The weekend ended way too quickly. As we drove home, I could see Claire continually looking at her ring. We had not discussed the real possibility of a pregnancy. We have not been practicing safe sex this weekend or the first time we were together. I feel like I am being the irresponsible one in all of this. Claire having my baby makes me very happy. But on the other hand, she has just started her career in social work and I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of what she has worked so hard to accomplish. I broke the silence, because we were quickly heading back to reality. "We need to talk about what happens next, Claire." I tried not to show how worried I am. She turned to me, her eyes searching mine. "What do you mean?" "Well, you know, about us, and what people might say. And..." I took a deep breath. "What if you are pregnant?" The color drained from Claire's face, and she took her hand away to clutch the ring. "I did not even think about that," she whispered. The truck'
My hand felt empty without Claire's, and the cold metal of the ring box in my pocket was a stark reminder of the promise I had made. I took a deep breath and walked inside, the sound of my boots on the hardwood floor echoing through the house. The television was playing in the background, and I could hear Evie's footsteps as she approached the door. "Dad?" she called out, her voice had a hint of anger. I turned to face her, trying to put on a calm face. “Evie, I am so glad you are home. I have been worried about you.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Where were you?." "Out of town," I replied, trying to keep my voice even. "I had some work to take care of." It was a lie, but one I hoped she would believe. Evie looked at me skeptically. "On a Friday night?" She knew my work schedule better than anyone. "It was unexpected," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "A last-minute emergency." "Yeah, sure," Evie said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "And I bet this 'emergency' was
It has been an hour since I texted Rawls and I haven’t heard back from him. I've been pacing back and forth in the bedroom, trying to calm down. The ring on my finger feels like a weight, a reminder of the secrets we've been keeping. The sudden knock on the door sends my heart racing. "Claire, honey, are you okay?" It's my mom's voice, filled with concern. I quickly shove the ring into the drawer, my heart hammering in my chest. "Yeah, Mom, I'm fine," I call out, trying to sound as casual as possible. "Just unpacking.” Mom opens the door, a gentle smile playing on her lips. "You've been in here for ages," she says, her eyes scanning the room. "Is everything okay?" "Yeah," I reply, trying to keep my voice steady. Mom steps into the room, her eyes searching my face. "You seem a bit... flustered," she says, her smile fading into a concerned frown. "Is everything okay?" "I'm just tired," I lie, hoping she'll buy it. "It was a long weekend." Mom nods, her gaze lingering on
Having to block Claire hurt me to the core. I can only imagine what she is going through. She doesn’t understand right now, but I am doing this to protect her, protect us. I am in my study, thinking about my weekend with Claire. The faint scent of her perfume still lingers on my jacket, and I can't help but think of the passionate nights we shared. It feels like a lifetime ago. My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door. It's Evie, her eyes red from crying. She looks at me with a mix of anger and hurt. "We need to talk," she says, her voice cold. I swallow hard, knowing that this conversation could change everything. "Okay," I reply, gesturing for her to sit down. She remains standing, her arms folded tightly across her chest. "I know you're seeing someone," she says, her voice filled with accusation. "Who is it?" “Evie, we are not discussing this again. I am still your father and I do not need to give you any explanations. What needs to happen now is to get some hel
I haven’t heard from Rawls in almost two weeks. I feel like I am a shell of the person I was. I don’t have an appetite and I am exhausted. I am doing my best to focus at work, but I feel like I am not doing it effectively right now. I have done my best to just keep to myself at work. Thelma was not going to have any of that. She put a note on my desk saying we were going to lunch, she had cleared my schedule. The very thought of food made me want to throw up. Thelma looked at me with a motherly frown. "You can't keep going like this, Claire," she said firmly. "You need to take care of yourself." I nodded, unable to argue with her. The truth was, I felt like I was falling apart. The secret of my weekend with Rawls was eating away at me, and the fear of losing him was like a constant knot in my stomach. I knew I couldn't keep pretending everything was fine much longer. As we sit in the busy restaurant, Thelma looks at me with a knowing expression. "Is there something you want
I sit there for what feels like hours, staring at the phone, willing it to ring. But it stays silent, a piece of technology that holds the key to my future. Finally, unable to take the suspense anymore. I am just going to go to Rawls’ house and talk to him. He is not going to avoid me today. When I arrive, the house looks dark. Maybe he isn’t home from work yet. I take a deep breath, steeling myself for the confrontation to come. I knock on the door, my heart hammering in my chest. Evie opens the door, her eyes widening in surprise and anger when she sees me. "What are you doing here?" she spits out, her voice filled with accusation. I stand there, my heart racing. "I need to talk to your dad," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "It's important." Evie's eyes narrow, her arms crossed over her chest. "What could possibly be important enough for you to come here?" she asks, her voice dripping with skepticism. I take a deep breath, my mind racing for an excuse that won't
Hearing Claire’s voice on her message opened up the wound in my heart even bigger. I haven’t talked to her in weeks and I miss her so much. I rush home as soon as work is done, maybe Robert and Mary are at work and I can talk to Claire. When I pull up to the house there is an ambulance in the driveway. Oh my God, Evie has tried to hurt herself. I ran up to the house and they were working on her. As I got closer, it wasn’t Evie, it was Claire. What had happened? Had she been attacked? I wasn’t here to protect her. And where is Evie, had she been hurt too? "What happened?" I demand, panting and out of breath. A medic looks up at me, his face a mask of professional calm. "She fell," he says, his eyes flicking to my face and then back to his work. "Looks like she hit her head pretty hard." My heart sinks as I see the blood trickling from Claire's forehead. "What about the baby?" I blurt out, the words tumbling from my mouth before I can stop them. The medic's expression flickers,
The nurses come in to take Claire down to surgery. Mary and Robert were down the hall when they came in. Thankfully, so. No awkward questions to be answered. The wait feels like an eternity. I really didn't know what to say to Robert and Mary. I know they have so many questions. Questions that I don't want to answer or ready to answer. The minutes stretch into hours, each one heavier than the last. Finally, the doctor returns, his expression hopeful. He pulls the curtain around the bed, giving us a semblance of privacy. "The procedure went well," he says, his voice low and soothing. "We were able to remove everything safely. She'll be moved to a recovery room shortly." Mary's eyes search mine, desperate for answers I don't have. "What did they have to remove?" she asks, her voice trembling. I take a deep breath, feeling the weight of my secret threatening to crush me. "They had to remove...uh...some internal bleeding caused by the fall," I improvise, hoping it sounds convi
The further along Claire is in her pregnancy the more e concerned I become. No matter how much digging Robert and I have been doing, we cannot find out where Jonathan is holding Evie. We decided to not get the police involved. It may not be the best decision but some of the things were are having to do or will have to do may not be on the right side of the law. The further along Claire is in her pregnancy the more concerned I become. No matter how much digging Robert and I have been doing, we cannot find out where Jonathan is holding Evie. We decided to not get the police involved. It may not be the best decision but some of the things were are having to do or will have to do may not be on the right side of the law. "I can't sit here and do nothing," I say, pacing the room. "We need to find her." Rawls's eyes are filled with understanding, but his voice is firm. "We will, but we have to be smart about it," he says, his hand landing gently on my shoulder, trying to still my frantic
I should have gotten Jonathan psychiatric help a long time ago. Even as a child he had issues getting along with other children. The years I was with Rawls and Evie, Jonathan had been raised with his father’s (Marco) family, the Castellanos. Marco had always talked about the strange incidents that occurred when they he was young, but he had always downplayed the seriousness of Jonathan’s behavior. Now, it all made sense. My child had turned into a monster, and we were all just pawns in his twisted game of power and control. I had to see Evie. I had to explain, to apologize for the years of pain I had caused. But would Evie even believe me? Would she recognize me as her mother or the woman who had abandoned her all those years ago? Fear and guilt had been my constant companions since I had gone into hiding, but now, with Evie's safety hanging in the balance, I was going to have to face my past. I had to see her, had to try to make this right. I approached the house where I kne
I know Rawls and Dad are keeping things from me. I can see it in their eyes every time they think I'm not looking. They hover over me like overprotective hawks, their whispers and furtive glances speaking volumes. But I'm not a child anymore. I know something's wrong, something much more than just Evie's disappearance. I sit in my room, my thoughts racing, trying to piece together the puzzle that is my life. The walls are closing in, the silence suffocating. I need to know the truth. I need to know what's happening to Evie and why my fiancé and my father are acting so strangely. Summoning my courage, I tiptoe down the hallway. The house feels eerie, as if it's holding its breath, waiting for the next shoe to drop. I hover outside the door to Rawls’ office, listening to the muffled whispers of Rawls and my dad. "We need to tell her," my dad says, his voice strained. "She has a right to know." Rawls's voice is low and firm. "Not yet. She's not ready for this." I bite my lip, my he
Claire said that Thelma is good at digging up information. Hopefully she has something that can help us find Evie and rid our lives of this psychopath. Robert and I were anxious to see what Thelma had found, but I know it will help Claire if they can see each other. "Thelma," Robert said, his voice tight with urgency. "What do you have for us?" Thelma took a deep breath, her eyes flicking to me before returning to Robert. "I've been looking into Jonathan Cramer/John Castellanos's history," she began, her voice steady despite the gravity of what she was about to say. "And it turns out he has connections to Evie's mother, Fiona." "Robert and I leaned in, our eyes locked on Thelma's face as she opened the folder. She pulled out a series of photographs, each one more disturbing than the last. "These are of Jonathan with his mother," she said. "Does this woman look familiar?” Robert took the photos, his eyes scanning over them before handing them to me. The woman in the images
Robert and I sat in my office, poring over the case files and notes we had gathered on Jonathan Cramer. The silence in the house was suffocating, compared to the chaos that had erupted earlier. The detectives were on thin ice with me. I could not believe they questioned Claire about the paternity of the baby. "How did he do it?" Robert muttered, his eyes scanning the page in front of him. "He had to have had help," I said, slamming a fist on the table. "There's no way he could have gotten through that security unnoticed." Robert nodded, his jaw set. "I've called in a favor with an old contact at the precinct," he said, his eyes never leaving the paperwork scattered in front of him. "We're getting the full report on the facility's staff—everyone who had access to Evie's location and schedule." We worked tirelessly into the night, piecing together a timeline of events, looking for any inconsistencies or signs of tampering. The more we dug, the more it became clear that this was
I can’t believe how easy it was to get at Evie. The security at the mental facility was no better than the security at a nursery school. I had disguised myself well enough that Evie did not recognize me. She thinks her dad sent me to pick her up for her safety. She will be anything but safe with me. I may have a little fun with her before my plan is put into place. But first things first, I need to get her to my place. She’s so naive and trusting, it’s almost too easy. I have a van waiting outside, no plates, no paperwork, no way to trace it back to me. The perfect getaway vehicle. As we walk out of the facility, my heart races. The plan is coming together perfectly. The security camera's blind spot is right where I need it to be. I glance around, making sure no one is watching. "It's okay, Evie," I say, my voice low and reassuring. "We're going to get you somewhere safe." Her eyes are wide with fear, but she nods, trusting me implicitly. She's just as innocent now as she was
Days passed, and despite the fortress we had built around ourselves, a sense of unease remained. It was as if the walls were made of paper, ready to be torn apart at any moment by the monster we knew was out there. And then, it happened. Evie went missing from the facility. "No," Claire whispered, her hand flying to her mouth. "It can't be." But it was. Evie was gone, vanished without a trace from the very place we had thought she would be safe. The facility's director looked at us with a mix of regret and urgency, his words barely penetrating the fog of dread that had descended upon us. "We're doing everything we can," he assured us, but the tremble in his voice did little to ease our fears. Robert's eyes met mine, and I knew what he was thinking. We had been so focused on keeping Claire safe, we had neglected to consider that Jonathan might come after Evie. The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. We had played right into his hands. We sprang into action, phones to our
The drive home from the hospital was tense. I was constantly looking in my rear view mirror. Claire's parents followed us in their car, Robert and Mary were as worried as I was about this whole situation. Once we were inside the house, there was an urgency to secure the place. Robert and I immediately began installing the state-of-the-art security system while Claire's mother hovered anxiously by her side, ensuring she was as comfortable as possible. The house felt like a fortress under siege. Every creak of the floorboards, every rustle of the curtains had us on edge. We worked into the early hours of the morning, installing cameras and alarms, setting up a panic button by Claire's bedside. Finally, the last screw was in place and the system was live. I walked into the living room, where Claire lay on the couch, her eyes heavy with exhaustion and fear. "It's done," I told her, trying to keep my voice steady. "You're safe here." Her gaze searched mine, looking for the truth in my
Now that we know was this Jonathan person is capable of, I am going to put security on Evie as well. I trust what they have at the facility. Once I get Claire home, I am getting personal security and upgrading our alarm system. I look at Claire, who is still in a daze, and I realize that the reality of the situation is setting in for both of us. The man who attacked her is still out there, and he knows where we live. I refuse to let fear control us. I lean down and whisper reassurances into her ear. "Rawls," she whispers, her voice shaky, "What if he comes for me again? Or what if he tries to get to Evie?" The thought sends a chill down my spine, but I don't let it show. "He won't," I tell her firmly, stroking her hair. "I promise you, I'll protect you both. I won't let anything happen to either of you." Her eyes search mine, looking for the truth in my words. "You can't be with us all the time," she points out. "No," I admit, "but we're not going to make it easy for him. We