Chapter 2: The Letter He Never Showed Me
My heart was pounding.
"Find out what?" I demanded.
"Who are you?"
The man didn't flinch.
He just looked at me with this calm, steady expression that made me feel like I was the one missing something.
"My name is Dex," he said.
"And I think we need to talk somewhere private."
"We're not going anywhere," I said.
"You're going to tell me right now how you know my son."
Zion tugged at my sleeve.
"Mom, please don't be mad."
That stopped me cold.
*Please don't be mad.* Like he'd been keeping this secret for a while.
Like he already knew I wouldn't like the answer.
"Zion, how long have you known this man?"
He didn't answer.
He just looked up at Dex like he was waiting for permission.
Dex crouched down to Zion's level and said quietly, "It's okay, buddy.
I'll explain."
Then he stood back up and looked straight at me.
"I've been watching out for him for about four months.
Every Tuesday and Thursday after school.
He asked me not to say anything."
Four months.
My seven-year-old had been meeting a stranger for four months and I had no idea.
"Why?" I whispered.
"Why would he do that?"
Dex reached into the chest pocket of his vest and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"Because of this," he said.
"He wrote me a letter, ma'am.
The first day we met."
My hands were shaking as I reached for it.
---
What was in that letter — and why did Zion feel he couldn't tell his own mother?
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The truth broke me.
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