Chapter 1 - THE NAME SHE WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO KNOW
Grant stared at Sophie for several seconds before answering.
“Yes.”
“She left.”
Sophie lowered her eyes.
“Maybe she didn’t.”
Grant felt something cold move through his chest.
“What do you mean?”
The little girl walked toward the enormous desk and carefully placed the cracked purple bracelet on the polished wood.
“My mom had one like this.”
Grant stopped breathing.
“You said you didn’t have parents.”
“I said I don’t have parents now.”
Sophie swallowed.
“I remember my mom.”
Grant moved closer.
“What was her name?”
Sophie hesitated.
The hesitation frightened him more than the answer.
“At Haven House, they told us never to say it.”
“Say what?”
“Her name.”
Grant crouched in front of her again.
“You’re safe here.”
Sophie looked toward the closed office door.
Then she whispered.
“Claire.”
Grant’s entire body went rigid.
The city disappeared beyond the windows.
The office disappeared.
For a moment, all he could see was Claire Mercer standing in his old apartment seven years earlier, wearing his white shirt and laughing while rain struck the windows.
“Claire what?”
Sophie shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Grant reached for the bracelet.
There was a small silver plate hidden beneath the cracked beads.
Years of dirt covered the engraving.
Grant wiped it with his thumb.
Two initials appeared.
G.B.
He nearly dropped it.
Claire had given him a purple-beaded bracelet as a joke shortly after they started dating.
She had made two of them herself.
One said C.M.
The other said G.B.
Grant had lost his during a business trip years ago.
Or at least he thought he had.
“Where did you get this?”
“My mom gave it to me.”
“When?”
“Before the bad night.”
Grant’s voice became quieter.
“What bad night?”
Sophie’s eyes filled with tears.
“The night the men came.”
A knock sounded at the office door.
Victor Hale entered without waiting.
He wore a dark suit and carried his leather briefcase.
His expression was calm until he saw the bracelet in Grant’s hand.
Then something changed.
It lasted less than a second.
But Grant saw it.
Recognition.
Fear.
Victor quickly recovered.
“So this is Sophie.”
Sophie immediately moved backward.
Grant noticed.
Victor smiled.
“There’s no reason to be afraid of me.”
Sophie stared at him.
Then she grabbed Grant’s hand.
Her fingers were ice cold.
“That’s him.”
Victor’s smile disappeared.
Grant slowly turned toward her.
“Who?”
Sophie pointed directly at the man Grant had trusted for fifteen years.
“The man who came to Haven House every month.”
Victor laughed softly.
“Children confuse faces all the time.”
Sophie shook her head violently.
“No.”
“You gave Mrs. Shaw the envelopes.”
Victor looked at Grant.
“This is absurd.”
Sophie’s next words erased whatever confidence remained on Victor’s face.
“And you told her Mr. Bennett could never know we were alive.”
Grant did not move.
Victor did not move either.
Then Grant’s office door opened again.
Marian stood there, pale.
“Grant.”
Her voice trembled.
“Owen Keller just called.”
Grant kept his eyes on Victor.
“What did he find?”
Marian swallowed.
“Haven House reported Sophie missing yesterday.”
“That isn’t all.”
She looked directly at Grant.
“They never reported Luke missing.”
Grant frowned.
“Why not?”
Marian’s face tightened.
“Because according to Haven House records, Luke Bennett died three years ago.”
Sophie screamed.
May you like
“My brother is alive.”
And Victor Hale quietly reached for his phone.
