I HEARD HIM SAY " DADDY" のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 121 - チャプター 130

ELENA “Sam, where are Jason’s pillows? I remember leaving them here when we got home.” My voice drifted through the room, soft and casual, carrying no urgency. It was the kind of question that usually earned an immediate answer, something simple and effortless. I expected to hear him respond without even looking up. But no answer came. The silence that followed felt ordinary at first, but it stretched just a second too long. That extra second was enough to make me pause. “Sam?” I called again, slightly louder this time, expecting at least a small acknowledgment. Still nothing. A faint crease formed between my brows as I took a few steps forward, my gaze moving slowly across the room until it finally landed on him. He was standing a short distance away, his back partially turned toward me, his phone pressed firmly against his ear. “Oh… he’s here,” I murmured quietly, exhaling under my breath. For a moment, I did not think much of it. There was nothing unusual about him being

ANNALISE / LISA I struggled to accept the reality that Sam could have found me. The thought refused to settle quietly in my mind. Instead, it echoed loudly, violently, as if it had a life of its own, crashing against every fragile wall I had built to keep myself together. My chest tightened with a painful pressure, as though an invisible hand had reached inside and clenched around my lungs, making every breath shallow and unsteady. I could not let him ruin everything. Not now. Not after everything I had endured to get here. I had worked too hard to rebuild my life. I had taken every broken piece of myself and forced it into something that looked whole again. I had buried the fear, buried the memories, buried him so deeply that I had almost convinced myself he no longer existed. But now, the possibility of his return lingered like a shadow behind me, stretching long and dark, threatening to consume everything. I squeezed my eyes shut for a brief moment, as though that alone cou

ELENA I paused at the threshold of the living room, listening to the quiet hum of the house around me. My son’s breathing was steady now, a rhythmic comfort that should have allowed me to exhale fully, to feel at ease. But the unease clung stubbornly to my chest, a heavy weight that no victory or moment of calm could lift. I could still feel the residual sting of fear from earlier—the reminder of how fragile everything really was, how quickly it could shatter. The quietness was deceptive. I sensed Sam before I saw him, the subtle shift in the air, the faint click of his shoes against the floor. My pulse spiked instantly, a surge of warning that had become too familiar, too reliable. I tensed, shoulders stiffening as my gaze sought him out. He was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, an expression carefully neutral—but not quite. There was a tautness in his jaw, a flicker of something unspoken behind his eyes. Something I had learned to recognize over the years: the simmerin

SAM The bar’s dim light still clung to my eyes as I stepped back into the cool night air. The city felt quieter now, as if the world itself were bracing for what was coming. My phone buzzed with notifications from Marcus almost immediately. Files, images, addresses, timestamps—every fragment of information Marcus had promised. I ignored the pedestrian chatter and the distant hum of traffic, letting the digital threads draw me in, weaving a map of a life I barely recognized but knew all too well. I ducked into the driver’s seat of my car, doors locking behind me, and began scrolling through the first set of files. Every photograph, every document, every digital footprint confirmed the same chilling truth: she was alive. She had built herself a life carefully, deliberately, one that left almost no trace of her past. But the cracks Marcus had mentioned were there. Tiny inconsistencies. Missed metadata. Slight misalignments between her digital presence and the official records. Enough t

ELENA For a long time after Sam left, I did not move. The silence he left behind was heavier than usual, sharp and suffocating, as though the walls themselves had absorbed the tension and refused to release it. My body remained rigid, every muscle coiled, waiting for something—anything—to shatter the fragile calm again. But nothing came. Only the steady hum of the house returned, indifferent and unfeeling, as though the storm that had just passed had no meaning at all. I exhaled slowly, my fingers tightening slightly around my son’s hand before I forced myself to loosen my grip. He did not need to feel my fear, and he certainly did not deserve to carry it. “Mummy?” His small voice pulled me back from the edge of my thoughts. It was soft, uncertain, and yet somehow demanding my full attention. I blinked and lowered my gaze. His eyes searched mine, wide and trusting, innocent but perceptive in a way that made my chest ache. Children always knew more than we gave them credit for. Th