Chapter 9 - The Promise Kept
That evening, after all the guests had left and the stars were bright over the quiet harbor, Ellie and I walked down to the end of our wooden dock.
The water was calm, reflecting the dark starlit sky like a mirror.
Ellie sat on the edge of the dock, dangling her feet above the water, while I sat beside her. She pulled a small silver locket from under her shirt—a locket containing a tiny photograph of Hannah.
“Dad?”
“Yeah, Ellie?”
“Do you remember what Vanessa said that day?” Ellie asked quietly. “She said, ‘Tell your daughter to stay hidden until I’m Mrs. Callahan.’”
“I remember,” I murmured.
Ellie locked her eyes with mine, her face lit by the moonlight. “I’m never going to hide again, Dad.”
“No,” I said, pulling her close to my side. “You will never have to hide from anyone ever again. You saved my life that day, Ellie. If you hadn't shown me that folder, I would have walked down that aisle and let the wrong people into our lives.”
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“Mommy guided me to the folder,” Ellie said with quiet conviction. “She made Vanessa drop it.”
I smiled, looking up at the sky. “I think she did.”
