Gone for Good
On the day of my daughter Eleanor Baldwin's second birthday party, my entire family stood nervously by the banquet hall entrance. They were not there to greet guests, but rather to keep me from showing up and causing a scene.
Mom's face was written all over with anxiety. "Lucas wouldn't actually crash the party, would he?"
Dad's brow stayed tightly furrowed. "Who knows? That disgrace of a son is capable of anything."
My younger brother, Cody Baldwin, had his arm wrapped gently around my wife, Kendra Clarkson, trying to reassure her. "Don't worry. If Lucas dares to show up, I'll keep you and Ellie safe."
Kendra nodded slowly. "If it really comes to that... maybe we should just let Ellie be his goddaughter. At least then, we're still family..."
However, the party came and went, and I never appeared.
I had already made up my mind to join a classified national defense research program.
Only this time, it was for good.