Marcus didn’t answer Denise. Instead, he walked toward the restaurant entrance, flipped the sign from OPEN to CLOSED, and slowly returned to her table. Conversations stopped. Forks hovered over plates while Tessa pulled her little boy, Milo, closer. I stood nearby holding an empty tray, my hands shaking so badly that I finally had to put it down. Denise stared at Marcus as if she expected him to back away, but he remained strangely calm.

“Who do I think I am?” Marcus repeated quietly. Then he reached inside his jacket and removed a folded sheet of paper. He placed it directly in front of Denise and told her to read the first line aloud. Her confidence vanished instantly. Nobody had introduced her, yet Marcus knew her name. Denise grabbed the paper, and every bit of color drained from her face. She looked toward me in panic, and I knew that whatever Marcus had uncovered was something she desperately wanted hidden. Click continue reading below