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Two Years Gone - Two Secrets Born

Two Years Gone - Two Secrets Born

Author: E$tar
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Chapter 1 Homecoming

Word Count: 1206    |    Released on: 07/06/2025

inal. Monique's hand instinctively reached for the sleeping toddler sprawled across her lap, her fingers smoothing

her breath a shaky th

ye

inside her, a flicker that had grown into the child now cradled in her arms. Returning to the city she once called

kled overhead, falsely cheerful. "Local time is 11:00 a.m., and the

her ribs as passengers began gathering coats, clicking open overhead bins, shi

just anoth

the place where she

ddler blinked drowsily, her lashes thick and dark like her father's. Monique

re?" Cherr

rrier with the other. Her body was used to multitasking now , navigating the world alone, shielding Cherry with fierce

lways were in crowds. She kept Cherry close, the little girl's hand tucked into hers. They passed a coffee

en. She didn't need to see

igns: Baggage Claim, Exit, Ri

e shoulder. His hair was a little longer than it had been in her memory, and he had faint s

i

y stopped

if sensing h

s usually sharp features. She hadn't told him she was coming. She had barely spoken to anyone e

ice was low, earn

ve years in two?"

going to say strong.

at him with wide

before answering. "This is Ni

dn't want to startle her. "Hi, Che

ush toy dangling from the zipper. "This

ned. "Sma

into Monique's side, sati

you," Nick said

ind her eyes and quickly l

ell, damp pavement, exhaust, something faintly metallic, hit Monique like a memory. She'd hated t

as they approached the curb. "

uby had always had a wide net for support and a su

he backseat, a half-empty water bottle in the cup holder. Cherry b

time?" Nick asked gently as

ent, watching the blur of b

places with no questions. I worked where I could. Cleaned hou

weight of her words s

rry," h

idn't

u didn't deser

se the alternative was worse? That she still woke up sometimes convinced som

ctful silence the

ke it, with peeling white trim and a small, fenced-in yard that Mo

arry in your thi

ded. "T

window and pressed her palms to t

the robin hop along the fence. Fo

ear the sofa and looked aroun

slowly. "It's

irst place you've come

with trust, but somet

g," he added. "Let

to the door.

then paused. "You're

d him walk down the steps and

e leaned against it and let out a long, slow

is hom

ank walls, the small couch where she had soon f

id softly. "I

uld last less than twelve hours. That the very nex

l knock on

the

You're und

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1 Chapter 1 Homecoming2 Chapter 2 The Knock and The Handcuff3 Chapter 3 Shifting Ground4 Chapter 4 The Weight of Silence5 Chapter 5 Bargains and Ghosts6 Chapter 6 Smoke Behind the Curtain7 Chapter 7 Beneath the Surface8 Chapter 8 Threads of Deception9 Chapter 9 Echoes of Her Voice10 Chapter 10 The Fifth Mother11 Chapter 11 The Sound of the Missing12 Chapter 12 The Orchard Gate13 Chapter 13 The Name They Couldn't Erase14 Chapter 14 The Proxy15 Chapter 15 Threads of the Past16 Chapter 16 The Man in the Shadows17 Chapter 17 The Six-Day Clock18 Chapter 18 Beneath the Garden19 Chapter 19 Into the Quiet Night20 Chapter 20 The Men Behind the Curtain21 Chapter 21 Shadows Between Us22 Chapter 22 Fractured Echoes23 Chapter 23 The Visitor at Dusk24 Chapter 24 A Hand on the Wall25 Chapter 25 The Clock Is Ticking26 Chapter 26 Past Due27 Chapter 27 Fragments of the Past28 Chapter 28 The Edge of the Truth29 Chapter 29 The Hidden Hallways30 Chapter 30 Shadows of the Nursery31 Chapter 31 The Stand32 Chapter 32 The People vs. Monique Taylor33 Chapter 33 Cracks Beneath the Verdict34 Chapter 34 Quiet Turns to Trust35 Chapter 35 Shifting Grounds36 Chapter 36 Threads of Truth37 Chapter 37 A Shift in the Wind38 Chapter 38 The Cracks in the Appeal39 Chapter 39 Beneath the Weight of Truth40 Chapter 40 The Walls Have Ears41 Chapter 41 The Safehouse42 Chapter 42 The Second Witness43 Chapter 43 The Truth44 Chapter 44 The Fallout45 Chapter 45 Shadows Bite Back46 Chapter 46 Tides Closing In47 Chapter 47 The Snare Tightens48 Chapter 48 The Watchers