His face crumpled.
“I don’t know.”
Maribel quietly explained what they had gathered so far. Oliver had been riding in the back seat of a rideshare when a drunk driver hit the vehicle. The driver had survived with injuries. Oliver had no phone with him. Inside his backpack, police had found a sealed envelope, a spare set of clothes, and a contact card with Nora’s information.
“Was your mother in the car?” Nora asked.
Oliver shook his head.
“She put me in it.”
“Where were you going?”
“To you.”
The room tilted slightly, as if the ground beneath her had shifted without warning.
Oliver reached for his backpack with his uninjured hand.
“She told me not to open the letter unless I got scared.”
Maribel glanced at Nora.
“We haven’t opened it. We were waiting for a guardian.”
“I’m not his guardian,” Nora said.
“No,” Maribel replied gently. “But right now, you’re the only adult he trusts enough to talk to.”
Oliver held out the envelope. Nora’s name was written across the front in handwriting she recognized immediately.
Nora.
She sat beside him and carefully opened it. The paper inside was creased, the writing uneven, as if it had been done in a hurry.
Nora, if Oliver is with you, it means I finally did what I should have done years ago. I’m sorry I disappeared. I’m sorry I called you a liar when you were the only one brave enough to tell the truth.
Mark found us again. I thought I could handle it, but I can’t risk Oliver. He doesn’t know everything. Please don’t let him go with Mark. Call Detective Jonah Reed at the number below. He knows part of it.
You don’t owe me anything. I know that. But you once saw me clearly when everyone else chose not to. I’m asking you to see my son now.
Rachel.
Nora’s hands shook as she lowered the letter.
Oliver watched her carefully.
“Is Mom in trouble?”
Nora hesitated. She wanted to protect him from the truth, but children always sensed when adults were hiding something.
“I think she was trying to keep you safe,” she said.
His eyes filled with tears.
“Is she coming?”
“I don’t know yet.”
