CHAPTER 2: FIVE YEARS LATER
Five years.
One thousand, eight hundred and twenty-six days.
That was how long Marcus Vale searched for Evelyn Cross.
At first, he searched like a man accustomed to getting what he wanted.
Private investigators.
Former intelligence officers.
Corporate surveillance firms.
He spent millions.
He searched every city where she had friends.
Every country where she had family.
Every place she had ever mentioned wanting to visit.
Nothing.
It was as if she had vanished from the face of the earth.
And perhaps she had.
Because Evelyn Cross no longer existed.
Five years earlier, a heartbroken woman had disappeared.
In her place emerged someone new.
Someone stronger.
Someone who no longer belonged to Marcus Vale.
The small coastal town of Seabrook sat quietly along the Oregon shoreline.
No skyscrapers.
No luxury cars.
No reporters.
No billionaires.
Just ocean wind, fishing boats, and people who minded their own business.
It was exactly why Evelyn chose it.
Except here, nobody knew her as Evelyn Cross.
To everyone in town, she was Emma Carter.
Owner of a small bookstore overlooking the harbor.
Single mother.
Kind neighbor.
Private person.
The woman who always remembered birthdays.
The woman who donated books to local schools.
The woman who smiled but never spoke about her past.
A peaceful life.
A safe life.
The life she had built from the ruins of another.
And every morning, it began the same way.
With two little voices racing down the hallway.
"Mommy!"
"Mommy!"
Six-year-old Noah and Lily burst into her bedroom like tiny hurricanes.
One with dark hair.
One with bright eyes.
Both carrying enough energy to power a city.
Evelyn laughed as they climbed onto her bed.
For a few precious moments, the past didn't exist.
There was only this.
Her children.
Her family.
Her future.
Everything she had fought to protect.
Three thousand miles away, Marcus Vale stood in his Manhattan penthouse staring at a photograph.
The ultrasound image.
Folded and worn from years of handling.
His children's first photograph.
The only one he possessed.
For five years, it remained on his desk.
A reminder of the greatest mistake of his life.
Because the truth was more complicated than Evelyn believed.
The night she walked into the study...
Marcus hadn't been having an affair.
Sophia had kissed him.
Unexpectedly.
Desperately.
And Marcus had pushed her away.
Unfortunately, Evelyn had entered before she saw that part.
The result had been catastrophic.
Sophia confessed everything months later.
But by then Evelyn was gone.
And nothing Marcus did could bring her back.
Not apologies.
Not explanations.
Not endless searching.
Nothing.
The woman he loved had disappeared.
Taking his children with her.
Then, one rainy Tuesday morning, everything changed.
Marcus's head of security entered his office carrying a file.
The expression on the man's face immediately caught Marcus's attention.
"What is it?"
The man hesitated.
Then placed the file on the desk.
"You need to see this."
Marcus opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A woman standing outside a bookstore.
His heart stopped.
Evelyn.
Older.
Softer somehow.
But unmistakably Evelyn.
For several seconds he couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
Then he saw the second photograph.
Two children.
A little boy.
A little girl.
Standing beside her.
His world tilted.
The boy had his eyes.
The girl's smile mirrored the one Marcus saw in childhood photographs of himself.
The resemblance was undeniable.
His children.
His children.
After five years.
Marcus stared at the images until his vision blurred.
"Where?"
The word barely escaped his throat.
"Seabrook, Oregon."
Marcus was already standing.
Two days later, a black SUV rolled into the coastal town.
The ocean fog drifted through the streets.
Tourists wandered between cafés.
Nobody paid attention to the man stepping out of the vehicle.
Until he reached the bookstore.
Harbor Books.
A small bell chimed as he entered.
The scent of coffee and old paper filled the air.
For a moment, Marcus simply stood there.
Looking.
Waiting.
Then he saw her.
Behind the counter.
Organizing a display of children's books.
Five years disappeared instantly.
She looked up.
Their eyes met.
The stack of books slipped from her hands.
Neither spoke.
Neither moved.
The silence stretched between them.
Heavy.
Painful.
Unfinished.
"Evelyn."
The sound of her name in his voice sent a shock through her.
No one had called her that in years.
She recovered first.
"You shouldn't be here."
Marcus took a step forward.
"I searched for you."
Her expression hardened.
"I know exactly why."
"No."
His voice broke slightly.
"You don't."
Before either could continue, laughter echoed from outside.
Small footsteps approached the door.
Then the bell chimed.
Two children burst inside.
"Mom!"
"Mommy!"
Marcus turned.
The world stopped.
The little boy ran directly to Evelyn.
The girl followed.
Both wrapped their arms around her legs.
And in that instant, Marcus saw himself.
Not completely.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
Enough to know.
Enough to feel six years of missed birthdays crash into his chest.
Enough to realize what had truly been taken from him.
The little girl looked up first.
Her bright eyes landed on Marcus.
Curious.
Innocent.
Unafraid.
"Mommy?"
She pointed at him.
"Who's that?"
Evelyn froze.
Marcus couldn't breathe.
And for the first time in six years, father and children stood only a few feet apart.
May you like
Neither knowing what came next.
Neither prepared for the truth that was about to change all of their lives forever
