Laura was out of the car before it had fully stopped, a man trailing more slowly behind her with one hand braced against the door frame. She froze for half a second at the sight of the patrol cars and Daniel standing beside an officer, then ran straight for him without waiting for an explanation. “Daniel!” She threw her arms around him, and over her shoulder, breathless, she told the officers exactly who he was and how she had not updated Daniel on the updated security system.
The man beside her turned too, and for the first time Daniel got a clear look at his face — pale, tired, but unmistakably familiar around the eyes in a way that tugged at an old memory. The officers exchanged a glance, satisfied, and one of them offered Daniel a brief apologetic nod before heading back to the cruiser. Laura pulled back just enough to look at his face, relief and something more complicated mixing in her expression.
“You weren’t supposed to be home for two more weeks,” she said, half laughing, half crying. “There’s so much I need to explain.” “Mark?” The name came out before Daniel fully placed it, but the second he said it, the resemblance clicked into place. The man was Laura’s younger brother, thinner than he remembered, looking like he hadn’t slept properly in weeks. Daniel’s mind was already racing—the pregnancy kit hidden in the trash—bracing himself for an explanation he wasn’t sure he was prepared for.