I laughed, and the sound no longer surprised me.
Noah looked through the window toward the water.
“Do you ever think about what would have happened if we had not been seated together?”
“Sometimes.”
“Does it frighten you?”
I considered the question.
The old answer would have been yes.
The old Emily believed rescue came from choosing the right person to trust.
But Noah had not rescued me from nothing.
He had seen the evidence I had gathered, believed what it showed, and used his influence to make sure powerful people could not ignore it.
“I think we helped each other at the exact moment we both needed a witness,” I said.
He nodded slowly.
Outside, sunlight moved across the lake.
Lily pressed her hands to the glass, delighted by a flock of birds rising from the water.
I had boarded the plane carrying two suitcases, a folded stroller, and the belief that Ryan had taken everything.
He had taken money.
He had taken access to a home.
He had tried to take my credibility before I could defend it.
But he had not taken my judgment.
He had not erased the files I saved.
He had not silenced the friend who believed me or the strangers who demanded proof.
Most of all, he had not taken the part of me that could remain calm long enough to open a folder.
Noah lifted his coffee.
“To uncomfortable flights.”
I raised mine.
“To evidence,” I said.
Lily waved the crooked napkin rabbit between us, and for the first time in years, the future did not feel like something I needed permission to enter.
