CHAPTER 14: A MOTHERS GAZE
869 Words
The sudden screech of tires, the cloud of gravel, and the terrifying, recognizable face of Noel Anderson had ripped a hole in Ariel's carefully constructed world.
Three days later, the fear hadn't subsided; it had metastasized, consuming her appetite and stealing her sleep. Every time the bell above the café door tinkled, Ariel’s heart seized, anticipating the sight of a tailored suit and the cold calculation of the Anderson legal team.
She wasn't just afraid of Noel; she was afraid of what he represented. She knew Noel would have driven straight back to Henry, reporting the sighting and providing the exact location of the 'liability' Henry had tried to eliminate. She feared the Anderson machine was already mobilizing.
"Eat this, honey," Betty White insisted, pushing a small bowl of soup across the kitchen counter of their cozy rental cottage. "You look like you did right after the crash. He can't get to you if you're strong."
Ariel pushed the soup away, pacing the small space. "He knows, Mama. He saw them. He saw his eyes. The lie—the entire, painful sacrifice—is worthless now."
Betty wrapped Ariel in a sturdy, warm embrace. "It bought you three years of peace, and it kept you alive, Ariel. That's not worthless. And if he told Henry, we'd have a SWAT team here, not silence. He's wrestling with the truth right now. He's deciding whether to be Henry's son or their father."
Ariel pulled back, her eyes bleak. "That's the problem, Mama. He's both. And if he comes back, even if it's for forgiveness, he brings Henry's shadow with him. I can't let them be found."
Betty, ever the pragmatist, was already preparing their defenses. She had discreetly secured a small, dilapidated car and had packed two identical bags containing the absolute essentials—birth certificates, cash, and spare clothing—ready for another escape.
"If he comes here, we don't deny who you are, but we deny why you are here," Betty instructed, her voice low and firm. "We stick to the story: you left out of fear of the family's scrutiny, and you stayed away out of love for your daughters’ simple life. We don't mention 'Lighthouse.' We don't mention Henry's threats. We let him think it was all about his world being too cold for you."
Ariel nodded, finding a measure of calm in her mother's rock-solid certainty. Betty had spent her life shielding Ariel from life’s harsher truths; now, she was shielding her from the entire Anderson empire.
Ariel spent the afternoon reviewing the few pieces of paper that confirmed her new identity. She was Ellen Smith—a name as unassuming as her life. The twins, Asian and Esther, were registered under a birth certificate that listed a deceased father (Betty’s cousin, who had died years ago), a detail Betty had meticulously prepared.
She then went to the children's room. Asian was the restless, observant twin, always demanding to know the "why" behind everything. Esther was the shy, quiet twin, easily overwhelmed by new faces. Ariel knew if Noel returned, the twins would be his greatest vulnerability, and their greatest shield.
Ariel sat on the floor, sorting through their wooden blocks, the familiar, grounding presence of her daughters a potent antidote to her panic.
She looked at Asian, who was busy building a tower of impossible height. "Asian, honey, if that man who came to the café last week comes back, remember what Mama told you?"
Asian, without looking up, chanted the practiced response: "He's the kind traveler who got lost and likes coffee, and he's not family."
Ariel's heart ached at the practiced lie, but she had to enforce it. "That's right. He's just a traveler. And remember that the most important thing is that we are a team, right here."
Ariel looked from one twin to the other, her gaze a deep, loving acknowledgment of the immense sacrifice their lives represented. She reached up and placed a hand on a faded scar near her temple—a souvenir from the staged accident that had confirmed her greatest fear.
She knew Noel must have gone back to his life, his work, and the stable, beautiful woman Henry had provided for him. She didn't believe for a second that Noel would sacrifice his billion-dollar empire and his legacy to embrace a fugitive and two children he barely knew. He would try to compromise, to integrate them into his world.
But Ariel couldn't compromise. Bringing them back into the light meant putting them directly under Henry's executioner's hand.
She stood by the window, watching the waves crash against the shore. She was the one who ran; she had to be the one to keep running. She reaffirmed her vow: no matter how much Noel changed, no matter how much he begged for forgiveness, she would maintain the distance. Her life was no longer defined by the love she lost, but by the lives she protected.
She would remain Ellen Smith, and she would keep her children safe, even if it meant denying them their father forever.
- Writer
