Chapter 8 - The Wife Who Never Stopped Watching
Rebecca Mercer had spent four years pretending to be dead.
Now she was standing inside a secure rehabilitation facility with a little boy who had Caleb's eyes.
The moment the video connection opened, Caleb stopped breathing.
"Rebecca."
She stared at him.
Her face crumpled.
"Caleb."
For several seconds, neither spoke.
I stood near the door.
I'd never felt more out of place.
This was his wife.
The woman he'd once promised to love.
The woman he'd spent four years mourning.
And despite everything that had happened between Caleb and me, I knew this moment belonged to them.
Rebecca wiped her cheeks.
"I'm sorry."
Caleb's voice was strained.
"Why?"
She looked down.
"Because Owen threatened the boy."
Caleb gripped his wheelchair armrest.
"What boy?"
Rebecca turned toward the doorway.
A child stepped into view.
Dark curls.
Gray eyes.
A small scar near his chin.
"His name is Oliver," she whispered.
Caleb stared.
"How old?"
"Five."
His face changed.
Five.
Rebecca had disappeared four years earlier.
The possibility was unmistakable.
"Is he mine?"
Rebecca nodded.
"Yes."
Caleb closed his eyes.
I watched his fingers tremble.
For a man who'd survived a shooting and spent three weeks refusing to show weakness, he suddenly looked completely defenseless.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Rebecca began crying.
"I tried."
She explained that Owen discovered she was pregnant shortly before she planned to leave Caleb.
He threatened to have the child taken away if she contacted anyone outside his control.
Vincent helped her escape.
But Owen learned she'd survived and continued searching for them.
Caleb looked toward the little boy.
Oliver was watching quietly.
"Does he know about me?"
Rebecca nodded.
"He knows your name. He knows you're his father."
Caleb swallowed.
"Can I talk to him?"
Rebecca knelt beside Oliver.
"Sweetheart, this is Daddy."
The boy studied the screen.
Then asked a question that broke my heart.
"Why are you sitting in that chair?"
Caleb looked down.
For a moment, he seemed uncertain.
Then he answered honestly.
"Someone hurt my back, buddy. My legs aren't working the way they used to."
Oliver considered that.
"Does it hurt?"
"Sometimes."
The boy nodded seriously.
Then smiled.
"I have a blue wheelchair for my teddy bear."
Caleb laughed through tears.
"Do you?"
"Yes. He goes really fast."
For the first time since the shooting, Caleb laughed without bitterness.
Then Oliver leaned closer.
"Can you come visit me?"
Caleb's voice broke.
"I'd like that very much."
Rebecca looked toward me.
Something unreadable crossed her face.
"Grace Holloway?"
I froze.
"Yes?"
Rebecca's expression changed.
"Thomas's daughter?"
I nodded.
She covered her mouth.
"Oh, Grace."
I stared.
"You knew my father?"
Rebecca began crying harder.
"He saved Oliver's life before Oliver was even born."
I stepped closer.
"How?"
She swallowed.
"Your father discovered Owen had arranged for a child to disappear whenever the Mercer succession documents were finalized."
Caleb went completely still.
"What succession documents?"
Rebecca looked directly at him.
"The ones proving Oliver would inherit the protected family trust."
Her voice trembled.
"And, Caleb, Owen doesn't want your empire because you're injured."
May you like
She paused.
"He wants it because your son is the only person who can legally stop him."
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