Chapter 20 - A Daughter's Photograph
Helen quietly disappeared into the hallway.
She returned carrying a small cardboard box.
"Laura."
I looked at her.
"I found this in my storage locker yesterday."
She handed it to me.
"I think it belongs to you."
I opened it carefully.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
Old birthday cards.
Vacation tickets.
Children's drawings.
And one small framed picture.
Mark immediately recognized it.
His face softened.
"Our daughter..."
Emma looked surprised.
"You have a daughter?"
I nodded.
"Olivia."
"Where is she?"
Neither Mark nor I answered immediately.
Rachel gently stepped forward.
"She lives overseas."
Emma looked between us.
"Does she know any of this?"
I smiled sadly.
"No."
Mark whispered,
"Not yet."
I removed another photograph.
Olivia was twelve years old, sitting between us at a picnic table.
She was laughing.
Mark was laughing too.
For a brief moment...
We had been a family.
Helen quietly spoke.
"She loved this apartment."
"I know."
"She planted those flowers on the balcony."
I smiled.
"They still bloom every spring."
Mark slowly reached toward the photograph.
Then stopped.
"I don't deserve to touch it."
Nobody argued.
Emma quietly wiped another tear.
"I feel sorry for her."
"So do I," I answered.
"She deserved parents who respected each other."
Mark looked toward the balcony.
"I kept telling myself I'd explain everything someday."
Rachel replied softly,
"Someday has a habit of arriving unexpectedly."
Before anyone could speak again...
My own phone rang.
The caller ID displayed a name I hadn't seen in nearly four months.
Olivia.
I stared at the screen.
Mark noticed immediately.
His breathing became shallow.
"Is it..."
I nodded.
"Our daughter."
The phone continued ringing.
Everyone waited.
I finally answered.
"Hello, sweetheart."
For a moment, only silence came from the other end.
Then Olivia spoke.
"Mom..."
Her voice sounded unusually serious.
"I think someone has been looking for Dad."
Every person in the apartment froze.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I received a strange visit today."
"Who came?"
"I don't know."
"They said they represented an international investment company."
Mark suddenly stood up.
His face turned completely white.
Olivia continued.
"They showed me a photograph of Dad..."
"...and asked if I knew where he was."
No one in the apartment had ever heard the name of that investment company before.
But the fear in Mark's eyes revealed one unmistakable fact.
Whoever they were...
He recognized them immediately.
And whatever secret he had been hiding...
May you like
It was far from over.
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