A Missing Key 218 Missed Calls One Family Secret novel Chapter 22

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Back out West, I dove straight back into the research project.

Every once in a while, I’d catch myself thinking about that moment in Dad’s hospital room-the look in his eyes, the way Mom and Claire had stared at me.

But those thoughts never stuck around long. Fieldwork and deadlines have a way of drowning everything else out.

I applied for the PhD track and my advisor backed me immediately.

My research had real-world applications-the kind of work that actually mattered, even if it meant spending weeks at a time

in the middle of nowhere.

Slowly, I built something solid for myself in this desert city.

Saved up enough for a down payment on a small condo.

Still paying off the mortgage, but it was mine. Completely mine.

Mom kept calling every few months.

Each time, her voice got a little softer, a little more tentative.

She told me Dad’s mood had gotten worse after his surgery.

Said he spent hours alone in his office, just sitting there staring at nothing.

She said Claire had moved in with Andrew after the wedding. The house felt too big and empty now.

She complained that Claire was selfish-only showed up when she needed money, never just to visit.

I mostly just listened. Didn’t offer much in response.

She’d ask when I could come visit.

I’d tell her I was buried in work.

Which was the truth.

The year I defended my dissertation, the energy exploration project I’d been working on had a major breakthrough.

I was part of the core research team and got some recognition for it.

The coverage stayed mostly within academic and industry circles, but somehow it made its way back to people at Dad’s

company.

10:21

This time Claire called me directly, her voice breaking with panic.

“Nina, you need to come home. Dad had a stroke. The doctors say it’s serious. He keeps saying your name…”

I stood there holding my phone, saying nothing.

This didn’t happen this early last time.

“Nina, I know we fucked up-Mom, Dad, me-all of us. But he’s really… please. Just come see him. I’m begging you.”

Claire was full-on sobbing now.

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10:21

A Missing Key, 218 Missed Calls, One Family Secret

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