"Your mother knew some of it."
Lily's heart tightened.
"What do you mean?"
Caleb sighed.
"Daniel believed that if Sloan couldn't find him, he would eventually stop looking."
"But he didn't."
"No."
Caleb looked toward the rain.
"He never stopped."
Lily opened the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
A young man stood beside a woman.
The woman was Lily's mother.
The man was Daniel.
Lily stared at it.
Behind them was a little white house.
On the back, Daniel had written:
If Lily ever asks where I went, tell her I never left her.
Tears filled Lily's eyes.
"Why would he say that?"
Caleb answered softly.
"Because he knew one day you would find the truth."
Lily looked at him.
"What exactly did my father promise you?"
Caleb stared at the photograph.
"He said, 'If I don't make it home, protect my daughter until I can.'"
"And you've been doing that?"
"For twenty-three years."
Lily shook her head.
"Why?"
Caleb smiled sadly.
"Because I gave him my word."
THE HOUSE WITH NO WINDOWS
Caleb took Lily to an abandoned farmhouse nearly forty miles from the city.
The house looked empty.
Its windows were boarded.
The porch sagged.
A rusted mailbox leaned sideways near the road.
"This is safe?"
"For tonight."
Caleb unlocked the door.
Inside, everything was surprisingly clean.
There were canned goods, bottled water, medical supplies and several old radios.
Lily looked around.
"You've prepared this place."
"Years ago."
"For me?"
"Not specifically."
He paused.
"But I always knew I might need it."
Lily sat at the kitchen table.
She had too many questions.
The biggest one was impossible to ignore.
"If my father is alive, where is he?"
"I don't know."
"You said he was."
"I said I believe he is."
"That's different."
"Yes."
Caleb placed another photograph on the table.
It showed Daniel standing beside a train.
The date was twenty-two years old.
"He sent this to me."
"From where?"
"Montana."
Lily stared.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because the people watching you were still there."
"What people?"
Caleb's answer came slowly.