Chapter 2
The stranger in the gray coat moved through the airport crowd with his eyes fixed on Serena.
I recognized him.
Not immediately.
But when he stepped beneath the bright overhead lights, my stomach tightened.
His name was Victor Hale.
Five years earlier, he had worked as my father's personal attorney.
I'd met him at family dinners.
At company meetings.
At the celebration my father threw when I became chief operating officer of Carter Security.
Victor had always smiled too much.
And I'd never liked the way he looked at Serena.
Now he was walking toward us with a phone pressed against his ear.
Serena gripped Lily's hand.
"We need to leave."
I stepped between them and Victor.
"Why?"
"Adrian, please."
Her voice was trembling.
I looked down at Lily.
The little girl had stopped smiling.
She was holding her stuffed rabbit so tightly that its ears were folded against her chest.
Whatever had frightened Serena was frightening her daughter too.
And if my growing suspicion was right, Lily might be my daughter.
I wasn't going to let a stranger approach them without understanding what was happening.
Victor stopped several feet away.
His expression changed when he recognized me.
"Adrian."
I stared at him.
"Victor."
He smiled thinly.
"What an unexpected reunion."
I didn't smile.
"What are you doing here?"
He glanced past my shoulder.
"Serena and I need to discuss a private matter."
Serena shook her head.
"No, we don't."
Victor's smile faded.
"Serena, let's be reasonable."
I moved slightly closer to him.
"She said no."
He looked me up and down.
"Still playing the hero, I see."
I felt my jaw tighten.
"Still avoiding questions?"
Victor ignored me.
He looked at Serena.
"Your flight was supposed to arrive yesterday."
Her face went pale.
I turned toward her.
"You know him?"
She nodded.
"He knows where we've been staying."
I felt a cold sensation move through my body.
"Why?"
Victor interrupted.
"Adrian, this doesn't concern you."
I looked at Lily.
Then back at him.
"I think it might."
Victor's expression hardened.
"You should speak to your father before getting involved."
My father.
Richard Carter.
A wealthy businessman.
A powerful man.
And the person who had told me Serena left because she didn't love me anymore.
I remembered that conversation clearly.
I had returned from a business trip to London.
Serena's apartment was empty.
Her phone was disconnected.
My father was waiting in my office.
He handed me a letter.
According to him, Serena had decided to start a new life overseas.
I read that letter so many times that I memorized every word.
Adrian, I can't give you the future you want.
Please don't look for me.
I'm sorry.
I kept it for five years.
Now Victor was standing in front of me, bringing my father into a situation that made no sense.
"What does my father have to do with Serena?"
Victor glanced at his watch.
"Call him."
"Answer me."
He leaned closer.
"Some family matters are better left buried."
My anger rose.
But before I could respond, Lily tugged my sleeve.
"Mister Adrian?"
I crouched.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Mommy doesn't like that man."
Her voice was small.
I looked at Serena.
She had tears in her eyes.
I stood.
"Victor, we're leaving."
He shook his head.
"That would be unwise."
I pulled out my phone.
"Then we can discuss this with airport security."
His expression changed.
For the first time, he looked uncertain.
Serena stepped forward.
"Leave us alone, Victor."
He stared at her.
Then he looked at Lily.
I didn't like the way he studied her.
"Richard isn't going to be happy," he said.
Serena whispered, "I don't care anymore."
Victor turned away.
But before leaving, he looked at me.
"You have no idea what she did five years ago."
I held his gaze.
"Then I guess I'm about to find out."
He disappeared into the crowd.
I watched until he was gone.
Then I turned to Serena.
She looked exhausted.
Not simply tired from traveling.
Exhausted in a way I recognized from people who had spent years afraid.
"Come with me," I said.
She shook her head.
"Adrian, I shouldn't have come."
"Where were you going?"
She hesitated.
"Atlanta."
"Why?"
Her eyes moved toward Lily.
"Because I couldn't keep running."
I looked at the child standing beside her.
She was trying to put her stuffed bunny's shoe back on.
An ordinary little girl doing an ordinary little thing.
And yet my entire world was changing around her.
I took a slow breath.
"Serena, I need the truth."
"I know."
"Is Lily my daughter?"
She looked into my eyes.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she nodded.
"Yes."
The word hit me harder than anything I'd ever experienced.
I stepped backward.
My daughter.
I had a daughter.
A five-year-old daughter.
Who had just hugged me without knowing who I was.
I looked at Lily.
She smiled shyly.
I wanted to pick her up.
I wanted to cry.
I wanted to ask about her first steps.
Her first words.
Her birthdays.
Every moment I'd missed.
But I couldn't move.
Serena began crying.
"I'm sorry."
I shook my head.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
She covered her mouth.
"I tried."
My chest tightened.
"What?"
"I tried to tell you."
I stared at her.
"When?"
"When I found out I was pregnant."
My breathing became uneven.
"You never called me."
"I did."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Adrian, I called your office. Your personal phone. Your home."
I stared at her.
"Nobody told me."
She wiped her cheeks.
"Your father did."
The words hung between us.
My father.
Again.
Serena reached into her purse.
She pulled out a folded photograph.
It showed a young pregnant woman standing outside a clinic.
Her face was swollen from crying.
I recognized Serena immediately.
On the back was a date.
Five years earlier.
She handed me another piece of paper.
A copy of a letter.
Addressed to me.
My hands began shaking.
"I wrote this after your father told me you didn't want the baby."
I looked up sharply.
"What?"
Serena stared at me.
"He said you knew."
My heart pounded.
"Knew what?"
She swallowed.
"That I was pregnant."
I shook my head.
"I never knew."
Her knees seemed to weaken.
I reached for her arm.
"Serena?"
She looked at me with an expression I would never forget.
A mixture of horror and heartbreak.
"Then he lied to both of us."
I stared at the letter in my hand.
And suddenly, the five years I'd spent blaming Serena began to look very different.
Because if my father had lied about her pregnancy, I had to wonder what else he'd done.
Then Serena whispered something that made my blood run cold.
"Adrian, he didn't just make me leave."
I looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
She glanced toward Lily.
May you like
Then back at me.
"He made sure you would never find us."
