Chapter 2

Keith Morton froze for barely a second before he stepped in front of Athena Hancock and the boy, shielding them both. He had no idea who Sarah was. Instead of admitting anything, he flipped it all back on me and started demanding answers, indignant.

"You've been following me?"

"Trust is the most important thing between a husband and wife. We've been married ten years. How can you suspect me?"

"I only came to celebrate Athena's son's birthday, and here you are, uninvited, telling me I've wronged you?"

I couldn't listen to another word, so I slapped him.

"Drop the act."

"I already know everything. You and Athena Hancock never broke up, and that boy is your love child!"

Keith clutched his cheek, and his expression finally cracked.

"How could you possibly know..."

He trailed off and looked at Sarah, standing beside me.

"No wonder I've felt someone tailing me lately. This is the private investigator you hired, isn't it?"

"Why can't you just live a quiet life at home? Why do you have to destroy the peace I've worked so hard to keep?"

"I'm calling the police right now to have this stalker arrested."

I slapped him again with the back of my hand and threw his phone straight at the wedding portrait of him and Athena Hancock.

"Keith Morton, she is not a stalker. She's my daughter. Our daughter!"

"She and I were both killed by this Athena Hancock. She came back through time this once just to make me see the truth!"

Keith looked like he wanted to laugh but forced it down hard.

"Catherine Powell, are you out of your mind?"

"Time travel? You actually believe that?"

"Why can't you just tell the truth? You hired someone to follow me because you want to break Athena and me apart, don't you?"

"Athena has stayed by my side all these years with no name, no title. She's already suffered enough, and now you're standing here losing your mind, calling her a murderer?"

"When did you turn this unreasonable, this crazy? I don't even recognize you anymore."

Three:

I had never seen anyone twist the blame this shamelessly.

But I couldn't be bothered to explain. I just looked at him.

"If she isn't our daughter, how would I know you have another family out there?"

"This is the paternity test Sarah brought me. If she weren't my daughter, how could the result come back a match?"

"She and I are only about ten years apart. If that's not time travel, then what is it?"

Keith stared at the paternity test report in his hand, dumbstruck.

"This..."

Seeing that Keith had nothing to say, Athena Hancock quickly pulled the boy down to kneel with her before me.

"Catherine, it isn't like that."

"The child was an accident."

"Back then I thought about having an abortion and leaving Keith, but I was too soft-hearted. This was a life, after all."

"I gave birth to him, but I never once thought about taking anything from you. That's why for these ten years I've stayed quiet, always treating myself as if I didn't exist."

"I'm begging you, please, just act like none of this ever happened. Take her and go. From now on we'll keep to ourselves and never cross paths again. All right?"

Keith gently helped Athena Hancock and the boy back to their feet, pain written on his face.

"I don't care how she showed up, but I know exactly what kind of person Athena is. There is no way she would ever do anything to hurt someone."

"So even if she really is our daughter, even if she really did travel back through time, what she says isn't necessarily true."

"Maybe in the future she found out Athena existed, so she pushed the present you into coming here to make a scene!"

That made me laugh.

"What a delicate, helpless, gentle, kind-hearted little mistress you've got!"

"We've been married ten years, and today that boy is turning ten. Is this something a good person would do?"

"Keith Morton, the things you're saying, do you even believe them yourself?"