Claire’s POV
Gideon looked over my shoulder, seeing the picture in my hands. He didn’t say anything, just calmly and supportively placed his hand on my shoulder. I was happy to have it, to feel the subtle weight of it anchoring me to this present moment here in this hotel room, when all I wanted to do was fall into the past and lose myself.
Daniel wasn’t just haunted by the past, I knew, he also cared deeply about it. About my mom, and, with those photo, I was now sure, he also cared about me.
All those years ago, he had abandoned me, without any notes or hints of who I might be. Gideon had told me it was likely for my protection, and in a way I understood that. But the small child inside of me, the orphan girl that had been abandoned, was much more difficult to heal.
Seeing this pict
