2019s voice came low and controlled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Claire?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
She lifted one finger to her lips.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why ask?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya, this has gone far enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat has?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou contacting my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire contacted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He breathed out sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut her on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I don\u2019t know where she is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya.\u201d<\/p>\n
The single word carried a warning.<\/p>\n
Something inside me steadied.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lied about having another son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Claire shut her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that\u2019s what she told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told her he was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaya, you are involving yourself in something you do not understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen explain it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat situation has nothing to do with Milo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s eyes opened.<\/p>\n
I held her gaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you send me a legal agreement mentioning residential placement before Milo was three months old?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is exactly why I didn\u2019t want Claire dragging you into the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe past?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family went through something very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s hand tightened around the folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour family?\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian stopped.<\/p>\n
He had heard her.<\/p>\n
There was no point pretending anymore.<\/p>\n
Claire leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, Julian.\u201d<\/p>\n
His tone changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sounded calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know where Elias was the entire time?\u201d<\/p>\n
The silence lasted long enough to answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire, not like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not a conversation we\u2019re having on speaker with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly laughed.<\/p>\n
Claire did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer name is Maya.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know her name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
His breathing sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeo needs you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not use Leo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked where you were.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could try telling him the truth for once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThink very carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire looked almost relieved.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The same phrase.<\/p>\n
The same language he had used with me.<\/p>\n
She whispered, \u201cYou always say that right before you threaten someone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not threatening you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen answer me. Did you know Elias was alive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes or no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Julian said nothing.<\/p>\n
Claire reached over and ended the call.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, neither of us moved.<\/p>\n
Then she sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t know that before?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat silence sounded like more than suspicion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She pressed her palms together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed to hear him fail to deny it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Milo finished his bottle and relaxed against me.<\/p>\n
I burped him carefully.<\/p>\n
Claire stared at the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Elias was born, Julian cried.\u201d<\/p>\n
The detail came unexpectedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe cried before they took him for transfer. He held him. He kissed his forehead. He told me our son was beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice roughened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years, that memory was one of the few good things I had left.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to think whatever happened afterward, at least Elias had been loved for the short time he lived.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I don\u2019t know what any of it meant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may never know what he felt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t matter as much as what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was right.<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed again.<\/p>\n
Not a message.<\/p>\n
A notification from the building intercom.<\/p>\n
Someone had entered my code from the lobby.<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
Claire stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you expecting anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The intercom rang.<\/p>\n
I walked toward the panel but did not answer.<\/p>\n
A second ring followed.<\/p>\n
Then a knock sounded at my apartment door.<\/p>\n
Hard.<\/p>\n
Three strikes.<\/p>\n
Milo startled.<\/p>\n
I carried him toward the bedroom.<\/p>\n
Claire stepped into the hallway between me and the front door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is it?\u201d she called.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Another knock.<\/p>\n
I checked the peephole.<\/p>\n
A man stood outside in a dark coat.<\/p>\n
He was not Julian.<\/p>\n
I had never seen him before.<\/p>\n
He held a large envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d I asked through the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cCourier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt eight in the morning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDelivery for Maya Collins.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need a signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man stood there another few seconds.<\/p>\n
Then he bent and pushed the envelope beneath the door.<\/p>\n
I waited until his footsteps disappeared down the hallway.<\/p>\n
Claire did not touch it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if it\u2019s legal papers?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we photograph everything first.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took Milo into the bedroom and placed him safely in his crib.<\/p>\n
When I returned, Claire had her phone camera ready.<\/p>\n
I opened the envelope.<\/p>\n
Inside was a single sheet of paper.<\/p>\n
Not legal stationery.<\/p>\n
No letterhead.<\/p>\n
No signature.<\/p>\n
Only one printed sentence.<\/p>\n
Briar Glen is not your concern.<\/p>\n
I felt the blood leave my face.<\/p>\n
Claire stared at the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did they know you told me the name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say it on the call.\u201d<\/p>\n
We looked at each other.<\/p>\n
The implication settled between us.<\/p>\n
Either someone had access to Claire\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n
Or someone had access to my apartment.<\/p>\n
I thought about the envelope arriving less than an hour after she had said Briar Glen aloud.<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould my phone be compromised?\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire glanced toward both our devices.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the apartment differently.<\/p>\n
The smoke detector.<\/p>\n
The lamp.<\/p>\n
The television.<\/p>\n
The vents.<\/p>\n
Ridiculous possibilities multiplied because suddenly none felt ridiculous enough to dismiss.<\/p>\n
Claire walked to the front door and locked the deadbolt again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy lawyer\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Milo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not taking him out because of an anonymous note.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not taking him out because of a note.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re taking him out because whoever sent that knew what we were discussing inside your home.\u201d<\/p>\n
I began packing Milo\u2019s diaper bag.<\/p>\n
Halfway through, my phone rang again.<\/p>\n
This time it was my building manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Collins?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a strange request downstairs this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped moving.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA man said he was your brother and asked whether we could let him into your apartment because you\u2019d left medication inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have a brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout twenty minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it the courier?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think so. This man was older.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stepped closer.<\/p>\n
I put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have security footage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease don\u2019t erase it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you describe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
The manager hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably mid-sixties. Gray hair. Expensive coat. Tall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he have a scar near his left eyebrow?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
The manager paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know him.\u201d<\/p>\n
She opened them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Daniel Kessler.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother-in-law\u2019s private security chief.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire took my phone from my hand and read the two messages twice. Her face did not change immediately. That frightened me more than panic would have. She simply stood … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31287"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31322,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31287\/revisions\/31322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}