Chapter 87 Tough decisions
Caleb
John Legend’s Ordinary People flowed softly from the speakers, and Elsie sang along like she wasn’t worried about getting the notes right. I was driving down the smooth road, finally taking her home despite Malcom’s warning to bring her home.
I was disobeying him, and ready to face the consequences.
Elsie’s voice cracked on the chorus.
Badly.
I laughed before I could stop myself. “God, your voice is shit.”
She gasped and turned toward me, scandalized. “Ooh, don’t you dare.”
I glanced at her, grinning. “No, it’s really shit.”
She smacked my arm lightly. “You’re horrible.”
“But,” I added calmly, “I like it.”
She stared at me for a second, then rolled her eyes and kept singing, louder this time, deliberately off-key. I laughed again, shaking my head. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed like that. The sound surprised me, even now.
She was happy. Genuinely happy.
Not guarded. Not tense. Not watching every corner of the world like it might reach out and grab her. She leaned back in her seat, the window slightly down, the rush of air lifting strands of her hair and tossing them across her face. She kept pushing them away, smiling to herself, as the moment belonged to her alone.
I kept stealing glances at her from the corner of my eye.
I had never seen her like this.
Usually, Elsie carried herself carefully, as if braced for impact, as if joy were something she rationed. But right now, she was loose and alive, singing nonsense lyrics between the real ones, tapping her fingers against her thigh, swaying a little with the music.
Trusting me.
The word hit harder than it should have.
“You really like this song,” I said, mostly to hear her voice.
She nodded immediately. “I love it. It feels honest. Like… people admitting they don’t know what they’re doing but trying anyway.”
Her eyes flicked to me, searching my face. “That’s kind of rare.”
Something tight curled in my chest. “Yeah,” I said quietly. “It is.”
The song reached the bridge, and she sang it softer, her voice rough, imperfect, and real. I didn’t tease her again. I just listened.
Then my phone buzzed.
Once.
I ignored it.
It buzzed again.
I frowned and reached for it, expecting some pointless notification. The screen lit up, and the world tilted off its axis.
It was a picture.
A selfie.
Diego’s face filled half the screen, smiling like this was all a joke. The other half showed my son standing stiffly beside him, school bag slung over one shoulder. They were in front of the school gate. I recognized it instantly. The chipped paint. The security sign.
Diego had crouched to his level, one arm casually draped around his small shoulders, like they were friends.
The air left my lungs in a sharp rush. “Shit.”
My foot hit the brake harder than necessary. The car lurched forward, seatbelts pulling tight.
Elsie grabbed the dashboard. “Whoa—Caleb!”
I stared at the screen, my hand shaking. Rage, fear, and something feral clawed up my spine.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice already edged with fear.
I locked the phone and forced it down, my jaw clenched so tight it ached. “Business.”
She frowned. “That didn’t sound like business.”
“It is.” My voice came out rough. “I just… I need to handle it.”
I unlocked the phone again and dialed Luciana.
No answer.
I tried again.
Still nothing.
My heart started pounding harder, faster, each beat echoing in my ears. I typed a message to Diego with shaking thumbs.
‘Touch a single hair on my son’s head and I will destroy you. I will burn everything you care about and everyone who stands next to you. This is not a threat.’
The reply came almost instantly.
‘Your son. Or the girl.
Meet me at the old rice mill for the exchange.’
My grip tightened on the steering wheel. My vision tunneled.
Exchange.
My foot slammed down on the accelerator without warning. The car surged forward, speed climbing fast enough that Elsie yelped and braced herself.
“Caleb!” she shouted. “You’re scaring me now.”
I didn’t respond. I couldn’t trust my voice.
I made a sharp turn, tires screeching. Elsie barely missed hitting her head against the window.
“Okay,” she said, breathless, panic flooding her eyes. “What is happening with you?”
I turned the car around, heading back the way we came, my mind spiraling through impossible choices.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
I swallowed hard. “I have something to take care of.”
“That’s not an answer,” she said. “Caleb, look at me.”
I didn’t.
Because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to do what I was already moving toward.
The song was still playing, faint now, the irony slicing straight through me.
We’re just ordinary people…
Elsie stared at me, confusion and fear mixing with something worse — trust. She believed in me. She believed I would protect her.
I tightened my hands on the wheel as Sosusu Place drew closer, my chest aching like it was splitting in two.
I had always told myself there were lines I would never cross.
But I was a father.
And whatever waited at the end of this road was going to break something I could never put back together.