Chapter 10: The Truth He Couldn't Ignore
612 Words
The children's drawing lay quietly on Adrian's desk.
A mommy.
A little boy.
A little girl.
And a tall man standing beside them.
"A Happy Family."
He had intended to throw it away.
Instead...
He found himself unfolding it again.
And again.
And again.
Monday morning.
Blackwood Group was unusually busy.
Employees rushed through the lobby, preparing for the quarterly financial review.
Emma walked in with a cup of coffee in one hand and a stack of reports in the other.
She kept her head down.
She had spent the entire weekend convincing herself that the encounters at the bookstore and the park had been nothing more than coincidences.
They had to be.
Because if they weren't...
Everything she had built over the last four years could collapse.
"Ms. Carter."
Emma stopped.
Daniel approached her with his usual calm expression.
"The CEO would like to see you."
Again.
She swallowed quietly.
"I'll be right there."
Inside the CEO's office...
Adrian stood by the window with his hands in his pockets.
He didn't turn around immediately.
"Close the door."
Emma obeyed.
For several seconds...
Silence filled the room.
Finally, Adrian spoke.
"How are your children?"
Emma's heart skipped a beat.
"They're... fine."
"I'm glad."
She frowned slightly.
This wasn't the Adrian she remembered.
There was no sarcasm.
No coldness.
Only quiet curiosity.
"I wanted to thank you."
Emma blinked.
"...For what?"
"For returning my umbrella."
She placed it on the table.
"Thank you."
Their fingers almost touched.
Almost.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence felt heavier than any argument they had ever had.
"You may go."
Emma nodded and quickly left.
The moment the door closed...
Adrian let out a slow breath.
Something was changing.
And he no longer knew how to stop it.
That evening...
Daniel entered the office carrying a thin brown envelope.
"You asked me to look into Ms. Carter's missing records."
Adrian gestured for him to continue.
"I couldn't find much."
"No hospital records."
"No employment."
"No rental history."
"It was as if she disappeared."
Adrian frowned.
"There is one thing, though."
Daniel placed a single document on the desk.
"It isn't proof."
"But I thought you should see it."
Adrian picked it up.
It was a registration form from Little Stars Daycare.
Only the first page.
The rest had been blacked out for privacy.
He read it slowly.
Guardian: Emma Carter
Children: Ethan Carter... Ella Carter
His gaze stopped.
Date of Birth.
His heartbeat slowed.
Then quickened.
He looked at the calendar on his desk.
Four years ago...
The month Emma disappeared.
He counted again.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The dates...
Matched.
Perfectly.
His hand tightened around the paper.
"No..."
He whispered the word as if saying it aloud would make it real.
"This can't be..."
Daniel watched him carefully.
"Sir?"
Adrian didn't answer.
His mind raced through memories he had buried years ago.
Emma crying.
Their final argument.
The day she disappeared.
The silence that followed.
Then...
The little boy's blue eyes.
The little girl's bright smile.
The drawing.
"A Happy Family."
His breathing became uneven.
Not because he had found the truth.
But because...
For the first time...
The impossible no longer felt impossible.
He slowly looked up at Daniel.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Daniel."
"Yes, sir."
"I don't want assumptions."
"Understood."
"I want the truth."
Daniel nodded.
"What would you like me to do?"
Adrian's eyes returned to the paper in his hand.
Every instinct told him there was something Emma had never said.
Something that had changed both of their lives.
He folded the document carefully.
Then spoke the words that would change everything.
"Find out what happened four years ago."
- Writer
