Page 185 of Without a Trace
“Let them.”
Her expression shifted—respect, maybe. Maybe regret.
“I need answers,” I said, steady now. “And I’m not asking for permission.”
“We leave before sunrise,” she said. “ Quietly.”
She turned, but her voice came over her shoulder.
“Don’t bring anything you don’t want to lose,” Brielle said as she turned away. “The Red Veil doesn’t return things whole.”
And I knew then—I wasn’t just going to meet the man who gave me his blood.
I was going to meet the part of myself I’d buried to survive.
Scarlett
The morning broke in watercolor—streaks of coral and indigo spilling across the horizon like the sky hadn’t made up its mind yet.
Everything looked too calm.
Brielle and I moved through the trees, no noise but the distant hush of waves and the thrum in my chest.
I didn’t look back until we hit the dock.
The villas were soft in the morning light, half-shadowed, half-gold, like the memory of something you’re already losing.
That was the moment it hit.
He was alive.
After all these years, after the silence, the grief, the hole in my chest where a father should’ve been—he was alive.
And I didn’t know if I wanted to run to him or punch someone for keeping it from me.
Brielle stepped into the boat first. Sleek. Black. Unmarked. I followed, settling on the bench across from her, fingers clutched tight in my lap.
The engine rumbled to life, low and steady, and the island began to drift behind us—receding like a dream I wasn’t sure I’d wake up from.
I glanced at her. She sat perfectly still, one hand curled over the side of the boat, nails short and unpainted. Her eyes stayed fixed on the horizon, unreadable as ever.
“You always this quiet before betrayal?” I asked lightly.
That earned a ghost of a smile. “You’ll know if it’s betrayal when we get there.”
I watched her a beat longer. “You could’ve told me he was alive. Sooner.”
“I wasn’t sure you'd believe me.” Her gaze flicked to mine. “Or that you were ready.”
“I’m not.”
Another smile. Barely there. “Good. Neither was I.”
“You like this,” I said suddenly. “The chaos. The secrets.”
She tilted her head. “I like you.”
That stopped me.
