She Sat Down At My Table And Said, ‘My Ex Is Watching’… A Year Later His Daughter Called Me Daddy
Chapter 2
Claire came back the next day.
Same time.
Same table.
This time, she sat down like she belonged there.
“You came.”
I looked up from my laptop.
“You told me you might need somewhere safe.”
“I said I might.”
“Close enough.”
She smiled.
Then she looked toward the window.
No black SUV.
No one waiting outside.
She relaxed.
“Coffee?”
I nodded.
“You remembered.”
“I remember things.”
She looked at me for a moment.
“You don’t ask too many questions.”
“I’m trying not to scare you away.”
“That wouldn’t be difficult.”
“You seem pretty committed to disappearing.”
She smiled.
“I am.”
I handed her the coffee.
She took a sip.
Then asked,
“Why do you come here every day?”
“I own the place.”
She blinked.
“You own the café?”
“Yep.”
“I thought you were just a regular customer.”
“I spend too much time here to be called regular.”
That made her laugh.
It was the first real smile I’d seen.
I liked it.
“What about you?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you do?”
“I work remotely.”
“At what?”
“Bookkeeping.”
“Sounds exciting.”
“It isn’t.”
We both laughed.
Then she became serious.
“My daughter is six.”
I nodded.
“Her name is Lily.”
“She likes dinosaurs.”
I looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“She talks about them every day.”
“That sounds familiar.”
I had a son.
Noah was nine.
He lived with me full-time.
His mother had moved across the country after the divorce and rarely called.
I never spoke badly about her.
But I had learned that some people could leave a family while still being alive.
Claire seemed to understand that sentence without hearing it.
“Do you have kids?”
“A son.”
“How old?”
“Nine.”
“What’s his name?”
“Noah.”
She smiled.
“I’d like to meet him someday.”
“Maybe.”
There was a pause.
Then her phone buzzed.
She looked at the screen.
Her face went pale.
“What?”
She turned the phone toward me.
Unknown number.
One message.
You look comfortable.
My stomach tightened.
“Did he send that?”
She nodded.
“He knows I’m here.”
I stood.
“Call the police.”
“I already did.”
“Then we can call again.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because every time I call, he disappears before they arrive.”
I sat back down.
“What can I do?”
She looked at me.
“Nothing.”
“That sounds like a challenge.”
“It isn’t.”
“You came here for help.”
“I came here because I needed somewhere to think.”
“Then think here.”
She stared at me.
“Why are you being kind to me?”
I shrugged.
“Because you look like someone who hasn’t had enough kindness lately.”
Her eyes filled.
She looked away.
“I should go.”
“Claire.”
She stopped.
“You don’t have to.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because Ryan knows where I am.”
She stood.
Then she left.
I thought that was the end.
It wasn’t.
The next morning, I found a box outside the café.
Inside was a child’s stuffed dinosaur.
A note was taped to it.
Tell Claire I’ll know if she comes back.
I froze.
Ryan had found me.
And this wasn’t just stalking anymore.
He was sending messages through a child’s toy.
That meant he knew about Lily.
I called Claire immediately.
She answered after two rings.
“What happened?”
“Come to the café.”
“I can’t.”
“You need to.”
Silence.
Then she asked,
“Why?”
I looked at the stuffed dinosaur.
“Because your ex just left something for your daughter.”
Her breathing changed.
“I’ll be there.”
Twenty minutes later, she rushed through the door.
The moment she saw the dinosaur, she began to cry.
“He’s getting closer.”
I looked at her.
“Claire.”
She wiped her eyes.
“He isn’t supposed to know where Lily is.”
“Then how did he get that?”
She whispered,
“I think someone told him.”
“Who?”
She looked at me.
“My sister.”
