Richard Carter.
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then he said,
“You look exactly like Rachel.”
My arms tightened around Ivy.
“I need to see Julian.”
“Julian isn’t available.”
“Then tell him Claire Bennett is here.”
Something flickered across his face.
“He knows.”
That stopped me.
“He knows I’m here?”
Richard’s gaze moved toward Ivy.
He saw her curls.
Her chin.
Her eyes.
Recognition was instant.
Then his expression hardened.
“He knew you were pregnant.”
I felt cold.
“And?”
“And he left.”
“I know that.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because I want to hear why from him.”
Richard stepped backward.
“You already have your answer.”
“No. I have yours.”
His eyes narrowed.
“You should go home.”
I turned toward my car.
For one second, I almost did.
Then the garden triggered another memory.
My mother crying.
Richard shouting from the doorway.
Don’t come back.
Then another image.
A small boy running down these same steps.
Crying.
Trying to follow our car.
Someone grabbing him around the waist and pulling him back.
Julian.
Then I remembered the bicycle.
My little hands squeezing the handlebars.
“Don’t let go!”
And Julian laughing behind me.
“I won’t! Keep going! I’ve got you!”
I stopped.
Maybe people changed.
Maybe that boy had grown into a man capable of abandoning his child.
But I was finished accepting truths that other people handed me without question.
I turned around.
“Richard.”
He looked irritated.
“You’re becoming emotional.”
“No.”
I walked back toward him.
“I’m becoming very clear.”
I shifted Ivy higher against my shoulder.
“I am not leaving until Julian looks me in the eye and tells me he does not want his daughter.”
Richard’s hand tightened around the doorframe.
“Claire—”
A voice came from inside.
“Dad.”
Richard went completely still.
Footsteps approached.
Then the voice came again.
“Move.”
Richard stepped aside.
And Julian walked onto the porch.
Part 6 — The Man Who Disappeared
For months, I had imagined what seeing Julian again would feel like.
Rage.
Relief.
Love.
Hatred.
I imagined slapping him.
Crying.
