Chapter 6 - THE COUSIN WHO STOLE TEN YEARS
Nathan Sullivan arrived at the conference room forty minutes later.
He wore a dark blue suit and an expression of mild irritation.
“Ethan, what's so urgent?”
Then he saw me.
His face changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
I noticed.
So did Ethan.
“Nathan,” Ethan said quietly, “do you remember Claire?”
Nathan smiled.
“Of course.”
He looked at me.
“Long time.”
I stared.
Ten years.
Ten years of raising twins alone.
Ten years of birthdays.
Fevers.
School plays.
First steps.
First words.
And this man had been standing somewhere in the middle of it.
Ethan gestured toward a chair.
“Sit down.”
Nathan frowned.
“What's this about?”
Ethan looked at him.
“November seventeenth. Ten years ago.”
Nathan's expression tightened.
“What about it?”
“Were you at my mother's house?”
Nathan glanced toward the door.
“I don't remember.”
Lucas spoke.
“We're preserving the relevant records and reviewing whether someone impersonated Ethan during the divorce.”
Nathan laughed.
“That's ridiculous.”
I leaned forward.
“Did you throw thirty dollars at me?”
His smile vanished.
“What?”
“In the rain. Outside Margaret's house.”
Nathan looked at Ethan.
“She's confused.”
I felt anger rise.
“No.”
My voice was steady.
“You called me Claire-bear.”
Nathan went still.
Ethan stared at him.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Nathan stood.
“This is insane.”
He headed toward the door.
Ethan didn't stop him.
But Rachel quietly called security.
Not to detain him.
To document his departure and preserve the building's records.
Nathan left.
The room remained silent.
Finally, Ethan whispered:
“My own family.”
I looked at him.
I wanted to feel victorious.
Instead, I felt exhausted.
Because if Nathan had impersonated Ethan, then the man I'd hated for ten years might not have been the man who abandoned me.
And if Margaret had orchestrated it, she'd stolen something far greater than money.
She'd stolen a father from two children.
May you like
And ten years of our lives.
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