Room 412
Chapter 03 - Room 412
Mara Bennett looked nothing like the woman Caleb remembered.
Nine years ago, she had been fearless.
She laughed loudly, drove too fast, and once convinced Caleb to sneak into an empty baseball stadium at midnight just to sit behind home plate.
The woman in Room 412 looked exhausted.
Her dark hair was streaked with gray. Her hands were rough. An oxygen tube rested beneath her nose.
When Caleb entered, her eyes widened.
“No.”
Eli ran to her bedside.
“Mom, I found him.”
Mara closed her eyes.
“Oh, Eli.”
“I did what you told me.”
Caleb placed the money on the table.
The white ribbon was familiar.
He had used the same ribbon on the engagement gift he once gave Mara.
“Tell me the truth.”
Mara stared at the ceiling.
“I tried to protect you.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Caleb pulled a chair closer.
“I want the truth, not protection.”
Mara finally looked at him.
“Richard Reed came to see me nine years ago.”
Caleb felt his jaw tighten.
“He offered me fifty thousand dollars to leave town.”
“Why?”
“I refused.”
“Then why do you have the money?”
“Because the next day, he came back with photographs.”
Mara's voice broke.
“Pictures of Eli's father.”
Caleb glanced at the child.
“Who was his father?”
Mara's eyes filled.
“Your brother.”
Caleb stopped breathing.
Luke Mercer had died nine years earlier in what everyone believed was a construction accident.
Caleb stared at Eli again.
The eyes.
The shape of his face.
Suddenly, he could see it.
Luke.
Mara reached for Caleb's hand.
“Luke never knew I was pregnant.”
Caleb could barely speak.
“Why didn't you tell us?”
“Because Richard told me Luke's death wasn't an accident.”
The hospital room went silent.
May you like
Mara looked directly at Caleb.
“He said if I stayed, Eli would be next.”
