Page 18 of Truth

She pressed her face into my neck and played with the buttons on my shirt. I’d gone ahead and put on a dress shirt and slacks earlier, but I should have known better. By the time I was ready to leave for work, it would be wrinkled. Brianna loved to play with the front of my dress shirts.

We sat there for several minutes before she finally spoke up. “Why?”

“Why what?” I asked, brushing my lips against her hair.

“Why did he... why did he let... Ian... have me?”

I sighed and held her tighter, knowing this was going to be difficult for her. She must have blocked out most of the conversation I’d had with her father.

“He says he didn’t. He claims he doesn’t know who Pierce is.”

“How?” she asked, holding tighter to my shirt.

There was a part of me that didn’t want her to know this. I wanted to shield her from the pain. Logic, however, told me I needed to tell her. This was her life. She’d suffered for her father’s mistakes, and she should know the extent of it.

“When your mother got sick, your father started gambling. He got in over his head and had to borrow money from a man named Dumas to pay off his debts. He says he didn’t want to involve you, and a part of me buys that, but it doesn’t change what happened.”

She was quiet for a long time, but I waited. I knew she’d want more, but I wanted to give her a chance to digest the new information I’d provided.

“But...”

“But what?”

“The car. What about the car he sent for me?” My shirt was bunched tight in her hands. There would be no saving it.

“Your father says he went to see Dumas that day and that Dumas brought you up in conversation. Dumas said he wanted to meet you. The car was his idea, according to your father. You were supposed to be joining them for dinner.” I paused. “When you didn’t arrive, Dumas let your father know that his debts had been paid in full.”

“Ian,” she whispered.

“Yes.”

There was a long pause.

“So, John didn’t know? He didn’t... sell me?”

“That’s his story.”

“You don’t believe him?”

“I don’t know if I believe him or not. He’s an officer of the law, yet at no point in time did he file a missing person’s report for you. If he wasn’t involved, why didn’t he do that? If I suspected my daughter had been taken, I would move heaven and earth to find her.”

Chapter Seven

Brianna

Stephan held me in his lap until Lily arrived. Even then, he seemed reluctant to let me go. It was only as I noticed his struggle to release me that I realized how much what I’d done must have bothered him. It wasn’t just me my bad choice affected, it was him, too.

He answered the door, and I hung back. Lily was dressed in one of her designer suits and had a large plastic bag in her arms. Stephan took the bag from her, and she walked over and hugged me. I hesitated for a brief moment, before hugging her back. In some ways, it felt odd having her comfort me after what I’d done. It was different with Stephan, almost as if we were comforting each other. Lily didn’t need comfort. It was all for me, and I didn’t feel as if I deserved it.

We walked over to the table where Stephan was laying out the contents of the bag Lily had brought with her. There were sandwiches, chips, and cupcakes with icing towering so high it was almost as tall as the cake part.

I waited until both Stephan and Lily took their seats before I sat down. They both selected a sandwich. I knew I should follow their lead as well, but I held back. I wasn’t sure why, exactly, other than the guilt I still felt. Stephan reached over and took my hand. I looked up to meet his gaze.

“Stop worrying about what you can’t change. We learn from our mistakes, and we move forward. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” I said.

He smiled.

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