Davina's Legacy

After The Echo

It had been three weeks since Davina broke down in the bathroom of Verona Blu.

Three weeks since she opened that video.

Since then, she’d become a ghost in her own home.

Every morning, she left the mansion before sunrise, slipping out the door in heels and silence, long before anyone else stirred. And every night, she returned long past midnight, always after the house had gone quiet.

The only person who’d laid eyes on her in all that time was Collins. He’d dropped by a few times, first casually, then out of worry.

But soon, even that changed.

Every time he stopped by the office, her secretary would offer the same rehearsed line.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Collins. Miss Straton is currently in a board meeting. She asked not to be disturbed.”

When he tried calling, the line rang out until voicemail.

Eventually, he stopped trying.

---

At home, the tension thickened.

Mrs. Straton noticed her daughter’s absence more than anyone. It gnawed at her.

“She hasn’t sat at the dining table in weeks,” she said one evening, pacing the study while her husband sat on the couch, reading glasses perched at the end of his nose.

“She’s just adjusting to the new role,” he replied calmly, setting his tablet down. “You know how demanding the first few months are. Especially for someone like Davina.”

“This isn’t just pressure from work,” she said. “She’s avoiding us. Me. Melissa. Even Collins. She comes in like a shadow and vanishes again before sunrise. That’s not normal.”

He sighed. “She’s always handled pain differently. You know she doesn't like to be seen when she’s vulnerable.”

His wife folded her arms. “I used to know when she was hurting. I used to be able to reach her.”

He stood and walked over, placing his hands on her shoulders. “She’ll come around. Davina’s not one to shatter, she retreats until she’s strong enough to stand again.”

“But what if this time she’s breaking instead?” she whispered.

He held her a little tighter. “Then we’ll catch her before she falls.”

---

That night, the house was dim and quiet as always when Davina walked through the front door.

The ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway was the only sound… until.....

“Davina.”

She froze.

Her mother stood in the living room, arms folded, robe wrapped tight around her, eyes weary but waiting.

“I didn’t know we still lived in the same house,” her mother added.

Davina said nothing. She set her bag down slowly and stepped out of her heels.

“You’ve been avoiding me. Avoiding all of us,” her mother said firmly.

“I’ve been working,” Davina replied flatly, not meeting her eyes.

“At all hours? Every day? You don’t eat with us. You don’t speak to your sister. You ignore Collins. You barely even acknowledge the staff. Do you think no one notices?”

Davina moved to walk past her.

“Davina, stop.” The tone sharpened. “I deserve better than silence.”

Davina turned slowly. “Do you want me to fake a smile for you? Pretend nothing happened? Pretend I’m not… unraveling?”

“You don’t have to pretend,” her mother said, her voice softening. “But you also don’t have to go through it alone. I’m your mother. Let me in.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Davina said, arms crossed.

“Then help me understand,” she pleaded. “What happened to my daughter? What changed that night? You were laughing with Melissa. You were fine, and then you were not. Did something happen?”

Davina’s jaw tightened. “It’s not something I want to talk about.”

“But you need to talk about it!” her mother said, stepping closer. “I’m not here to judge. I’m here to listen. Just tell me why you’re hurting.”

Davina’s voice rose suddenly. “Because talking doesn’t fix anything! It doesn’t undo what I saw. It doesn’t bring them back!”

Her mother blinked. “Who?”

Davina stepped back. “You wouldn’t get it.”

“Try me,” her mother said gently.

“I can’t!” Davina shouted, then lowered her voice, eyes burning. “Because every time I look at you, I remember what I lost. And you—you get to smile like everything is fine. You get to laugh with Melissa, host brunches, dance at company parties. But I watched my real mother die. I saw her beg for my life and still get a bullet to the head. And every moment I spend pretending I’m okay makes me hate myself a little more.”

Silence fell like a curtain.

Her mother took a shaky breath. “I never meant to replace her.”

Davina’s voice cracked. “But you did.”

Her mother stepped forward, her own eyes glistening. “I didn’t know it would hurt you like this. I didn’t know.....”

“I can’t do this,” Davina whispered, backing away. “I’m sorry.”

She turned and walked toward the stairs, leaving her mother standing in the stillness of the room.

The next morning after the confrontation with her mother, Davina sat at her desk, eyes scanning through figures on a screen she wasn’t really seeing.

She’d barely slept. Her body was functioning, but her heart was heavy. Even her reflection in the dark glass of her office window looked like someone else.

Then a knock.

She expected Rayna or another team lead, but when she looked up, her father stood in the doorway, dressed simply in gray slacks and a navy button-down, no entourage, no briefcase.

Just him.

She stood instinctively. “Dad?”

“Morning, sweetheart,” he said gently, stepping inside.

“You… didn’t call.”

“I thought if I did, you might tell me not to come.”

Davina blinked. She didn’t know how to respond.

He walked slowly across the room and sat down in the chair opposite her. “Maria told your mother you left before dawn again. And that you looked… tired.”

Davina sighed and sat back down.

He studied her, not as a CEO, but as his daughter. “You’re not okay. And that’s alright. But locking yourself in this place like it’s a fortress, it’s not going to help.”

“I’m not hiding,” she said quietly.

He tilted his head. “Aren’t you?”

She didn’t answer.

“Your mother is scared, Davina. Melissa doesn’t say it out loud, but she misses you. And Collins… well, he’s still hanging around like a loyal dog hoping his best friend will finally open the door.”

Davina stared at her hands. “I didn’t mean to shut them out. I just… I couldn’t breathe.”

He leaned forward. “I don’t know what you saw that night, or what came back to you. You’ve always been private with your pain. But whatever it is, it’s eating you alive.”

Her eyes burned.

“I didn’t want to be weak,” she said, voice shaking. “Not in front of Mom. Or Collins. Or anyone.”

He reached out and took her hand. “You’re not weak. You’re surviving. But you don’t have to survive alone.”

Davina’s face crumpled.

She tried to fight the tears, but it was useless. They came like a flood, and her father didn’t hesitate. He stood and pulled her into a tight embrace.

She sobbed into his shoulder, just like she had when she was little, before everything shattered.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered. “Let yourself fall. We’ll be here to catch you.”

---

Davina stayed at the office the rest of the day, but there was a quiet shift in her.

By 6 p.m., for the first time in weeks, she walked into the house while the sky was still colored with sunset.

She didn’t go to her room.

She walked straight to her mother’s.

She paused in front of the door, unsure for a second, then knocked.

It opened almost immediately.

Her mother stood there in a satin robe, hair pinned back, eyes widening when she saw her.

“Davina…”

Before she could say a word, her mother wrapped her in the tightest hug she’d ever given.

Davina’s breath hitched.

She let herself melt into the embrace.

And then she cried, quietly at first, then harder, shoulders shaking.

Her mother didn’t let go.

“You don’t have to say anything,” she whispered, rocking her gently. “You’re here. That’s enough.”

That night, Davina didn’t go back to her own room.

She lay curled on the left side of her mother’s bed, just like she did when she was small, held by arms that didn’t ask for explanations.

---

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the wide windows. The aroma of cinnamon rolls and coffee floated up the stairs.

Davina walked into the dining room wearing sweats, no makeup, hair in a bun.

Melissa was mid-bite when she looked up, and nearly dropped her spoon.

“Oh my God,” she whispered dramatically. “It’s the ghost of Straton past.”

Garrett looked up from his plate, grinning. “She’s alive!”

Davina rolled her eyes, sliding into her seat. “Very funny.”

Her mother’s eyes welled with joy. “You’re not going to the office?”

Davina shook her head, sipping her orange juice. “I canceled everything. Figured the world won’t collapse without me for a day.”

Melissa gasped. “And the heavens opened!”

Garrett smirked. “Guess I’ll finally beat you to the office.”

“Doubt it,” Davina said. “You work from the kitchen.”

“Don’t judge my workflow,” he said, pointing a fork. “Genius thrives in chaos.”

They all laughed. It wasn’t loud, but it was real. And Davina felt it, warmth again, creeping into her chest.

---

Later that afternoon, Davina sent a short text to Collins:

"Meet me? The range. Usual time."

He didn’t ask questions. He just replied:

"I’ll be there."

---

The sun was low when she arrived at the private shooting range they’d used for years, an odd pastime, born from a shared love of precision and adrenaline.

Collins was already setting up targets.

She picked up a handgun, loaded it smoothly, and stood beside him.

They fired in silence for several rounds.

Then she set the gun down and exhaled. “I’m sorry.”

He didn’t look surprised. “Took you long enough.”

“I didn’t know what to say.”

“You didn’t need to say anything. You just needed to show up.”

She looked over at him. “Thank you… for waiting.”

He holstered his pistol and leaned on the table. “I knew you’d come back when you were ready.”

She stepped closer. “So. What did you find on Adrian?”

His face darkened slightly. “A lot.”

She nodded. “Tell me everything.”

Collins pulled out his phone and unlocked a file.

“His full name is Adrian Marc Leclair. Born in Marseille. Former military, transferred to private intelligence by 23. His company, Leclair Dynamics, is real, but its biggest funding comes from a quiet offshore investor with ties to pre-2005 black ops activity.”

Davina frowned. “Go on.”

“He was also in the same region, same city, the night your parents were killed. The timeline aligns with what happened. But there’s more.”

Davina’s chest tightened. “What?”

Collins looked her dead in the eye.

“He didn’t just happen to be there, Davi. He was listed as an external security consultant assigned to the very estate your family was visiting when it happened.”

She felt the air leave her lungs.

“Adrian was there when they died,” Collins said.

The gun in her hand trembled slightly.

Davina stared ahead at the target downrange.

Her voice, when it came, was steady.

“Then we find out why.”