Chapter 7 - A Voice That Changed Everything
Z
The following morning, Gideon canceled every meeting on his calendar.
He sat at the breakfast table while Noah ate pancakes, watching his son with an expression that made Marin's heart ache.
“More syrup?” Gideon asked.
Noah nodded.
“Please,” the boy added.
Gideon looked down at his plate, blinking rapidly.
Marin pretended not to notice his tears.
Over the next week, Noah began speaking in fragments. He named colors, asked for water, and once informed Freddy that his tie was ugly.
Freddy accepted the criticism with remarkable dignity.
“Kid's got excellent taste,” he told Marin.
Gideon hired a child psychologist who understood trauma and did not pressure Noah to perform. The sessions were gentle, and Marin was invited to remain nearby when Noah requested it.
But the estate's happiness was fragile.
A detective arrived one afternoon, asking about the gray sedan that had nearly struck Noah. The vehicle had been reported stolen, its plates switched, and its owner impossible to identify.
Gideon's face hardened.
“Someone intended to frighten me,” he told Marin afterward.
“By nearly killing your son?”
“Or by making me believe he could be taken from me.”
“Who would do that?”
Gideon looked toward the harbor.
“Someone who believes my business belongs to him.”
He explained that his cousin, Marcus Rourke, had been challenging his control of the family's shipping operations. Marcus believed Gideon's grief had made him weak.
“Does Marcus know about me?” Marin asked.
“He knows you're here.”
“And he knows Noah is improving?”
“Yes.”
Marin understood then why the photographs had frightened Gideon.
She was no longer simply a painter in the eyes of the people around him. She had become a person whose presence could hurt him.
“I'm not going to hide in your house,” she said.
“I wouldn't ask you to.”
“Good. Because I won't let anyone use me to control you.”
Gideon studied her.
“You shouldn't have to fight my battles.”
“I'm not fighting them. I'm refusing to be treated like a weakness.”
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Gideon took her hand.
“That's what frightens me about you, Marin. You see me clearly.”
She squeezed his fingers.
“Then stop giving me reasons to be afraid.”
May you like
He nodded.
And for once, the most powerful man in Providence listened without argument.
