Chapter 3: The Name She Buried
I didn't get into the car.
Neither did my mother.
We stood on the sidewalk while people passed us, completely unaware that the ground beneath my life had just opened.
“Who is he?”” I asked.
My mother said nothing.
“Mom.””
She looked at the driver.
“Give us a minute.””
The driver hesitated.
“Mrs. Hayes—”
“Please.””
He nodded and stepped away.
That scared me more than if she'd yelled.
My mother never said please to employees.
She turned toward me.
“Kate, there are things about your childhood that I wanted to protect you from.””
“You mean things you lied about.””
Her lips pressed together.
“I made mistakes.””
“Mistakes?””
I laughed.
“Milo thinks you're his mother.””
“He is my son.””
The words landed like a gunshot.
I couldn't breathe.
My mother looked down.
“Yes.””
I stepped backward.
“You have a son?””
“I had a son.””
“No. Don't do that.””
My voice shook.
“You don't get to change the tense.””
She reached for me.
I moved away.
“Where is he?””
She looked toward the street.
“He disappeared eleven years ago.””
“Milo?””
She nodded.
“My son.””
I stared at her.
“But he's right there.””
“He shouldn't be.””
“That's not an answer.””
“No,” she said quietly.
“It isn't.””
She leaned against the car.
For the first time in my life, my mother looked exhausted.
“Before I met your father, I was married to a man named Daniel Mercer.””
I frowned.
The name meant nothing.
“He was my first husband,” she continued.
“And Milo was our son.””
“What happened?””
My mother's fingers trembled.
“Daniel took him.””
I stared at her.
“You said he disappeared.””
“He disappeared from me.””
“Why didn't you call the police?””
“I did.””
“Then where were you?””
She looked away.
“I was afraid.””
“Of Daniel?””
“No.””
She looked directly at me.
“Of my own family.””
A cold wind moved through the trees.
I hugged my arms around myself.
“What does your family have to do with this?””
“My father believed Daniel was beneath us. He threatened to destroy him if I stayed.””
“And you left?””
“I tried to leave with Milo.””
Her voice cracked.
“We were supposed to go to another state. I had money hidden. A place rented under another name.””
“What happened?””
“My father found out.””
She swallowed.
“He took Milo.””
I stared at her.
“Your father kidnapped your child?””
“He told me if I fought him, Daniel would be arrested and Milo would disappear permanently.””
“That makes no sense.””
“It didn't to me either.””
She reached into her coat and pulled out her phone.
She opened an old photograph.
A younger version of my mother stared back at me.
Her hair was shorter.
Her face softer.
And beside her stood a little boy with dark eyes.
Milo.
I covered my mouth.
“He was six here,” she said.
“He looks exactly the same.””
“He isn't.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
“He was six when I lost him.””
Her voice dropped.
“He was supposed to be eleven when I found him.””
I felt dizzy.
“What are you saying?””
My mother stared at the photo.
“When Daniel died, I thought I could finally find Milo.””
“Daniel died?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
She hesitated.
“An accident.””
Something about the way she said it made my stomach turn.
“And you never found Milo?””
“I searched.””
“For how long?””
“Eleven years.””
I thought about all those mornings.
The bench.
The sandwiches.
The way Milo always watched expensive cars with suspicion.
The way he knew things he shouldn't.
The way he had looked at my mother.
I suddenly remembered something.
“Milo told me you changed your name.””
My mother went silent.
“What was your old name?””
She didn't answer.
“Mom.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Eleanor Mercer.””
I stared at her.
Mercer.
The same last name Milo had just mentioned.
My mind raced.
“Then why Hayes?””
“Because after my father died, I remarried.””
“My father?””
She nodded.
I felt my stomach drop.
“Dad is Daniel?””
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
I looked at her.
“Then who is?””
She closed her eyes.
Before she could speak, headlights appeared at the far end of the street.
A black SUV rolled slowly toward us.
My mother saw it.
Her entire body stiffened.
“Kate,” she whispered.
“What?””
“Get inside.””
“Why?””
She grabbed my hand.
“Because that car belongs to the man who took Milo.””
The SUV stopped.
The rear door opened.
A man stepped out.
He was older, silver-haired, and dressed in an expensive navy suit.
He looked directly at me.
Then he smiled.
“Hello, Katherine.””
My mother pulled me behind her.
The man tilted his head.
“You really do have Eleanor's eyes.””
My mother whispered,
“Don't let him talk to you.””
The man's smile widened.
“Your mother never told you, did she?””
May you like
He took one step closer.
“That Milo wasn't the only child she lost.””
