And for the first time in years, Elias Baron had nothing to say.
CHAPTER 1
Adeline folded her arms.
“You followed me across the city because of bread?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Elias looked around the apartment.
The heater rattled.
A bucket beneath the window caught water dripping from the ceiling.
Ben watched him suspiciously.
“You’re her boss?”
“Yes.”
“The rich one?”
“Ben,” Adeline warned.
“What? She says her boss owns a house with bathrooms bigger than this apartment.”
Elias almost smiled.
Adeline looked horrified.
“I never said—”
“You absolutely did.”
Elias removed his coat.
“Your father saved my life.”
Silence.
Adeline stared at him.
“What?”
“Three years ago. Harbor Street. My SUV was hit at an intersection.”
Her face slowly changed.
Elias continued.
“I was trapped. Your father pulled me through the passenger window.”
Adeline sat down.
“He came home that morning with burns on his hands.”
“He refused money.”
“He hated charity.”
“I offered him a job.”
“He hated bosses too.”
Ben smiled faintly.
“That sounds like Dad.”
Elias looked at the photograph.
“I searched for him after he disappeared.”
Adeline’s smile vanished.
“He didn’t disappear.”
“What happened?”
“He got sick.”
Elias turned toward her.
“From the accident?”
“No. Cancer.”
She looked at Ben.
“We spent everything.”
Ben lowered his eyes.
Adeline continued.
“Dad died eleven months later. Medical bills took the savings. Then Ben got sick.”
Elias glanced at the bandage.
“What happened to him?”
Ben answered before she could.
“Kidney disease.”
Adeline shot him a look.
“What? He asked.”
Elias noticed a stack of envelopes beside the laptop.
FINAL NOTICE.
PAST DUE.
COLLECTION NOTICE.
He understood the bread now.
The extra shifts.
The pharmacy coins.
But one question remained.
“Why were you near my basement records room?”
Adeline froze.
There it was.
Elias saw fear.
Not guilt.
Fear.
“I got lost.”
“Twice?”
She looked away.
“No.”
“Adeline.”
“Someone asked me to go there.”
Elias became completely still.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Male or female?”
“Male.”
“What did he look like?”
“I never saw him.”
Elias stepped closer.
“Explain.”
“Someone started leaving envelopes in my locker.”
Ben sat upright.
“What envelopes?”
Adeline closed her eyes.