leaving.
This time, I simply showed her the formula.
“Call me if you need me.”
She smiled.
“I’ve got them, Annika.”
A week earlier, that sentence would have made me nervous.
That day, I just left.
Lauren was already sitting at a corner table when I arrived.
She looked almost as uncomfortable as I felt.
“I’m sorry,” she said immediately.
“I don’t need apologies yet. I need facts.”
She nodded.
“When did Ethan find out?”
“About eighteen months ago.”
“Did he know before then?”
“No. I raised Mia alone. I was fine doing that for years. Then she started asking questions about her father.”
