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The place was still a little unkempt, but I’d busied myself in upkeep and repairs, and it was looking more and more livable by the day.
Sally and I... we hadn’t had much time to ourselves since the funeral. Did I hate that I wasn’t facing up to her?
I did. With all my heart. But I was afraid. What would I tell her? How would I explain that I’d let her down in the most colossal way? How would I fill up that space?
I didn’t have any answers, so I took the route of a coward and hid from her.
Sophia had heated up some leftover casserole, courtesy of Noah’s cooking. I ate my meal in silence and went to the living room.
I had my head buried on the table when I felt her tiny little fingers slip into mine.
She hadn’t learned to say too many words yet. But whatever she could come up with was enough. Even those little warblings held the magic of an untainted world.
“Dada?”
I looked down at her face, picked her up, and sat her down on my lap. Okay. I told myself if she wanted an answer, I’d come up with something.
She handed me a little piece of paper.
It was a drawing of her and me. She had her hand in mine.
“I hewp you.”
I cried like a baby. I held my little girl and I cried and cried and cried.
And when I’d finally composed myself and put my little angel to bed, I came back to the living room and made another phone call.
Gabriel Nobokov.
I did not know his real name. He was a shadow lurking in the underground, a master-forger, an expert in creating brand-new identities. He knew the ins and outs of the system.
He could make me disappear without a trace.
I was a particularly tricky case. I didn’t want to leave NYC. In fact, I had to stay here to do what I’d set my mind on. And I had a daughter and a few people who knew me. He’d have to be clever.
But this was all in a day’s work for him.
Gabriel's clients came from all walks of life. Some were running from abusive relationships, while others were hiding out from the law.
But no matter who they were or what they'd done, Gabriel never judged them. That was God’s business. He was a mere mortal.
He saw his work as a way of giving people a second chance, and he took pride in his ability to help them start anew.
I knew this would set me back financially. His services did not come cheap, but for his clients, every penny was worth it. New passports for Sally and me. A fake history, complete with a new resume. A whole new Social Security number.
His work was meticulous.
As for Gabriel's own past, nobody knew anything about it.
When June told me about him, she introduced him as a spy. We were exploring the city’s night-life at the time. And Gabriel took to her. He wasn’t the first person to fall for June and her siren eyes.
We knew the limits of what our relationship's boundaries entailed, and all three of us respected them. When I lost June, Gabriel was the first person who called me and told me he’d help with anything I needed.
I needed him to give me a whole new life.
A week from then, Elex Burton died in a car crash on a road trip. His only child was said to be with him.
Noah and Benjamin knew. So did Benjamin’s sister. To the rest of the world, the Burton family had been wiped out of existence. Tragic.
