Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 76

She took a deliberate step backward, putting distance between them. "You don't need to explain anything to me. Whatever is going on between you and Ms. Sterling is your business, not mine."

Randal's eyes darkened, a storm of unreadable emotions swirling within them.

"When you insisted on breaking up, I tore myself apart wondering what I did wrong. How you could just stop loving me overnight."

He paused, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Then I finally realized it wasn't that I wasn't enough. It's that I stupidly believed you were different from the rest of them."

He paused, his voice dropping an octave. "Don't you love money? I can give you all of it now."

Willa's brow knitted furiously, her voice spiking. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

He reached out, gently brushing a damp lock of hair from her cheek, his murmur agonizingly soft. "Willa, I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. But my biggest regret was not dragging you out of the airport the day you left with that older man."

Older man?

Willa remembered the day they reunited; he had used that exact phrase.

She had been completely baffled then, but now it all clicked into place.

The day she flew out of the country, Sean Thorne was the one who drove her to the airport.

He was her father's best friend, a man who had watched her grow up.

And Randal had spent five years hating her over a complete misunderstanding?

A sickening sense of absurdity washed over her, followed instantly by a bone-deep chill.

"That man is my father's friend. He's practically my uncle. What on earth are you talking about?" she demanded, her voice trembling with rising anger.

"Save the excuses," he shot back, his tone freezing over. "Miles investigated everything. My only regret is that I didn't see you for what you really were sooner."

Willa stood absolutely paralyzed.

She couldn't believe the truth of that day had been twisted into something so vile.

She had just handed him the reality of the situation, and he simply refused to believe it.

She let out a hollow, defeated laugh, abandoning any further attempt to defend herself.

Whether he believed her or not didn't matter anymore.

Whatever was left between them was officially dead.

Willa's heart leaped into her throat. "Tell me."

Sean kept his voice hushed. "Donnie Dawson. Five years ago, after he skipped town, he relocated down south. Went back to using his legal name, Jonathan Dawson, and took a job at a construction site. But here's the catch—three months ago, he vanished without a trace."

"Vanished?"

"Yeah," Sean confirmed. "Guys at the site said he clocked out one day and never came back. The cops opened a file on him, but it went cold."

Willa's hand began to shake as she gripped the phone.

Three months ago... right around the time she moved back to Norvale.

"Sean, is there any way to find out what happened to him?"

"It's a dead end." Sean let out a heavy sigh. "Willa, this is way bigger than we thought. Listen to me, let this go for now. Don't go digging."

Willa was silent for a long moment before whispering, "Okay. I understand. Thank you."

She hung up and lay back against the pillows, her mind spinning on a single, terrifying thought: Jonathan Dawson had disappeared.