Katrina

Chapter Five - Story A

Story A — The Present

THE THINGS WE CANNOT SAY

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Avery stood halfway down the stairs, her gaze fixed on the woman beside her father.

Then she blinked.

“Aunt Camila?”

Katherine felt the name strike somewhere deep inside her chest.

Avery descended another step, looking from Katherine to Jason and back again. Her expression shifted from surprise to concern as she noticed the tension in the hallway.

“Auntie, what's wrong?”

Katherine tried to answer.

Nothing came out.

The little girl standing before her was no longer the four-year-old she had left behind. Avery had grown taller, her features a bit different and her voice had changed. Yet Katherine could still see the child she remembered in the shape of her eyes and the stubborn little crease between her brows.

Now here was her little Avery, and Katherine was standing before her, a stranger wearing a familiar face.

Avery studied her more closely.

Something about the woman's eyes bothered her. Not in a frightening way. It was simply a feeling she couldn't explain, like remembering a dream that disappeared whenever she tried to understand it.

She shook off the thought and glanced at the little girl sleeping against Katherine's shoulder.

“Who's baby is that?”

Katherine looked down at Michelle.

Her daughter slept peacefully, unaware that the family she had never known was standing around her.

“She's…” Katherine swallowed.

Her voice trembled.

Jason noticed.

He had prepared himself for questions, anger, even tears. He had not prepared himself for the sight of Katherine struggling to speak to their daughter.

“Avery,” he interrupted gently.

She turned to him. “What?”

“Aunt Camila is tired. She's had a long day and needs to rest.”

Avery frowned.

“But I was just asking...”

“You can talk to her later, sweetheart.”

“But—”

“I promise. Go downstairs for me, please. I'll come and see you in a little while.”

Avery hesitated, her gaze returning to Katherine.

“Okay.”

She descended the remaining steps, glancing back once before disappearing down the hallway.

Katherine remained still until she could no longer hear her footsteps.

Then she turned to Jason.

“Why didn't you tell her?”

His brows drew together. “Tell her what?”

“Don't do that, Jason.”

“I'm not doing anything.”

“She's my daughter!”

Her voice rose, but she quickly lowered it, glancing at Michelle to make sure she hadn't woken.

Jason's jaw tightened.

“And you think I don't know that?”

“Then why did you let her think I was Camila?”

“What was I supposed to do? Tell her in the hallway that the mother she's believed was dead for three years is standing right in front of her? While she's trying to understand why everyone is behaving strangely?”

Katherine flinched.

She looked away.

“I couldn't even speak to her.”

Jason's expression softened for a moment.

“I saw that.”

“No, you didn't.” Katherine shook her head. “You saw me standing there. You didn't feel what it was like to look at my own child and realize she doesn't know who I am.”

She adjusted Michelle in her arms, brushing a strand of hair away from the little girl's forehead.

“She was so little when I left,” she whispered. “She used to run to me when I came into a room. She would hold my hand and refuse to let go.”

Her eyes filled.

“She might remember me, Jason. She might have questions she's been too young to ask. And I stood there while she called me Camila.”

Jason looked toward the door.

He remembered Avery's confused expression and the way she had studied Katherine's face before walking away.

He had wanted to protect his daughter from a truth he wasn't ready to explain.

But perhaps there was no gentle way to introduce something that could shatter everything she believed about her family.

“I wasn't going to dump all of this on them at once,” he said.

Katherine turned back to him.

“Dump all of what?”

“The fact that you're alive. The fact that everything we've believed for three years might be a lie. The fact that you have a daughter none of us knew about. And the fact that you came back because you believe someone might be after you.”

He paused.

“Whatever happened to you could put every one of us in danger.”

Katherine's expression hardened.

“So you decided to keep me a secret?”

“For a little while, yes.”

“You don't get to make that decision for me.”

“I'm trying to give myself time to understand what's happening before this entire house descends into chaos.”

“By lying to your children?”

“By figuring out how to tell them without making everything worse!”

His voice rose.

Michelle stirred, and both of them fell silent.

Katherine rocked her gently until she settled again.

“You think you can control this,” she whispered.

“I think I can control how we handle it.”

“You couldn't control what happened to us before.”

The words landed between them like a slap.

Jason's face changed.

Katherine knew she had hurt him. She had seen that particular expression countless times during their marriage.

But the hurt between them had grown too deep for either of them to pretend it wasn't there.

He looked away first.

“Get some sleep,” he said quietly. “You and that baby needs the rest.”

“And tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow, we'll talk.”

“Will we? Or will you decide what everyone is allowed to know and expect me to follow your lead?”

His gaze returned to hers.

“I don't expect anything from you, Katherine.”

“Good.”

He reached for the doorknob.

“Jason.”

He stopped without turning.

Katherine's voice softened.

“She didn't even know me.”

His hand tightened around the knob.

“I know.”

“No, you don't.”

For another moment, he stood there.

Then he left.

The door clicked shut behind him.

Katherine stared at it, listening to his footsteps fade down the hallway.

Only when she was certain he was gone did she sit on the edge of the bed.

Michelle slept against her chest.

Katherine kissed her forehead, fighting the ache that had settled deep inside her.

“I don't know how to do this,” she whispered.

Her daughter stirred, curling closer to her.

Katherine closed her eyes.

For three years, she had imagined coming home.

She hadn't imagined how much it would hurt to find the people she loved living lives that no longer had a place for her.

---

Katherine woke before dawn.

For a moment, she lay still, listening to Michelle's quiet breathing.

Then she remembered the previous evening.

Jason.

Avery.

The hallway.

Aunt Camila.

She pressed a hand against her chest.

Michelle was still asleep.

Katherine rose quietly and washed, dressed, and gathered their few belongings. She moved carefully, pausing whenever the house creaked or a distant sound reached her ears.

She had learned not to take unnecessary chances.

The appointment she had been waiting for was approaching, and she could no longer afford to put off finding the right medical care for Michelle. Her daughter's history made that especially important. A premature birth and an already established medical condition were not things Katherine could simply ignore because their lives had become complicated.

But starting over again meant more than finding a hospital.

It meant finding a doctor she could trust, arranging the necessary care, and working out how to protect their privacy without putting Michelle at risk.

She would have to be careful.

More careful than ever.

Katherine lifted Michelle into her arms and gathered their things.

She paused at the guest-room door.

Down the hallway lay the rooms where Jason's children slept.

Her children.

She could go to Avery's room. She could stand beside her bed and finally tell her the truth.

She could tell her daughter that she had never stopped loving her.

But the thought of waking Avery only to leave her with more questions made Katherine hesitate.

She wasn't ready.

And neither was Avery.

Katherine stepped into the hallway and made her way downstairs, avoiding the areas where she might encounter anyone else in the house.

At the front door, she stopped briefly.

For one moment, she considered going back.

Then she tightened her hold on Michelle and left.

---

Jason woke shortly after seven.

He had barely slept.

Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Katherine standing in the hallway, staring at Avery as though her heart were breaking.

He had told himself that keeping the truth from the children for one night was the sensible thing to do. They needed time. He needed time.

Yet the longer he thought about it, the less certain he became.

He dressed and went to the guest room.

When he reached the door, he knocked.

“Katherine?”

No answer.

He knocked again.

“Katherine, are you awake?”

Silence.

He tried the handle and pushed the door open.

The room was empty.

Jason stopped.

The bed had been straightened. The bathroom door stood open, and the room looked as though no one had slept there.

He stepped inside.

“Katherine?”

He checked the bathroom, then the wardrobe.

Nothing.

Her belongings were gone.

A knot formed in his stomach.

He searched the adjoining hallway, then checked downstairs, moving from one room to another. The house was quiet, and there was no sign of Katherine or Michelle.

He returned to the guest room and stood in the doorway.

She had left.

The realization settled over him slowly, followed by a wave of worry he couldn't explain away.

He hadn't asked for her phone number the previous night. Why would he have? Three years ago, he had believed she was dead. Even now, some part of him was struggling to accept that she had stood in front of him only hours earlier.

He had no way to call her.

No idea where she might have gone.

And no certainty that she was safe.

Jason went downstairs again.

In the kitchen, he found breakfasts neatly covered on the counter: plates of scrambled eggs, toast, and fresh fruits.

He stared at it for a moment.

Katherine had prepared breakfast before leaving.

The small detail unsettled him more than it should have. She had been in the kitchen, moving quietly through his house while he slept, and he hadn't heard a thing.

She had made certain no one noticed her leaving.

Why?

Had she simply needed space after their argument?

Was she afraid of something?

Or had she decided that coming back to him had been a mistake?

Jason dragged a hand down his face.

He couldn't afford to assume the worst, but neither could he ignore what she had told him.

Katherine was in danger.

And now she had disappeared before sunrise.

He needed answers.

More importantly, he needed to make sure she and Michelle were safe.

Jason reached for his phone and opened his contacts.

Gabriel.

He hesitated briefly before calling.

Gabriel answered after several rings.

“Jason? It's barely morning. What's happened?”

“I need you to listen to me carefully.”

Something in Jason's voice made Gabriel fall silent.

“All right.”

“Katherine is alive.”

For a moment, there was no response.

Then Gabriel spoke.

“What did you just say?”

“Katherine is alive. She came to my house last night.”

“Where is she?”

“I don't know.”

“What do you mean, you don't know?”

“She left early this morning. I woke up and found the guest room empty.”

“Jason, if this is some kind of joke—”

“It's not.”

Jason gripped the phone tightly.

“I saw her, Gabriel. I spoke to her. She's alive, and she's in danger.”

The silence that followed was heavier this time.

“What kind of danger?”

“The kind that made her come back after three years of everyone believing she was dead.”

Jason paced across the kitchen.

“She told me someone might be after her. She believes the rest of your family could be in danger too.”

“Who is after her?”

“I don't know. She hasn't told me everything.”

“Then what do you know?”

“Not enough,” Jason admitted. “That's why I need you here.”

“I'm coming.”

“Bring everyone you can reach. We need the family together. They all need to hear this, and we need to work out what happened to Katherine before we lose any more time.”

Gabriel paused.

“What about work? Everyone has their own responsibilities.”

“Forget work. Whatever anyone had planned today can wait.”

Jason looked toward the empty guest room.

“This is more important.”

Gabriel didn't argue.

“I'll make the calls.”

“Come straight here.”

“I will.”

The call ended.

Jason lowered his phone.

He had wanted time to control the situation. Time to find the right words. Time to prepare his children for a truth that could turn their world upside down.

Instead, Katherine had vanished, Gabriel was on his way, and Jason was left with more questions than answers.

He looked at the covered breakfast on the counter.

Then he looked toward the front door.

Where had she gone?

Was she safe?

And after everything that had happened between them, would she come back at all?

Jason had no answers.

For the first time since Katherine had appeared at his door, he understood just how little control he truly had.