Page 18 of What Comes Around

I smiled. “Good choice. I’m good with numbers too.”

That made him look up, just a flicker at first, like he wasn’t sure he’d heard me right.

“Really?” he asked, barely above a whisper.

“Really,” I said. “Numbers make sense. They follow rules.”

He considered that, his brows drawing together in a way that told me he understood more than a seven‑year‑old should.

“I like when things add up,” he said. “When they fit.”

“I do too,” I replied.

Dinner was uncomfortable.

Brandon tried too hard to keep the conversation alive. Marissa spoke as little as possible. Evan ate quietly, asking permission before touching anything, thanking everyone for every small thing.

When Brandon stepped away to take a call, Marissa finally turned to me.

Her voice dropped instantly.

“Did you report Apple to the police?”

I noticed Evan stiffen at the shift in her tone.

“Yes,” I said calmly.

“This family is already bleeding, Ashley. We don’t need you making it worse.”

“I stopped identity theft,” I replied. “That’s all.”

“Apple isn’t here because of you,” she snapped. “And Nick told her if she comes back here, he will ruin her.”

“That sounds like consequences,” I said.

Her mouth tightened.

“You think you’ve won,” she whispered. “Brandon brings home a bastard, Apple is under investigation, and you sit there like none of it touches you.”

I tilted my head slightly.

“You know,” I said casually, “it’s not like it was twenty-six years ago.”

She froze, confused.

“There are cameras everywhere now. DNA databases. Financial records. Missing people don’t simply disappear anymore.”

I let the words settle before adding,

“I’m sure they’ll find Elena.”

Something flickered in her eyes. Her jaw hardened.

“It won’t be another unsolved story,” I added quietly. “Not like Ines.”

Marissa said nothing. Brandon returned and the moment dissolved.

I looked at Evan again. The careful way he held himself. The way he checked Marissa’s face before speaking. The way he tried to be invisible.