Chapter 6: The Woman Nadia Trusted
Nobody spoke.
The rain did.
It filled the silence between them.
Bear stared at Simone.
The woman who claimed Nadia trusted her.
The woman who brought him the letter.
The woman who looked like she had spent years carrying a secret too heavy to hold.
Eli stepped closer to Bear.
“Eli: Is she bad?””
The question broke something inside the room of tension.
Simone looked at him.
Pain crossed her face.
“Simone: No.””
Her voice cracked.
“Simone: I’m not.””
Bear watched her carefully.
“Bear: Then explain the letter.””
Simone looked down.
“Bear: Now.””
Darius stepped forward.
“Darius: Bear, you need to hear everything.””
Bear turned sharply.
“Bear: From you?””
Darius stopped.
Fair.
Bear pointed at Simone.
“Bear: She’s the one with answers.””
Simone took a slow breath.
Then she looked at Eli.
“Simone: Your mother loved you more than anything.””
Eli nodded.
“Simone: She also knew she made mistakes.””
Bear’s eyes narrowed.
“Bear: What kind of mistakes?””
Simone looked at the ground.
“Simone: The kind people make when they’re trying to protect someone and don’t realize they’re destroying everything around them.””
The answer frustrated him.
Too many half-truths.
Too many missing pieces.
“Bear: I’m done with riddles.””
His voice echoed beneath the awning.
“Bear: Tell me what happened.””
Simone looked at Darius.
He gave a small nod.
Permission.
Or surrender.
She reached into her coat pocket.
She pulled out another photograph.
Bear’s expression changed.
“Bear: Another one?””
She handed it to him.
This photograph was newer.
Still old.
But not twenty years old.
Bear looked down.
It showed Nadia.
Alive.
Standing beside Eli as a small child.
His heart stopped.
Behind them was a house.
A place he had never seen.
But Nadia was smiling.
Actually smiling.
The kind of smile he remembered.
The kind that meant she felt safe.
Bear looked up.
“Bear: When was this taken?””
Simone answered quietly.
“Simone: Six years ago.””
Bear stared.
Six years.
Nadia had been alive six years ago.
“Bear: You saw her?””
Simone nodded.
“Simone: Yes.””
His anger returned.
“Bear: And you never told me?””
Simone accepted the anger.
She didn’t defend herself.
“Simone: No.””
“Bear: Why?””
Her eyes filled.
“Simone: Because Nadia asked me not to.””
Bear laughed once.
A painful sound.
“Bear: Everyone keeps hiding behind what Nadia wanted.””
He looked at the photograph.
“Bear: She made all the choices.””
A tear fell from Simone’s eye.
“Simone: You think she didn’t suffer?””
Bear looked up.
“Simone: You think she wanted to spend twenty years away from you?””
The words hit.
Hard.
Simone stepped closer.
“Simone: Every birthday, she looked at the door.””
Bear said nothing.
“Simone: Every night, she played that song.””
Her voice broke.
“Simone: She waited for the day she could come home.””
The rain fell harder.
Bear looked away.
Because he wanted to believe her.
And that terrified him.
“Bear: Then where is she?””
Nobody answered.
Again.
That silence.
He hated it.
“Bear: Where is Nadia?””
Darius looked toward the road.
Then at Simone.
Something passed between them.
A decision.
Finally, Simone spoke.
“Simone: She’s alive.””
The world stopped.
Bear didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
Didn’t blink.
“Bear: Say that again.””
Simone swallowed.
“Simone: Nadia is alive.””
Eli looked at Bear.
The boy had tears in his eyes.
“Eli: I told you she wasn’t gone.””
Bear stared at him.
All the anger.
All the grief.
All the years of believing he was abandoned.
Suddenly everything was uncertain.
“Bear: Where is she?””
Simone looked toward the dark road.
“Simone: Close.””
Bear took a step forward.
“Bear: Take me to her.””
Simone shook her head.
“Simone: I can’t.””
Bear’s expression hardened.
“Bear: Why?””
Simone looked at Eli.
Then at the vehicles outside.
Then back at Bear.
“Simone: Because Nadia didn’t disappear.””
A pause.
“She was taken.””
Bear’s face changed.
The old fire returned.
“Bear: By who?””
Simone looked at Darius.
Then whispered:
“Simone: By the same person who has been watching Eli his entire life.””
Bear slowly turned toward Darius.
Darius looked away.
And that was all Bear needed.
Because the answer was written on his face.
Someone in that parking lot knew where Nadia was.
Someone had always known.
Then Eli suddenly grabbed Bear’s hand.
“Eli: Bear.””
Bear looked down.
The boy pointed toward the old keyboard.
A small piece of paper had fallen from underneath it.
A hidden message.
Bear picked it up.
Four words were written in Nadia’s handwriting.
*COME ALONE, MY LOVE.*
And beneath it was an address.
May you like
An address Bear recognized.
Because it was the place where Nadia disappeared twenty years ago.
