Chapter 6 - THE FIRST NIGHT SHE DIDN'T COME HOME
"Historical claims?"
Nora looked at the list in Mara's hands.
"Why would Celeste use those to decide who gets housing now?"
Mara studied the names.
"Because she remembers who was hurt."
"That's understandable."
"Yes. But Raymond and Tessa are being pushed out of their apartment today."
Nora lowered herself into a chair.
"So she's trying to repair an old injustice by creating a new one."
Mara wished the answer were that simple.
Celeste had grown up watching her mother struggle to keep Beacon Harbor alive.
Her father had died saving Adrian.
Her family had carried debts that appeared to grow no matter how faithfully they paid.
Mara could understand Celeste's desperation.
What she couldn't understand was why everyone had decided that desperation entitled Celeste to control the lives of other people.
At two o'clock, Gideon Shaw appeared outside the center.
Mara spotted him through the window.
He was standing beside a black SUV.
Waiting.
She walked outside.
"Did Adrian send you?"
"Mr. Valente asked me to make sure you're safe."
"I'm at a community center, Gideon."
"I'm aware."
"Then why are you here?"
Gideon hesitated.
"Your schedule has become unpredictable."
Mara felt her patience disappear.
"My schedule?"
"You're going places without notifying the household."
"Because I'm an adult."
"I understand."
"Do you?"
He looked uncomfortable.
Mara studied him.
"How does Adrian know where I go?"
Gideon said nothing.
"Does someone follow my car?"
"No, ma'am."
"Then how?"
"Your phone location is shared with the household security system."
"I knew Adrian could see my location."
"The security office can see it, too."
Mara stared.
"Who authorized that?"
"It was included in the standard protection arrangements after your engagement."
"And nobody thought to tell me?"
Gideon looked genuinely troubled.
"I believed you knew."
He took a breath.
"We maintain movement reports for family protection."
"Movement reports?"
"Departure times. Destinations. Unusual changes."
Mara's face went cold.
"Show me."
Gideon reluctantly opened his tablet.
The report contained ordinary details from her life.
When she left the estate.
Where she stopped for coffee.
How long she spent at Beacon Harbor.
The previous day's unexpected visit to Isabelle's café.
Mara read the last entry.
SUBJECT REMAINED AT REYES CAFÉ FOR 94 MINUTES.
She stared at the words.
"Subject?"
Gideon closed the tablet.
"Mrs. Valente, this is standard."
"Then your standards are wrong."
He didn't argue.
That surprised her.
Instead, he said quietly, "I'll ask that the system be reviewed."
"No. You'll tell Adrian I want my information removed."
Gideon nodded.
"And don't come here unless I ask."
For a moment, his professional mask slipped.
"You're right to be angry."
Mara looked at him.
"Then remember how this feels the next time you write a report about somebody's wife."
That evening, she returned to the estate carrying a small overnight bag.
Adrian was standing beside the staircase.
He noticed the bag immediately.
"Where are you going?"
"Somewhere I rented."
He went still.
"You rented a place?"
"Yes."
"Without telling me?"
Mara looked at him for a long moment.
"Do you hear yourself?"
Adrian walked closer.
"Are you leaving me?"
"I'm taking a room where nobody tracks how long I drink coffee."
His face changed.
"Gideon told me."
"Did he tell you I didn't know about the reports?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"I ordered the tracking access disabled."
"Thank you."
"But you could have told me where you were going."
Mara shook her head.
"Adrian, turning off a tracking system isn't the same as understanding why it hurt me."
He looked exhausted.
"I've spent my whole life making sure the people I love don't become targets."
"And I've spent my life helping people who have no control over their circumstances."
She lifted the bag slightly.
"I never thought I'd have to explain to my husband why I wanted control over mine."
He glanced at her wedding ring.
"Will you take that off, too?"
Mara looked down.
"No."
Hope crossed his face.
Then she continued.
"Not because you've earned my trust. Because I haven't decided what our marriage means yet."
Adrian stepped aside.
For a man who could order armed guards to close an entire street, the movement seemed painfully difficult.
"Will you tell me you're safe?"
"Yes."
"Will you come back?"
"I don't know."
Mara walked down the steps alone.
At Isabelle's café, she carried her suitcase upstairs.
The apartment smelled faintly of coffee and fresh paint.
The bed was small.
The kitchen barely fit two people.
The window rattled when a truck passed.
Mara set her bag down.
Then she locked the door.
For the first time in months, she knew exactly who held the only key.
She slept better than she expected.
The next morning, she opened the relocation spreadsheet Nora had shared.
She intended to prepare an appeal for Raymond before his interview.
His name appeared near the bottom.
Beside it was the decision from the new foundation.
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: DECLINED.
The reason was printed beneath it.
INSUFFICIENT VERIFIED RESIDENCY.
Mara stared at the screen.
Raymond had been working with Beacon Harbor for eleven months.
One month short of the proposed requirement.
Then she noticed the date on his landlord's final notice.
Forty-five days.
That was all he had before he and his eight-year-old daughter had to leave their apartment.
Mara closed the laptop.
May you like
Adrian had promised Celeste that she would always come first.
Now Mara had forty-five days to prove that people like Raymond and Tessa deserved a place in that promise, too.
