Chapter 5 Elena's Pov

The apartment is small. 

I'm grateful we managed to find an apartment at such short notice, but it's a little small for three people, too small for the life we're living, too small for the secrets pressing against the walls like they might burst through at any moment.

However, it's clean, it's near the hospital, and Maya already has a seat she loves.

This is our first morning here. 

She is curled up on that window seat, her thin legs tucked beneath her, watching the city wake up. 

"Mommy?" She doesn't look away from the window. "Are there children here? Like me?"

I cross the room and sit beside her, pulling her gently into my side. "There are millions of children here, baby. And when you're feeling better, we'll go find some of them, okay?"

She nods, but her eyes stay on the city. I wonder what she sees. Hope? Possibility? Or just another strange place where she's sick and tired and scared?

The knock on the door makes us both jump.

I freeze. No one knows we're here. No one except—

"Elena?" The voice through the door is muffled but unmistakable. Deep and familiar…haunting in its own way. "Elena, it's Marcus. Please. I know you're in there."

Maya looks at me, her brown eyes wide. "Who's that, Mommy?"

My heart hammers against my ribs. Marcus. My brother?

He is here.

"Stay here, baby." I press a kiss to her forehead and stand on shaking legs. "Stay quiet, okay? Just for a few minutes."

I walk to the door like I'm walking to my own execution. Through the peephole, I see him; older, tireder, but still Marcus. Still my brother. Still the person I abandoned without explanation.

I open the door a crack. Just enough to see him, just enough to keep Maya hidden.

"Marcus."

His name comes out strangled. His eyes, so like mine, so like our mother's, search my face like he's looking for a ghost.

"Elena." He breathes my name like a prayer. "God, Elena. You're really here."

I step outside, pulling the door closed behind me. The hallway is narrow, poorly lit, and suddenly suffocating. "How did you find me?"

"Rita, Dominic's secretary. She keeps tabs on things." He reaches for my hand, then stops himself, like he's afraid I'll disappear if he touches me. "Why didn't you call me? Seven years, Elena. Seven years, and you just—"

"Marcus, I can't do this right now." My voice cracks. "I can't—"

"Can't what? Can't explain why you vanished? Can't tell me what I did wrong?" His eyes glisten, and the sight of it nearly destroys me. "Was it me? Did I do something? Say something? Because I've gone over it a million times, and I can't figure out—"

"It wasn't you." The words rush out before I can stop them. "It was never you. You didn't do anything."

"Then what? What was so terrible that you had to cut me out completely?" He runs a hand through his hair, a gesture so familiar it hurts. "You're my sister. My only sister. And you just... disappeared."

I press my back against the wall, trying to find something solid. "I can't explain. Not yet. I just... I need time."

"Time." He laughs, but there's no humor in it. "You've had seven years of time, Elena. How much more do you need?"

The door behind me creaks. I whirl around, but it's too late. Maya stands in the doorway, her pink beanie askew, her tiny hand gripping the frame.

"Mommy? I'm hungry."

Marcus goes completely still.

I watch his eyes move from me to Maya, from Maya to me. See the confusion, then the dawning realization.

"Elena." His voice is barely a whisper. "Who is this?"

I close my eyes. 

"This is Maya." The words feel like stones in my mouth. "Maya, this is... this is your uncle. My brother, Marcus."

Maya tilts her head, studying him with the solemn curiosity of a child who's learned to be cautious around strangers. "Hi."

Marcus stares at her, taking in her brown eyes, the shape of her face, the curve of her chin, the way she holds herself like she's waiting for something bad to happen.

"Hi, Maya." His voice cracks on her name. "It's... it's nice to meet you."

Maya looks at me. "Can I have cereal?"

"Go back inside, baby. I'll be there in a minute."

She nods and disappears, leaving the door slightly ajar. Marcus stares at the space where she stood, his face pale.

"She's yours." It's not a question.

"Yes."

"How old is she?"

The question I've been dreading. The question that leads to all the other questions. "She's five."

Marcus does the math. I can see it happening behind his eyes—the calculation, the realization, the horror.

"When you left. Were you–”

"Marcus, stop." I grab his arm, squeezing harder than I mean to. "Just stop. You can't be here right now. You can't do this right now."

"I have a right to know!" He pulls away from me, pacing the narrow hallway. "I have a niece I never knew existed, and you're standing here telling me I can't ask questions?"

"Not today." My voice breaks. "Please, Marcus. Not today. Where are you staying, maybe I'll swing by–”

“Elena…!”

I try to change the topic, maybe he'll forget about this, at least for a few moments? 

Because I can't tell him everything… it's just too much. But my brother stops pacing and takes a good look at me, interrupting my question without hesitating. 

"What's wrong with you?" he asks quietly. "Why are you really here, Elena? And why didn't you get in touch with Dominic? Elena, you two were so close and then… you just left him high and dry too. You owe him answers too…”

I swallow, tears springing to my eyes. 

It's a good thing I didn't tell Marcus anything… he is still offended with me on behalf of Dominic, demanding explanations for his best friend…

Before I can answer, the apartment door opens fully. Adrian stands there, his expression shifting from concern to wariness as he takes in the scene.

"Everything okay?" He looks at me, then at Marcus. "Who's this?"

Marcus stares at Adrian. At his proximity to me, at his presence in my apartment, at the easy way he asked if everything was okay.

"Who the hell are you?" Marcus demands.

Adrian glances at me, waiting for my input before taking any action. I don't have any to give.

"This is Adrian." My voice is hollow. "He's... he's a resident at the Heartlife Central in Chicago, and he's here with…”

"Elena, are you with him? Is the little girl, is she his? Elena, when did you grow up so much that you started keeping so many secrets from me? For god's sake, tell me dammit–”

I open my mouth to answer, but nothing comes out. The truth lodges in my throat like a physical thing, too heavy to speak, too painful to hold.

Adrian steps forward, placing himself slightly between me and Marcus. "Maybe we should all take a breath before–”

“NO!” Marcus's voice rises again. "I don't want to take a breath, don't want to relax. I want to know why my sister disappeared for seven years, why she has a child I never knew about, why she's suddenly back in LA, and why you're here with her."

"MARCUS." His name tears from my throat. "Just... please. Please stop."

The silence that follows is deafening.

Marcus looks at me, and I see the moment he notices that I'm not joking about it.

"What's going on, Elena?" His voice is softer now. Broken, almost. "Please. Just tell me what's going on."

I lean against the wall because my legs won't hold me anymore. Adrian's hand finds my elbow, steadying me.

"What are you so afraid of?"

Your best friend's name… his face, his reaction and the conversation I've been dreading for seven years.

I look at Marcus, my brother, my blood, the person who knew me before anyone else, and I see the hurt in his eyes. The confusion. The desperate need for answers I'm not ready to give.

"I'm sorry." It's all I can manage. "I'm so sorry, Marcus. But you have to go. You have to go now."

He doesn't move. Just stares at me like I've stabbed him.

"Please." The word cracks. "Please, just give me time."

Adrian steps forward. "I'll walk you out."

"This isn't over." His voice is quiet but firm. "I'm not letting you disappear again, Elena. I don't care what it takes."

He turns and walks toward the elevator. Adrian follows, giving me some space. Marcus holds my gaze for a long moment. Then the elevator doors open, and he's gone.

I slide down the wall until I'm sitting on the floor, my head in my hands. Maya's voice drifts through the apartment door.

"Mommy? Is the bad man gone?"

I force myself to stand, to walk back inside and to pour cereal for her while I smile and pretend my world isn't crumbling.

But as Maya eats her breakfast, chattering about the birds outside her window, I feel the walls closing in. Marcus knows… Marcus will tell Dominic. And everything I've spent seven years hiding, will come crashing down without me having any control over it