Chương 3
Normal life continued while Marcus stood in the middle of it holding a baby connected to a past he had buried.
“My code has been inactive for years,” Marcus said.
“I know.”
“Only three people knew it.”
Another pause.
Marcus did not need Daniel to say the names.
He already knew them.
One was Daniel.
One was his former business partner, Aaron Cole.
The third was Claire.
Elena watched his face change.
She did not interrupt.
Marcus ended the call and put the phone away.
“You need to leave,” he said.
Elena looked confused.
“What?”
“This is no longer your problem.”
“You are right.”
She adjusted the strap of her bag.
“Which means you are going to try handling it by yourself.”
“Yes.”
“That is usually when things get worse.”
Marcus almost laughed.
Almost.
“You make a lot of assumptions.”
“And you make a lot of decisions before you have all the information.”
He looked at her.
“Why are you still here?”
Elena looked at Noah.
The baby had fallen asleep against Marcus’s chest.
The sight seemed to affect her more than she expected.
“My son died six years ago,” she said.
Marcus did not move.
The airport noise returned slowly.
“I am sorry.”
She looked uncomfortable with the sympathy.
“People always say that.”
“What should they say?”
“I do not know.”
Her eyes stayed on Noah.
“I just know everyone thinks grief ends because enough time passes.”
Marcus said nothing.
He understood silence better than most people.
“My son was named Lucas,” she continued.
“I had a habit of carrying too many things whenever we went somewhere.”
She gave a small, embarrassed smile.
“Snacks, toys, extra clothes, random stuff.”
“What happened?”
She looked down.
“An accident.”
The answer was simple.
Too simple.
Marcus did not push.
Some doors were not opened by force.
“My point is,” she said, “when you are responsible for someone small, you start believing you can control everything.”
She swallowed.
“You cannot.”
Marcus looked at Noah.
The baby’s hand had curled around the edge of his jacket.
A tiny grip.
A ridiculous amount of trust.
“I need to find Claire,” Marcus said.
“I know.”
“I need to know who that man is.”
“I know.”
“And I cannot protect a child if I do not understand the situation.”
Elena nodded.
“Then stop trying to pretend you are not scared.”
Marcus looked at her sharply.
“I am not scared.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“You are holding a baby in one arm and a phone with a threat message in the other.”
“That does not mean I am scared.”
“It means you are scared and busy.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Marcus looked away.
A small part of him hated that he felt less alone.
A larger part hated that he needed it.
They left the terminal through a side exit where fewer people were gathered.
Marcus had Daniel arrange a car, but when they reached the pickup area, he stopped.
A black SUV sat across the street.
Nothing about it was unusual.
That was what made him notice it.
Marcus had spent years training himself to see patterns.
The vehicle had been parked there too long.
The driver was not looking at a phone.
The engine was running.
Elena followed his gaze.
“Friend?”
“No.”
The word came quietly.
He shifted Noah closer.
The SUV pulled away before Marcus could see the license plate.
Elena watched it disappear.
“You think they saw you.”
Marcus did not answer.
Because the truth was worse.
He thought they wanted him to see them.
His phone buzzed.
A new message appeared.
You brought someone else.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
That was not part of the plan.
He felt the first real crack in his certainty.
Not because someone was watching him.
Because someone had expected him to be alone.
And now someone was adjusting.
Marcus did not move for several seconds.
The message remained on the screen like a door someone had opened from the other side.
Elena watched him carefully.
“What does it say?”
Marcus locked the phone.
“You should go home.”
She gave him a tired look.
“You really think that is going to work now?”
“I am serious.”
“So am I.”
“This involves people who know how to get into my company’s systems.”
“And you think I am safer by walking away without knowing anything?”
Marcus looked at her.
“That is exactly what I think.”
Elena shook her head.
“You are still doing it.”
“Doing what?”
“Deciding for everyone else because it makes you feel less helpless.”
The accusation bothered him because it sounded too close to something Claire had once said.
Not about business.
Not about money.
About him.
Fifteen years earlier, Claire had stood in his apartment doorway after another argument and told him that he treated every person in his life like a problem waiting to be managed.
At the time, Marcus had considered it unfair.
Now, standing outside an airport with a sleeping baby and a stranger calling him out on the same thing, the memory felt less like an insult and more like evidence.
A car pulled up beside the curb.
Daniel stepped out before the driver could open the door.
His hair was messy, his jacket unbuttoned, and his usual calm expression had disappeared.
“Where is Noah?”
Marcus immediately tightened his hold.
Daniel stopped.
“I am not taking him.”
“Then why ask?”
“Because I needed to see if you were okay.”
Marcus almost laughed.
“Do I look okay?”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
Daniel looked at Elena.
“Who is she?”
“Someone who helped.”
Daniel studied her for a moment.
“That is not the kind of answer you usually give.”
“Because usually I do not have a stranger standing next to me while someone threatens a child.”
The words made Daniel’s face change.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
He looked at Noah.
“How old is he?”
“Three months.”
May you like
Daniel swallowed.
“You really have no idea what happened, do you?”
