Chapter 2
“A long time ago, your mom and I were very close.”
Hazel went quiet.
Then came the question.
“Are you our daddy?”
Griffin gripped his dresser.
“Why would you ask me that?”
“Because Mommy doesn’t have an emergency person except Grandma. And sometimes she listens to old voicemails when she thinks we’re asleep.”
His heart stopped.
“What voicemails?”
“A man talking. Your voice sounds like his.”
Griffin stared into the darkness.
“Hazel…”
“And there’s a box in her closet.”
Iris shouted from the background, “Hazel!”
“I know, I know! I’m not supposed to tell!”
Griffin was moving toward the elevator now.
“What box?”
“Pictures. Letters. One picture has a man with green eyes.”
Hazel hesitated.
“We have green eyes.”
The elevator doors opened.
Griffin stepped inside.
“How old did you say you are?”
“Eight.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“December fourteenth.”
He closed his eyes.
The dates aligned too perfectly.
His last night with Sloan had been in March.
She had disappeared days later.
December fourteenth.
Nine months.
“Oh my God.”
“Sir?”
May you like
“I’m here.”
“Are you crying?”
