Chapter 1 - The Girl Holding My Hand
I saw Walter kneeling in front of Lily and reacted before I knew what he was doing.
The mall entrance was packed—families coming in from the parking structure, shopping bags brushing past strollers, afternoon light pouring through two stories of glass.
Lily stood near a metal bench.
An older man I had never seen before was holding her small red wallet.
I ran.
My hand hit his hard enough to send the wallet skidding under the bench.
“Stay away from my daughter.”
The man straightened slowly.
Sixties. Gray hair. Dark coat. More surprised than angry.
“I was returning—”
I pulled Lily against me.
“We’re leaving.”
The little hand holding mine tightened.
“Mom.”
I took one step.
She caught my sleeve.
“He knew my name.”
I stopped.
The man stopped too.
I turned.
“How?”
His expression changed.
He reached into his jacket.
I immediately moved Lily farther behind me.
“Don't.”
He froze, then slowly pulled out a folded note and several hundred dollars in cash.
He kept both in his own hands.
“She told me to wait here.”
I looked down at Lily.
She shook her head.
“I didn't.”
The old man stared at her.
Then his face changed again.
He leaned forward slightly.
Not touching.
Looking.
“That’s not the girl who spoke to me.”
My stomach dropped.
“What did you say?”
He looked past me, toward the entrance.
“She had the same coat.”
I grabbed the front of his shirt.
“Who are you?”
People slowed around us.
He did not fight me.
“Walter Hayes.”
“That means nothing to me.”
“It should mean something to your mother.”
The name of my mother entered the conversation and something hot moved through me.
I shoved Walter backward.
“Leave my family alone.”
He hit the edge of the bench but stayed upright.
The child beside me made a frightened sound.
I looked down.
“Lily, it's okay.”
Her face was pale.
I almost missed the sound outside.
Tires.
Two black SUVs pulled hard against the mall entrance.
A man in a dark suit came through the doors at a fast walk.
Two security men followed.
I pulled the little girl fully against my side.
Walter turned.
His confusion looked real.
The suited man came directly toward me.
Didn't greet Walter.
Didn't explain the SUVs.
His eyes landed on the child beside me for one second.
Then he looked at me.
“Ma’am…”
His voice was tight.
“Lily is in the car.”
Everything inside me stopped.
I stared at him.
“What?”
“Your daughter is safe. She’s in the first SUV.”
I looked down.
The little girl was still holding my hand.
Same dark hair.
Same navy cardigan Lily had put on that morning.
Same height.
Almost the same face.
Almost.
Lily had chipped her left front tooth falling off a scooter last spring.
This girl hadn't.
I released her hand so fast she flinched.
Walter stared at her too.
The suited man stepped closer.
“Claire, don't panic.”
“How do you know my name?”
Before he answered, the girl looked up at me.
Her voice trembled.
“You really do look exactly like my mom.”
I stared at her.
Then at the SUV outside.
May you like
And for the first time in nine years, I knew exactly whose child I was looking at.
I just couldn't understand how she had ended up holding my hand.
