Mara read the message twice.
Then a third time.
DON’T TALK TO THE OLD MAN.
The words were simple.
Too simple.
She looked at Arthur.
He had not moved.
He seemed to understand from her expression that something had happened, but he did not ask to see the phone.
That restraint frightened her almost as much as the message itself.
“Who sent that?” Arthur asked.
Mara locked the screen.
“No one.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
“That is rarely what people mean when they say no one.”
Mara stood.
The service employee was speaking to security now. Two officers were approaching from the far side of the terminal.
Mara stepped away from Arthur.
He immediately raised both hands.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good.”
“You received a message.”
She stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“You looked at your phone as though someone had just confirmed your worst suspicion.”
Mara said nothing.
Arthur nodded toward the security officers.
“Tell them everything.”
“Everything?”
“Yes.”
“You first.”
He studied her for several seconds.
Then he reached into his jacket and pulled out his wallet.
He opened it.
Inside was an identification card and a photograph of a young woman.
Mara saw the photograph before she could stop herself.
A woman with dark hair.
A wide smile.
A small child in her arms.
Arthur noticed her looking.
“My daughter,” he said.
Mara looked back at him.
“She died three years ago.”
The sentence was delivered without drama.
That made it heavier.
“How?”
“Car accident.”
Mara lowered her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
Arthur closed the wallet.
“She was twenty-nine.”
One of the security officers reached them.
“Ma’am?”
Mara nodded.
“My luggage is missing.”
“We were told.”
“And there may be a security issue.”
The officer looked at Arthur.
“What kind?”
Mara hesitated.
Arthur answered.
“She believes someone may have interfered with her luggage.”
The officer turned back to Mara.
“Do you know this man?”
“No.”
Arthur did not object.
“Did he approach you?” the officer asked.
“Yes.”
“How long have you known him?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
The officer’s hand moved slightly toward his radio.
Mara saw it.
So did Arthur.
Arthur calmly said, “She should tell you about the envelope.”
Mara looked at him.
“You want me to?”
“Yes.”
She handed the envelope to the officer.
He examined it without opening it.
“Where did you find this?”
“In my son’s backpack.”
“When?”
“About two minutes ago.”
“Was it there before?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who has access to the backpack?”
Mara opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
Daniel.
The answer came immediately.
Daniel had packed the backpack before they left.
He had checked the pockets twice.
He had even joked that Eli would somehow lose the rabbit before they reached the airport.
Mara suddenly felt sick.
The officer asked, “Ma’am?”
“My husband packed it.”
“Name?”
“Daniel Cole.”
“Is he meeting you here?”
“He was supposed to.”
“Has he contacted you?”
Mara looked at her phone.
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
She swallowed.
“He told me not to talk to this man.”
The officer looked at Arthur again.
Arthur's expression did not change.
“Do you know her husband?” the officer asked.
“No.”
“Have you ever met him?”
“No.”
“Then why did you approach her?”
Arthur took a breath.
“Because she was sitting alone with a sleeping child, missing luggage, and no one coming to meet her.”
The officer waited.
Arthur continued.
“I saw the same thing once before.”
Mara frowned.
“What?”
Arthur looked at her.
“Three years ago.”
His voice had become quieter.
“My daughter was traveling with her son.”
Mara felt the pieces shifting.
“She had a child?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to him?”
Arthur looked toward the baggage carousel.
“He survived.”
Mara waited.
“But he was with someone who should never have been trusted.”
The officer interrupted.
“Sir, I need you to stay available while we sort this out.”
“I will.”
The second officer arrived carrying a radio.
“There’s a report from baggage services.”
Everyone turned.
“The missing suitcase was located.”
Mara's heart jumped.
“Where?”
The officer checked his device.
“Different terminal.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It was placed on a cart for another flight.”
“Can I see it?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
The officer looked uncomfortable.
“Because there’s an issue with the contents.”
Mara felt her stomach twist.
“What issue?”
He glanced at Arthur.
“Something was found inside.”
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
“What?”
The officer did not answer immediately.
Mara stepped forward.
“Please.”
The officer finally said, “A second passport.”
Mara stared.
“What?”
“There’s a passport inside the suitcase that doesn’t belong to you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Neither do we.”
Arthur turned to her.
“Did you pack that suitcase yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Then someone opened it.”
Mara looked at the officer.
“Can I see the passport?”
“No.”
“Whose is it?”
“We're still confirming.”
Mara’s phone vibrated again.
This time she did not want to look.
She did anyway.
A photograph had arrived.
It showed Eli.
Asleep.
In Mara’s arms.
Taken from somewhere across the airport.
Under the photograph was a message.
YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES.
Mara stopped breathing.
Arthur saw her face.
“What happened?”
She showed him the phone.
For the first time, Arthur looked genuinely alarmed.
He took one step toward the officers.
“She needs to leave this area.”
The officer shook his head.
“Sir, nobody is leaving until we understand—”
“They have a photograph of the child.”
The officer’s expression changed.
“Where was it taken?”
Mara turned slowly.
The photograph had been taken from behind.
The baggage carousel was visible.
She could see herself sitting.
She could see Arthur standing nearby.
And in the corner of the image, reflected in the polished metal of a column, was a man in a gray coat.
Mara felt her hands go cold.
“That’s him.”
“Who?”
“The man from the airport.”
Arthur studied the photograph.
Then he pointed.
“Zoom in.”
Mara did.
The image sharpened.
The man's face was partly obscured.
But something else was visible.
A silver watch.
Arthur stared at it.
“What?”
“I know that watch.”
Mara looked at him.
“How?”
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
“It belonged to my daughter.”
The security officer immediately took the phone.
“Are you certain?”
Arthur nodded.
“She gave it to someone before she died.”
“Who?”
Arthur looked at Mara.
“I never knew.”
The officer turned to his partner.
“Lock down the immediate baggage area.”
Mara’s pulse raced.
Arthur stepped closer.
“Listen to me.”
“What?”
“If that watch is what I think it is, this isn't about your suitcase.”
“Then what is it about?”
Arthur's eyes moved to Eli.
“Your son.”
Mara instinctively pulled the child closer.
“No.”
“I need you to hear me.”
“No.”
Arthur lowered his voice.
“My daughter had a son.”
Mara looked at him.
“You said he survived.”
“He did.”
“Where is he?”
Arthur's face hardened.
“I don't know.”
The words hung between them.
Mara stared.
Arthur continued.
“After my daughter died, the child's father disappeared. The records were changed. I spent three years trying to find him.”
Mara felt a strange pressure building behind her eyes.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because your son has the same birthmark.”
Mara froze.
Arthur pointed toward Eli's neck.
A small brown mark showed above the collar of his pajamas.
Mara covered it immediately.
“What did you just say?”
Arthur's voice almost broke.
“My grandson has that mark.”
Mara shook her head.
“No.”
“I know how that sounds.”
“You don't know my son.”
“I know.”
“You've never seen him before.”
Arthur's eyes stayed on Eli.
“Not him.”
Mara understood.
He was looking at a memory.
At someone else.
At the child in his daughter's photograph.
The security officer stepped between them.
“Sir, step back.”
Arthur obeyed.
Mara looked down at Eli.
Then at the envelope.
Then at the photograph.
Something inside her mind connected.
The warning on the envelope.
Daniel's message.
The missing luggage.
The second passport.
Arthur's daughter's watch.
She looked at the handwriting again.
Daniel had written:
DON’T TRUST THE OLD MAN.
But Daniel had also been the one who packed Eli's backpack.
Mara suddenly remembered something else.
The envelope had not been sealed.
It had been tucked beneath the blanket.
As though someone had wanted her to find it.
Not someone trying to hide it.
Someone trying to make sure she did.
Her phone vibrated again.
This time the message was from Daniel.
WHERE IS ARTHUR?
Mara stared at the screen.
Arthur noticed.
“What did he ask?”
She looked up.
“He knows your name.”
Arthur's face went pale.
“He shouldn't.”
Mara stepped backward.
The airport noise seemed to vanish.
“Then tell me the truth.”
Arthur looked at her.
“About what?”
“Why were you really watching me?”
He hesitated.
Then he said something that made the security officer reach for his radio.
“Because I was warned you were coming.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART3: Arthur Finally Revealed Why He Had Been Waiting, While Mara Discovered Her Husband’s Careful Story Was Beginning to Collapse
The Elderly Stranger at the Airport Who Asked a Tired Young Mother One Question She Had Spent Years Trying to Forget
Part 2 of 16
