Chapter 3 - Searching the Shadows
Finding a woman who wanted to disappear five years ago in the age of digital footprints was both simple and agonizingly difficult.
Daniel did not return to his office at Whitmore Holdings. Instead, he drove directly to a modest brick building in downtown Providence to see Marcus Kane, an investigator who had handled delicate corporate disputes for the Whitmore firm for over a decade.
Marcus sat behind a cluttered desk, flipping open a folder as Daniel laid the old train ticket on the desk.
""Claire Avery,"" Daniel said. ""She boarded the 8:20 train out of Newport on October 14, five years ago. Find out where she got off. Find out where she lives, where she works, if she's married... everything.""
Marcus raised his eyebrows, sensing the raw desperation behind the billionaire’s polished facade. ""Daniel, this is personal. You sure you want to open this door? Five years is a long time. People change. They build new lives.""
""I don't care,"" Daniel said, his hands clenched into tight fists in his pockets. ""I need to know she's safe. And I need to tell her the truth.""
""Give me twenty-four hours,"" Marcus sighed, pulling a laptop toward him. ""If she used a social security number, registered a vehicle, or renewed a medical assistant license in the Northeast, she’ll be on the grid.""
Those twenty-four hours were the longest of Daniel's life. He checked into a small coastal hotel rather than returning to his apartment in Boston or the family estate in Newport. He couldn't stomach the luxury of his life knowing that Claire had walked away into the dark with five thousand dollars and a broken heart, believing he had discarded her without a second thought.
He stayed awake through the night, staring at the ceiling, remembering the small things. The way she used to hum soft jazz while preparing his father’s chamomile tea. The way she had sat quietly beside him on the dock behind the house during the worst weeks of his father's decline, never offering hollow platitudes, simply existing in the silence with him.
At 9:15 the following morning, Daniel’s phone buzzed.
""I found her,"" Marcus said without preamble. ""She didn't stay in Boston. She transferred to a commuter line and headed north. She’s in Rockport, Maine.""
Daniel sat up, his heart pounding against his ribs. ""What is she doing there?""
""She works at a community eldercare clinic on the harbor. She lives in a small rented cottage above a bookstore. And Daniel..."" Marcus hesitated.
""What is it? Is she married?""
May you like
""No record of marriage,"" Marcus replied. ""She lives alone. But Daniel, tread carefully. She chose a very quiet corner of the world. Don't go there like a wrecking ball.""
""I'm not going there to break anything,"" Daniel whispered, grabbing his keys. ""I'm going there to fix what should have been whole.""
