“Can You Be The Father Of My Baby For One Day?” She Asked… And I Said, “Only If You Tell Me Why”
Chapter 5
The archive room had been searched carefully.
Not like a burglary.
Like a professional operation.
Files were missing.
Computers were untouched.
Nothing valuable had been stolen.
Only records related to Noah Grant had disappeared.
Daniel crouched beside a broken cabinet.
There were no fingerprints.
No obvious signs of forced entry.
Someone had access.
He stood.
“Who has keys?”
Richard answered.
“Security.”
“Names?”
“Marcus Shaw. Head of security.”
Daniel looked at Olivia.
“The same man you mentioned.”
She nodded.
“Where is he?”
Richard frowned.
“He left the property.”
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
He looked toward the front door.
“Convenient.”
Richard glared.
“Don’t accuse my employees.”
“I’m not.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“Trying to find the truth.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“You’re forgetting your place.”
Daniel turned.
“You’re forgetting who asked me to be here.”
Olivia interrupted.
“Stop.”
She looked exhausted.
“I know who I trust.”
Richard laughed.
“You barely know him.”
Olivia looked at Daniel.
“That is more than I can say for most people in this room.”
Richard’s face tightened.
He walked away.
Later that night, Daniel found Olivia standing alone on the back porch.
The ocean was dark beneath the moon.
“You should sleep,” he said.
“I can’t.”
“Me neither.”
She smiled weakly.
“You regret coming?”
“Yes.”
Her face fell.
He continued,
“Because I should have realized this wasn’t just one day.”
She looked at him.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
She hugged herself.
“I didn’t know who else to ask.”
“Why me?”
She hesitated.
“Because I saw you at the school.”
“That day?”
“Yes.”
“What did you see?”
“You were helping your daughter tie her shoes.”
Daniel smiled.
“She never learned.”
“She was laughing.”
He looked at Olivia.
“You were watching?”
“I was waiting for a doctor nearby.”
“What did you think?”
“That if my baby ever had a father who looked at him the way you looked at Sophie…”
She stopped.
Daniel waited.
“…I wouldn’t be afraid.”
His expression softened.
“You weren’t looking for a fake father.”
“No.”
“You were looking for safety.”
She nodded.
Then Daniel asked,
“What happened between you and Noah?”
Olivia looked toward the water.
“He loved me.”
“Still?”
“I don’t know.”
“You said he was taken.”
“I believe he was.”
“But?”
“I also believe he knew he might not survive.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“Did he leave you anything?”
She touched her stomach.
“He left something with me.”
“What?”
She hesitated.
“A memory.”
Daniel frowned.
“That’s not helpful.”
She smiled sadly.
“When I was pregnant, he told me a story.”
“What story?”
“A lighthouse.”
Daniel waited.
“He said if anything happened to him, I should go to a lighthouse near the old Bennett property.”
“Which lighthouse?”
“He never said.”
Daniel thought.
“There are three.”
“I know.”
“What did he say exactly?”
Olivia closed her eyes.
“He said, ‘When the tide goes out, the truth comes in.’”
Daniel froze.
He knew the old Bennett lighthouse.
The one near the abandoned fishing harbor.
At low tide, the rocks around it became accessible.
“There’s another piece.”
“What?”
“He gave me a key.”
She pulled a small brass key from her necklace.
Daniel stared.
“This key belonged to Noah?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you use it?”
“Because I never knew what it opened.”
He took it.
There was a number engraved on the side.
614.
Daniel’s heart skipped.
Storage locker.
He knew the harbor had old storage units.
He looked at Olivia.
“We go tomorrow morning.”
She shook her head.
“Not tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“Because tomorrow is why I needed you.”
He remembered.
The family ceremony.
The succession announcement.
She needed a man beside her.
Daniel looked at her.
“Fine.”
“But after?”
“We find the lighthouse.”
She nodded.
Then she stepped closer.
“Thank you.”
Daniel looked into her eyes.
“You don’t have to thank me yet.”
She smiled.
“Why?”
“Because I haven’t heard the whole truth.”
Her smile faded.
She knew what he meant.
There was one thing she had still hidden.
And it could change everything.
“The baby’s father isn’t only missing,” she whispered.
“He may be connected to you.”
Daniel frowned.
“Me?”
Olivia nodded.
“Your name is in his evidence.”
Daniel stared.
“My name?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
But she did know one thing.
Noah had once told her that if anything happened to him, she should find a man named Daniel Harper.
She had never understood why.
Until she saw him outside the school.
