Chapter 9 - The Other Side of the Truth
“Sarah?” I breathed, my hand tightening around the phone.
On the other end of the line, a choked sob broke through the static. “I… I just got a call from Kevin. He’s hysterical. He’s sitting in a park downtown, and he told me everything—about you showing up at Daniel’s house, about the lies, about the money…”
My heart ached for the boy. “Is he safe?”
“He’s with me now,” Sarah said, her voice shaking violently. “I drove down as soon as he called. Elena… I need to see you. For fourteen years, Daniel told me you threatened him, that you swore out restraining orders, that if I ever tried to contact you or anyone from that life, he would make sure I never saw my son again.”
“He told me the exact opposite,” I said, closing my eyes against the sudden rush of emotion. “He told me you had vanished, that you didn’t want anything to do with him, and that I was the villain who ruined our marriage.”
A heavy silence settled over the line, broken only by the sound of Sarah’s ragged breathing.
“He played us both,” Sarah whispered, the realization settling in with crushing weight. “He kept us isolated from each other so the truth could never come out. He used my son as a pawn to cover his tracks and bleed him dry.”
“We can fix this, Sarah,” I said firmly, opening the truck door and sliding into the passenger seat while Michael started the engine. “Kevin is a good kid. He deserves to know the whole truth—not just about Daniel’s lies, but about the family he actually has.”
“Where are you now?” Sarah asked.
“We’re heading back into the city,” I replied. “Text me the address of where you are. Michael and I will meet you there.”
I hung up and looked over at Michael, who was watching me carefully from the driver’s seat.
May you like
“That was Sarah,” I said quietly. “She has Kevin.”
Michael shifted the truck into drive and pulled away from the curb. “Let’s go bring him home.”
