CHAPTER 4: Emily Wakes Up

Rumors about the boy at the gala spread throughout the city the very next morning. Marcus, Daniel’s assistant, reported that the press was looking for Noah’s identity. Daniel didn’t reply. He was opening the old tin box Noah had brought with him.

Inside were several photographs, a child’s bracelet, a faded train ticket, and an unsent letter. In the photos, a younger Emily stood beside Daniel in an autumn market. They smiled as if they had never parted.

The letter read: Daniel, if you read this letter, I may not have time to tell you that we have a child.

Daniel had to put the letter down. He didn’t remember ever being given a choice. He only remembered Margaret saying Emily had taken the money and left. He called, he searched, but his wounded pride made him stop.
Daniel went to Emily's old apartment. The landlady said Emily had been pregnant, had gone to the Cross office many times but been stopped. She stood in the rain just to deliver a letter.

"She said she didn't need money," she said. "Just that you knew the baby was real."

Marcus later found a copy of an envelope sent to Cross Group. The receipt was still there. The signatory was Margaret Cross.

That evening, Noah asked, "My mother didn't lie, did she?"
Daniel sat one step lower than him on the stairs.

"No," he said. "Your mother didn't lie."