Chương 7
“That proves nothing.”
“No.”
Ethan looked at her.
“It doesn’t.”
The answer stopped her.
She expected him to push harder.
Instead, he admitted the weakness.
That made him more believable.
“I’m not saying your father was murdered.”
The word still hit her.
“I’m saying Daniel believed someone wanted the story to end before anyone asked more questions.”
Mara looked at the envelope.
“And you believed him?”
“I believed he was scared.”
“Those are different things.”
“Yes.”
Ethan leaned back.
“Daniel was not a person who scared easily.”
Mara almost corrected him.
She almost said she knew Daniel better.
But the sentence died before reaching her mouth.
Because lately, she was not sure.
She sat across from Ethan.
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
Ethan looked at the floor.
“Because he thought you would try to protect him.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
The question annoyed her.
Because she knew the answer.
Daniel had always accused her of carrying problems that were not hers.
She had always accused him of shutting people out.
They had both been right.
“I would have helped him.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
Ethan’s voice softened.
“Because Daniel thought everyone he loved became a target when they got close to him.”
Mara looked at him.
For a moment, she saw the person Daniel must have been before she knew him.
The person with fears he never admitted.
The person who could disappear into work and call it responsibility.
“What happened between you two?”
Ethan’s expression changed.
“That’s a complicated question.”
“I have time.”
“No.”
He gave a small, tired smile.
“You have questions.”
She did not smile back.
“Fine.”
Ethan looked toward the kitchen window.
“The first time I met Daniel, I did not like him.”
“That sounds accurate.”
“He was too polite.”
Mara raised an eyebrow.
“Too polite?”
“People who are hiding something often try too hard to seem harmless.”
“That sounds like something you learned from experience.”
“It was.”
He stopped there.
Mara noticed.
She was beginning to understand that Ethan carried his own locked doors.
“And later?”
“Later I realized he was not hiding things because he wanted power.”
“Then why?”
“Because he was afraid of what would happen if the wrong people knew what he had found.”
“Who are the wrong people?”
Ethan looked at the envelope again.
“That is what Daniel was trying to figure out.”
Mara reached for it.
This time Ethan did not stop her.
She opened the envelope carefully.
Inside was a single sheet of paper folded twice.
Daniel’s handwriting appeared immediately.
She knew it from grocery lists.
Birthday cards.
Notes left beside the coffee maker.
The sight of it hurt more than she expected.
Mara,
If you are reading this, then I failed to keep you away from this.
She stopped.
Her vision blurred slightly.
She forced herself to continue.
I need you to know something before you decide what to believe.
There are people who will tell you I was obsessed.
There are people who will tell you I was wrong.
Some of them may even believe it.
The paper shook slightly in her hand.
But I was not looking for a mystery.
I was looking for the reason your father’s name kept appearing in places where it should not have been.
Mara swallowed.
She read the next line.
And I found out I was not the first person who noticed.
She looked up.
“Who else?”
Ethan did not respond.
“Who else noticed?”
He looked uncomfortable.
“Daniel found someone.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know her name.”
Mara stared at him.
“You said there was a woman.”
At the storage facility.
Tom’s words returned.
A woman older than her.
Someone Daniel knew.
Ethan’s face tightened.
“Yes.”
“You know about her.”
“I know she existed.”
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
The answer sounded rehearsed.
Mara stood.
“No.”
Ethan looked up.
“No?”
“You all keep doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Giving me half a truth and expecting me to be grateful.”
Her voice rose.
“You walk into my house with a letter from my missing husband and tell me my father’s death was not what I thought, but every time I ask one question, suddenly nobody knows anything.”
Ethan stayed quiet.
That made her angrier.
“Say something.”
“I deserve that.”
The admission drained some of the force from her anger.
Only some.
“You do.”
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“But if I give you everything I know, you might make the same mistake Daniel made.”
“What mistake?”
“Thinking knowing the truth automatically makes you safer.”
The room went quiet.
Mara looked down at Daniel’s letter.
The last sentence on the page waited beneath her fingers.
She had avoided reading it because some part of her already knew it would hurt.
If you find out what happened, do not look for revenge.
Look for the person who still has a choice.
She stared at the words.
Then she heard something outside.
A car door closing.
Ethan noticed her expression.
“What?”
She raised a finger.
“Someone’s here.”
He stood immediately.
The change was instant.
The tired man disappeared.
The careful man returned.
Mara saw it.
“You know who that is.”
“No.”
The answer came too fast.
She watched him move toward the window.
Not toward the door.
Toward the place where he could see without being seen.
That was enough.
“Ethan.”
He did not turn.
“Stay away from the windows.”
Her heartbeat increased.
“Why?”
Because this time, he did not say he did not know.
He whispered one word.
“Because they found you.”
Ethan moved away from the window.
The sound of another car engine idling outside filled the silence.
Mara stood frozen beside the table, still holding Daniel’s letter.
She looked toward the hallway, then back at Ethan.
“How many people?”
He shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not good enough anymore.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
May you like
Her voice was lower now.
“You don’t get to walk into my life, tell me my husband was afraid, tell me my father’s death might have been a lie, and then act like saying you don’t know makes it better.”
