Brisbane comes into view beneath us—the river cutting through, the city spreading out in muted color. I press my fingers lightly to the window, grounding myself in something solid.
We land without fanfare. No crowd or noise this time. Just quiet. Thanks to Grandad, most likely.
A car is already waiting.
“Thank you, Michael, for letting me fly with you,” Christina says.
He glances at her. “This wasn’t a time to hold grudges.”
I turn that over, sensing there’s more beneath it.
Christina slows near the car. “Darling, my car’s this way.”
Dane and I glance at each other.
The idea of separating—even for a few minutes—doesn’t sit right. My body rejects it before I can think it through.
We don’t split up. We never have.
“Mum, this is a lot for us. The last couple of days have been a huge adjustment. Charlotte and I haven’t been apart in fourteen years.”
He pauses briefly.
“I think being separated right now would be harder than either of us needs.”
Christina studies him. “Dane… I thought you were dead. For fourteen years.” She takes a breath. “There are people waiting for you. People who love you.”
A brief pause.
“You have a stepfather. And two little sisters.”
I feel it land in him.
“Okay… that’s a surprise,” he says.
“They’re excited to meet you,” Christina says quickly, something softer breaking through. “They’ve been asking about you for years.”
“I want to meet them.” He glances at me, then back at her. “But not tonight, Mum. I’m not leaving Charlotte.”
Christina looks at me then. There’s a question in it, unspoken.
I hold her gaze. She’s the one who looks away first.
“Tomorrow then, darling,” she says. “We’ll spend the day together.”
“Definitely,” Dane says. “Tomorrow.”
Grandad’s estate comes back to me in pieces as we arrive—the drive, the gates, the house set back from everything else.
Not much has changed. It’s still large. Still quiet. Staff move through the background without drawing attention to themselves.
Inside, everything is in order, clean, and exactly where it should be.
It feels… distant from what I know. From what we’ve been living in.
A woman appears beside Grandad. She greets us and leads us through without hesitation. Rooms. Towels. Where everything is. Dinner, if we want it. Whenever we’re ready.
Everything is taken care of for us.
