Page 26 of The One Who Changed Everything

More silence.

“Who got to you?” I pressed. “Who made sure I never found her?”

A bitter laugh scraped its way out of my throat. My father. It had to be him. The only person with enough influence to manipulate things behind my back. I never should have used the family PI.

“I can’t talk about this,” Jack muttered. “I shouldn’t have even said—”

“Unbelievable.”

“Evan, let it go.”

But I couldn’t. Because this wasn’t just about Samantha. It was about Sophia. About the years I lost. About the fact that someone had madesureI’d never find the one girl I had ever given a piece of my heart to. And not just anyone. My own father.

How could he?

The Mercer legacy. That’s what it was always about for him. Control. Image. Keeping up appearances while the real fire raged behind closed doors.

The anger was still there, a living thing coiled tight in my chest. But beneath it, something else was taking root. A resolve. An intention. Not to let the sins of the father become the sins of the son. Sophia was out there, a young girl who needed her dad. And I was going to be that for her, even if I had to crawl through the wreckage of my family's making to do it.

CHAPTER 13

Samantha

Itucked the last brightly illustrated book back onto the shelf, children's laughter filling the air of The Minden Public Library's children's area. It was a cute space, but the peeling paint on the walls and the threadbare carpet spoke of a budget stretched too thin. Yet, in that moment, the sound of pure joy managed to lift the weight from my shoulders, if only for a breath or two.

"Did you like the story about Otter and Fox?" I asked, smiling at the sea of small, eager faces gathered around me.

"Yeeeees!" they cheered in unison, their enthusiasm infectious.

“Would you eat that snack that Otter made his sick friend?”

“Nooooo,” came the chorus of replies.

I laughed. "Remember, books are treasures that take you on adventures," I told them, my eyes scanning the room, taking in the need for renovation even as I tried to focus on their shining faces. "Make sure to come back next week to hear about the pirate who loved to read!"

As the kids scattered, their guardians offering me grateful nods, I began stacking chairs, my mind already racing with the to-do list that awaited me. That respite was short-lived. Mr.Henley, approached me, his expression serious, brows knitted above rimless glasses.

"Samantha," he began, his tone suggesting yet another item was about to be added to my workload. "I need to talk to you about the renovation funding."

"Of course." I straightened up, slipping back into my professional self. "Did one of the grants come through?”

He shook his head.

"I see," I replied, feeling the pressure settle back onto my shoulders, heavier than before. "So what do you need from me?"

"You've always had a knack for rallying support when it counts. If you want this renovation…" He paused. "It has to be you who makes it happen."

"You want me to get funding for the renovation," I said, pushing past the tightness in my throat, “On my own?"

"We can’t let the community down, Samantha," he said with a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "And honestly, if you can’t manage to lead a minor project like this… Well, I’m not sure you’re the kind of leader this library needs.”

"Leader, huh?" I murmured, half to myself, as Mr. Henley walked away. I thought he was supposed to be the leader.

Of course, that would require actual work. And I was pretty sure he was allergic to it.

With everything else on my plate, the idea that I had to get funding for this renovation was laughable. And for him to insinuate my job was on the line if I couldn’t do what he hadn’t been able to do in ten years? What a jerk.

But then, I'd never been one to back down from a challenge. If it was a champion the library needed, then that's what I'd be.

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