Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO FOLLOWED THE BOYS
Nathan canceled every meeting on his calendar.
For the first time in twenty years, he didn't care about business.
He cared about two four-year-old boys.
His sons.
That afternoon, he hired private security.
Emma refused.
“No.”
“They need protection.”
“They don't need strangers following them.”
“Someone threatened them.”
“Someone has threatened me for years.”
Nathan stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because every time I told someone, something happened.”
“What happened?”
“My apartment was searched.”
Nathan's expression changed.
“When?”
“Two years ago.”
“Anything stolen?”
“No.”
“Then what were they looking for?”
Emma shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Nathan walked to the window.
“Where did you live before this?”
She hesitated.
“Milwaukee.”
He turned.
“Why?”
“Because I thought Chicago wasn't safe.”
Nathan stared at her.
“You moved cities with two infants?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“Emma…”
“I didn't have a choice.”
Nathan looked at the boys' drawings.
“Who was helping you?”
“No one.”
He closed his eyes.
Four years.
She had done everything alone.
Then he heard laughter from the bedroom.
The twins ran into the living room.
Ethan held a toy rocket.
Noah carried a stuffed dinosaur.
Nathan knelt.
“Hey.”
The boys stopped.
Emma watched carefully.
Nathan smiled.
“I'm Nathan.”
Ethan tilted his head.
“We know.”
Nathan laughed softly.
“Right.”
Noah asked,
“Are you Daddy?”
The room went silent.
Nathan looked at Emma.
She didn't move.
Nathan looked back at the boy.
“I think I am.”
Noah smiled.
Ethan looked serious.
“Mom said you were gone.”
Nathan swallowed.
“I was.”
“Why?”
Nathan looked at Emma.
Because of a lie.
Because I was stupid.
Because I believed the wrong person.
Instead, he said,
“I made a mistake.”
Ethan thought about it.
“Can you fix it?”
Nathan's eyes burned.
“I'll try.”
That evening, Nathan stayed for dinner.
Emma cooked spaghetti.
Nathan sat at the tiny table between the boys.
Noah asked him about skyscrapers.
Ethan asked whether rockets could really reach Mars.
Nathan answered everything.
For the first time in years, he forgot about billion-dollar contracts.
Then the lights went out.
Emma froze.
Nathan immediately stood.
“Stay here.”
A crash came from the hallway.
The boys screamed.
Nathan ran toward the sound.
A window was shattered.
Cold Chicago air rushed inside.
On the floor was a small black envelope.
Nathan picked it up.
Inside was a photograph.
He stared.
It showed the hospital nursery four years earlier.
Emma stood beside the incubators.
The twins were visible through the glass.
On the back of the photograph was written:
ONE OF THEM WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE.
Nathan's heart stopped.
Emma saw it.
“No…”
Nathan turned.
“What does this mean?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear.”
Nathan's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A distorted male voice said,
“You should have stayed away.”
Nathan's voice hardened.
“Who are you?”
“You have no idea what your father did.”
Nathan looked at Emma.
“What did he do?”
The voice laughed.
“Ask him about the second birth certificate.”
The call ended.
Nathan immediately called his attorney.
“Find every birth certificate filed for Ethan and Noah.”
Emma whispered,
“Nathan…”
He turned.
“What?”
Her face was white.
“There aren't two birth certificates.”
Nathan froze.
“What?”
“There was only one.”
“Why?”
Emma looked toward the boys.
“Because one of them was registered under a different name.”
Nathan stared at her.
“Which one?”
Emma couldn't answer.
Then Ethan walked into the room.
“Mom?”
She turned.
Ethan held an old photograph.
“I found this in your drawer.”
Nathan looked at it.
It showed Emma holding one newborn baby.
Only one.
May you like
And standing beside her was Charles Harrison.
Nathan's father.
