Page 98 of Always Right

He’d aged.

It was obvious by the wrinkles in his eyes and the crease in his forehead.

Time was flying by and this was how we were spending it?

“He said he had someone else working with him, so the money would be split in three.”

The pressure in my chest came back full force, knocking the air out of my lungs. “Someone else?”

“Yes. But I didn’t have any part in it, Hannah. I swear to you. I’ve left that all behind. I hold a steady job and you know that and that’s a large reason why I can’t visit more often but I would never, ever do anything to harm you or Evie or Nathan.”

I wanted so badly for him to be lying. Deep down, I wanted it to be him because then it would be all over but this...this meant there was someone else. Someone else who had betrayed me and my heart couldn’t bear the uncertainty. I held the tears in, even though they blurred my vision, but spoke up, hoping if he knew something he would tell me the truth.

“Eugene’s been stalking me for over a year,” I admitted. My father muttered a curse under his breath, his hands balling into fists to his side. “The account was wiped out and he’s stalking me and there was a break in and it seems like it was all connected. I don’t know what he wants. I’m scared, dad. I can’t live like this. I moved away to start over and I started a new life with Derek and now this? Please, if you know something, anything, please tell me. I need this to be over.”

My dad looked at me for a few seconds before sitting down next to me and pulling me into his embrace. It was unusual for him to hold me and I couldn’t remember the last time he did...or the last time he comforted me, for that matter, but my armor began to crumble and a sob broke through my lips...and then another, and another...

It was all catching up to me: the fear, the heartache. I couldn’t keep up with it anymore. I was slipping, and I couldn’t stop it. He held me for a while, handing me one of the handkerchiefs that he kept in his pocket, lifting my face as he wiped my tears, like when I was a little girl. He smiled, as if remembering the same thing and held my hand in his.

“I do think I know who is working with him.” He swallowed, picking up the picture from the bed. “I’m assuming if you have this that means you have someone searching for information but Hannah, you won’t like the answer.”

Little by little, he told me what he knew...everything he had found, even the notes he’d taken on his phone. They were consistent with things I was aware of, things that I knew to be true as well.

I walked out of the room closer to the truth and more heartbroken than ever.

The blinding sun made me pause for a moment but my eyes quickly landed on a familiar man, leaning against a tan sedan. He was waiting for me.

Mark offered a smile, the saddest smile I’d seen on his face since I met him.

“You knew I would come question him, didn’t you?” My words, laced with fury, made him flinch.

“I did.”

“But you had a lead already, and you needed to confirm it.”

Mark shrugged, taking out his phone and scrolling through it. He was so fucking relaxed, it irritated me. How? When my life was falling apart?

“It’s not my dad.”

“I know.” He pulled up a picture on his phone, showing it to me and my heart sank. “Is this the same person he mentioned?”

It was hard to breathe.

The truth could be so cruel.

After a few seconds of hesitation, I nodded, taking a step back and holding it all in. Mark’s face was full of pity, but I didn’t want to see it.

“You need to figure this out by tomorrow, or I will.”

I left him standing there, walking away and to my car. I sat, and closed my eyes, refusing to see the world where my life fell apart. I sent Derek a message that was short and simple,

Hannah: I’m okay but I’m going for a drive. I love you.

The text bubble on my phone appeared and disappeared as he decided what to type until finally, his short message showed up on my screen.

Derek: Whatever you need, baby. I love you, too.

Chapter 36

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