PART 2
For several seconds, I could only stare at Harrison Cole.
The envelope felt too heavy in my hands, though it contained only paper. A photograph. Legal documents. My name printed in clean black ink beside numbers so large they looked unreal.
Around us, the diner remained frozen.
Marlene, the owner, stood behind the counter with a coffee pot suspended midair. The cook leaned out from the kitchen window. Customers who had complained ten minutes earlier about cold fries now watched in silence as though the room had become a stage.
I wanted to disappear.
Instead, I looked down at the photograph.
It showed a young woman standing beside a lake, smiling into sunlight. Her brown hair was windblown, one hand resting on her rounded stomach.
I knew that smile.
My mother.
Only younger than I had ever seen her.
Beside her stood a man I did not recognize. Tall. Dark-haired. Wearing a navy sweater and looking at her with an expression so gentle it made my chest ache.
On the back, written in faded ink, were three words.
For our daughter.
My throat tightened.
“Our daughter?” I whispered.
Harrison’s eyes softened. “Claire, I think we should speak somewhere private.”
The words should have sounded like a command coming from a man like him. Instead, they sounded careful. Almost protective.
I folded the photograph back into the envelope with shaking fingers.
“I’m still on shift,” I said, because my mind grabbed the smallest practical thing it could find.
Marlene finally moved.
“Claire,” she said quietly, “go.”
I looked at her. “But the lunch rush—”
“Go,” she repeated, gentler this time. “Burgers can wait.”
A few customers murmured agreement. Someone even said, “Take your time, honey,” and for some reason that nearly broke me.
Harrison glanced toward the front door. “My car is outside. We can talk there, or anywhere you choose.”
That surprised me too.
Men with six black SUVs did not usually ask waitresses where they felt comfortable.
I tightened my grip on the envelope. “Not in your car.”
“Of course.”
“There’s a park across the street.”