Page 55 of Finally Found You

“I’m not sure yet, but you’ll be safe,” I assure them, forcing confidence into my voice that I don’t quite feel.

“Do we need to leave?” Heath’s inquiry is pragmatic and practical, as always.

“Doubtful, but check with your security.”

“So what happens with Mom?” Cory asks, resting her head on Heath’s shoulder.

“We don’t know yet, but I want to make sure we all talk to her before we make any decisions.”

“I’m not okay with this.” Her whisper carries a weight that threatens to shatter the tense silence. “I don’t know how to be okay with any of this. Jail isn’t punishment enough. She took my dad from me, almost robbed me of my best friend, and endangered our niece and nephews.”

Her anger, her pain resonates within me. But instead of adding fuel to the fire, I opt for a more levelheaded response. “We’ll discuss that once we’re sure that she’s behind all of that. For now, I need you all to cooperate and follow the security team’s instructions. Can you do that for me?”

Caspian’s voice cuts through the heaviness. “I speak for everyone when I say, next time, we’d appreciate being part of the planning. We’re not small children anymore. Personally, I’d like to be clued in if there’s a potential murderer in our midst before I’m forced into hiding.”

“Point taken,” I acknowledge, but leave it at that.

“How about your daughter? Are we ever going to get to meet her?” Huxley steers the conversation in a different direction.

“You’ll meet Kenzy soon,” I assure him. I don’t add that it won’t happen until it’s safe for everyone.

“Will she stay at the grief camp?” Fern’s question is laced with concern.

I nod. We say our goodbyes, and after we hang up, Gatsby breaks the silence. “They’re right. We have to stop treating them like children.”

“Fair enough,” Aslan agrees. “But right now, we have to pack up and leave. A doctor and a pilot are en route to ensure Keaton and the babies are okay.”

“Babies?” The word spills from my lips, echoing the surprise that widens my eyes. The last time I checked, Aslan and Keaton were having trouble conceiving one and now we’re talking about multiples.

A smile that carries warmth accompanies Aslan’s nod, pride that seems to illuminate the room. “We’ll be the proud parents of quads. In vitro is a tricky business. The doctor mentioned that usually, out of four embryos, only one tends to stick around. Seems all of ours were pretty tenacious.”

Gatsby claps him on the shoulder, and his grin widens. “Congratulations, I’m happy to be an uncle again. Let me go and see where the damn security team will send us. I hope it’s a tropical beach. The wife loves the sun.”

“I hope you say the same once you’re on babysitting duty.” Aslan smirks.

“We’ll all be there for you,” I assure him. The words stir something deep within me, a sense of loss for moments I never got to experience. The joy of witnessing my daughter’s first moments, her first breath, the first time she walked… Everything was stolen from me.

As the driver takes me to my apartment, my fingers dance across the screen of my phone, texting Camilla. I ask if she has any photos of Kenzy from her younger years. She assures me she’ll send some albums, and even texts me a few precious images that she has readily available. The sight of her with a little Kenzy in her arms stirs something in me, a longing that pushes me to do the one thing I had promised I wouldn’t.

Call her.

“Is everything okay?” Her voice, absent of any formal greeting, floods through the phone, as soothing as it is heart-wrenching.

The answer should be no, my life is a fucking mess, but what I manage is, “Yes, now that I hear your voice.”

“Lysander,” she breathes, a whisper that wraps around my name.

“I miss you.”

“You need to lose my number,” she whispers softly, her words caressing my ears.

Despite what she says, my immediate response is, “Losing it won’t make me stop loving you.”

Her silence hangs heavily on the other end of the line. I don’t know how to follow what I just told her. I’ve never missed or needed anyone the way I need her. In such a short time, she became part of me—weaved herself into the fabric of my soul. And how I wish she had found me sooner. She transformed my black-and-white life into a vibrant array of colors I never knew were missing.

“Ly, if you really care for me, I need you to forget I exist. If not for me, do it for her.” Cami’s response is barely a whisper before the line goes dead.

The emptiness of the silence leaves me grappling with my emotions. I can’t comprehend why pushing her aside is so hard. I did it once before—forgot the woman I loved and focused on my family. Why does it feel so different this time?

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