Chapter 10 - THE PAST NEVER KNOCKS POLITELY
Mrs. Carter opened the heavy mahogany front door.
I heard her gasp from the hallway.
Luca stood up, instinctively stepping between me and the door.
“Mrs. Carter?” Luca called out.
No answer.
Luca pulled his weapon from his shoulder holster and moved quietly toward the foyer.
I held Leo close to my chest, my heart hammering.
“Stay here,” I whispered to my son.
I followed Luca into the hallway.
Mrs. Carter was standing by the open door, trembling.
Standing on the front steps was a man.
He was in his late thirties, wearing a faded military jacket. His face was scarred, his hair graying at the temples.
But his eyes…
I knew those eyes.
I dropped my teacup. It shattered on the marble floor.
The man looked up at the sound.
He stared at me, his eyes filling with tears.
“Rebecca,” he whispered.
My knees gave out.
Luca caught me before I hit the floor.
“Rebecca, who is he?” Luca demanded, keeping his gun raised.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak.
I stared at the man standing on the porch.
The man I had buried four years ago.
“David?” I choked out.
My husband.
Leo’s father.
He was alive.
David took a step inside.
“Stop right there,” Luca commanded, leveling the barrel at David’s chest.
David raised his hands slowly.
“I didn’t want to run,” David said, his voice raw. “Vanessa gave me an ultimatum. Fake my death, or she would kill you and our unborn child.”
He looked at me, his face twisting in agony.
“I saw the news, Becca. I saw Vanessa was arrested. I came back as fast as I could.”
I was paralyzed.
Four years of mourning. Four years of struggling to feed our son.
“You let me think you were dead,” I whispered, tears spilling hot and fast down my cheeks.
“It was the only way to keep you safe!” David pleaded.
He took another step.
He looked past me, into the library.
He saw Leo.
“Is that…?” David’s voice broke. “Is that my son?”
Before I could answer, a red laser dot appeared on David’s chest.
Then another.
And another.
May you like
Luca grabbed my arm and dragged me backward just as the front windows shattered.
TITLE: A GRAVE CANNOT HOLD TWO SECRETS
