CHAPTER 9 — “The Homeless Man on the Park Bench”
Within hours, Thomas Ashford became the most searched name in America.
Thousands claimed to have seen him.
Most reports were fake.
One wasn't.
A retired mail carrier contacted investigators.
"I don't know if it matters..."
"But there's an old homeless man who feeds pigeons every morning in Riverside Park."
"He looks exactly like the man on television."
Eleanor insisted on going herself.
The park was quiet.
Rain had just stopped.
An elderly homeless man sat alone on a wooden bench.
Gray beard.
Old coat.
Worn boots.
A paper cup beside him.
He never looked up.
Eleanor slowly approached.
Her heart pounded louder with every step.
She whispered one name.
"Thomas..."
The old man froze.
One piece of bread slipped from his hand.
The pigeons scattered into the air.
Slowly...
He turned around.
The scar above his left eyebrow.
The blue eyes she had loved for forty years.
The small wedding band still hanging from a chain around his neck.
It was him.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them moved.
Then Thomas smiled through tears.
"I wanted to come home..."
"But every time I tried..."
"Someone died."
Eleanor embraced him as cameras in the distance captured the impossible reunion.
The world celebrated.
But Thomas wasn't smiling anymore.
He looked over Eleanor's shoulder.
His face turned white.
Across the street...
A black SUV had stopped.
A man inside lowered his window.
Raised a phone.
Took one photograph.
Then drove away.
Thomas whispered only four words before the vehicle disappeared.
"They found me again."
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The nightmare Eleanor thought had finally ended...
Had only entered its most dangerous chapter yet.
