Chapter 8 - THE FATHER WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD
Thomas Whitlock was fifty-eight.
Before his disappearance, he'd been tall, energetic, and incapable of sitting still.
Now he lay in a hospital bed with a broken leg, deep bruises, and the hollow face of a man who had spent months surviving on fear.
Mara stopped in the doorway.
For a moment, she couldn't move.
Then Thomas opened his eyes.
“Mara?”
She ran to him.
“Dad!”
He wrapped one arm around her.
They cried without speaking.
Gideon stood outside.
He had never felt more grateful to be unnecessary.
Later, Thomas explained what happened.
Six months earlier, Daniel Harrow's men had forced him off the road.
They took his phone.
Destroyed his car.
And transported him to a remote property.
Thomas escaped after several weeks.
But he remained in hiding because he believed Mara was being watched.
He had tried to contact her.
Every attempt seemed to bring danger closer.
“Why didn't you go to the police?” Mara asked.
Thomas looked toward Detective Bell.
“Because one of the officers investigating Eleanor's death was taking money from the Harrows.”
Bell's expression hardened.
“Do you know his name?”
Thomas nodded.
“Detective Richard Sloan.”
Bell wrote it down.
Thomas looked toward Gideon.
“You're Eleanor's son.”
Gideon nodded.
“Yes.”
Thomas studied him.
“You look like her.”
Gideon's throat tightened.
“Thank you.”
Thomas reached for his hand.
“Your mother was a good woman.”
Gideon looked down.
“I know.”
“No,” Thomas said softly.
“You don't.”
He took a breath.
“She knew what your father was doing.”
Gideon's expression changed.
Thomas continued.
“She knew he was using the foundation to move money.”
“Did she confront him?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Thomas looked away.
“She told him she would go to the authorities.”
Gideon's jaw tightened.
“And your father said he'd rather see the foundation destroyed than let her expose him.”
Silence.
Thomas continued.
“Two days later, she became ill.”
Gideon closed his eyes.
For years, he'd believed his father had been devastated by Eleanor's death.
Now he wondered whether the grief had been real.
Thomas looked at him.
“I'm sorry.”
Gideon shook his head.
“Don't apologize.”
He looked toward Mara.
“You saved the evidence.”
Thomas smiled faintly.
“She did.”
May you like
Mara took her father's hand.
And for the first time in six months, she allowed herself to believe he might come home.
