Colton gripped the back of the chair.
"She asked you to bring her to me?"
"Yes."
"And you didn't."
Samuel's face crumpled.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Arthur's men were watching. Because I believed they would kill you if I helped her escape. Because I was afraid."
Colton felt rage rise through him, hot and blinding.
"You let her go back with them."
"I did."
"You knew she was in danger."
"Yes."
"You knew she wanted to see me."
"Yes."
"And you walked away."
Samuel nodded, tears running down his face.
"I walked away."
For a moment, Colton could not speak.
He had imagined Nora's final days in countless ways. He had imagined her escaping, hiding, or being forced to leave. He had imagined her calling him from a distant town, telling him that she was safe and that everything would eventually make sense.
He had never imagined that Samuel had stood within reach of her.
That Nora had asked to see him.
That she had been alive, frightened, and asking for help.
And that Samuel had left her behind.
Colton looked at the man who had raised him.
"Did she say anything else?"
Samuel wiped his face.
"She told me to tell you that she was sorry."
Colton shook his head.
"Sorry for what?"
"For not telling you the truth sooner. For putting you in danger. For believing she could handle everything alone."
He stared at Samuel.
"Did she say she loved me?"
Samuel nodded.
"Yes."
Colton looked away.
The room was silent except for the faint hum of the ventilation system.
Finally, he sat down.
"Where did they take her?"
Samuel's voice was barely audible.
"I don't know."
"Who were the men?"
"One was Victor Saye. The other was a security contractor whose name I later found in the ledger."
"Did you ever see her again?"
"No."
"Did you ever ask what happened?"
"Yes."
"And what did they tell you?"
"Arthur said she had escaped. Victor said she had been taken out of state. Later, I heard that she had been killed."
Colton pressed his palms against the table.
"Why didn't you tell the police?"
"Because I knew I had helped move her. Because I knew I would be charged. Because I was afraid that if I told the truth, the people behind Red Mesa would retaliate against you and Mara."
He looked up.
"I am not asking you to understand. I am telling you because you deserve to know what I did."
Colton stared at him.
There were no words that could make the confession acceptable.
No explanation that could transform cowardice into courage.
Samuel had not killed Nora with his own hands, but he had placed her in the path of people who might have.
He had chosen to protect himself.
And Nora had paid the price.
Colton stood.
"You're going to tell Helen everything."
"I will."
"Every name. Every date. Every payment. Every conversation you remember."
"Yes."
"If you leave anything out, I will make sure the investigators know you had another chance to tell the truth and chose not to."
Samuel nodded.
"I understand."
Colton reached the door.
"One more thing."
Samuel looked up.
"Did you love her?"
Samuel's face twisted.
"Yes."
Colton held his gaze.
"Then I hope you spend the rest of your life understanding what that word should have meant."
He left the room.
Outside, he stood in the corridor with his back against the wall, trying to breathe.
He wanted to hit something.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to find Arthur Vale and force him to answer every question that had haunted him for years.
Instead, he called Mara.
She answered on the first ring.
"What's wrong?"
Colton could not speak immediately.
"Colton?"
He swallowed.
"Samuel knew where Nora was."
There was silence.
"What?"
"He moved her. He saw her. She asked him to take her to me."
Mara's voice broke.
"And he didn't?"
"No."
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Mara said, "Where are you?"
"At the federal building."
"Stay there. I'm coming."
"You don't have to—"
"I'm coming."
She ended the call.
Colton closed his eyes.
He had spent years believing that the past was something he could understand if he collected enough facts.
But facts did not always bring peace.
Sometimes they simply gave pain a more precise shape.
Mara arrived twenty minutes later.
She found him sitting on a bench outside the interview rooms, staring at his hands.
She sat beside him without speaking.
For a long time, he did not look at her.
Then he said, "I don't know what to do with this."
Mara took his hand.
"You don't have to do anything with it right now."
"He could have brought her to me."
"I know."
"She asked him to."
"I know."
"And he left her there."
Mara's eyes filled.
"I know."
Colton bent forward, pressing his hands against his face.
Mara wrapped her arms around him.