The Miracle of You

Michael leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes.

“You’re really sure about this?” he said quietly.

Grady, who was standing next to his desk, nodded even though he knew that Michael couldn’t see him do so at the moment. “I am quite sure, Mr. McGregor,” he said. “As you know, my information gathering is always precise.”

There was a ghost of a smile on Michael’s lips. “You’re right. You’ve always been reliable when it comes to digging up information about something.”

“But of course, I understand why you have a hard time believing it,” Grady said solemnly. “However, I thought it best to inform you nevertheless. I felt that you deserve to know.”

“I know,” Michael said. “I understand.”

But in his heart, there was a deep turmoil brewing within. An internal conflict that made his rationality and emotions be at odds with each other.

How, and why, did Camille become Christian Callahan’s fiancee?

It was mind-boggling, to say the least. He had been expecting a lot of secrets on Camille’s end ever since she disappeared all those years ago, but not to this extent.

She had never breathed a single word about this to him, not even when he had told her that he loved her.

He had refrained from knowing more about her personal life – even though he had the means and resources to do so – out of respect for her privacy, believing that she would tell him herself when the time came.

But this one… was just shocking and didn’t make sense.

For as long as he could remember, the McGregors and the Callahans had always been at odds with each other. There was a strange sort of tension between his father and Gregory Callahan, and it was clear that there had been some kind of history between them.

Michael didn’t want to delve deeper into that since it wasn’t any of his business, but it seemed that the two families were bound to clash one way or another.

As for Christian Callahan, he didn’t really know enough about the man to form a solid opinion. But based on the rumors he had heard over the years, it seemed that Christian preferred to do things the same way his father, Gregory Callahan, used to do in the past.

‘Like father, like son, I guess,’ he thought absently.

He reached out for his phone and considered calling Camille, but he realized that that would seem weird.

For starters, why would he call her for such a reason?

‘Maybe I should keep my distance from her from now on,’ he thought.

For a brief moment, he felt hurt and upset. He had confessed his feelings to her and almost poured his heart out, but now he discovered that she was engaged to another man.

‘But what if she might have been forced into this arrangement?’ he wondered.

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Whenever he met up with Camille, there was a strange air about her. She had seemed glad to see him again the first time, but as time passed, she gradually became more withdrawn.

Even if he took into consideration the fact that they hadn’t seen each other for more than a decade now, it was still a little jarring. She barely spoke about her job, she didn’t talk much about her family, and she seemed to prefer him talking more than her whenever they had a conversation.

‘What should I do?’ Michael wondered.

This was a bit of a tricky situation. If he chose to confront her about this, there were many things that could go wrong.

In order to distract himself momentarily, he asked Grady, “How did you find out about this?”

Grady didn’t seem surprised by the question. “Miss Parker and Mr. Callahan seemed to have an unusual relationship. As you might already know, I have been investigating Miss Parker ever since her return to the city. I found out quite a few things that nobody else seems to know about.”

“And that is?” Michael questioned.

“Fourteen years ago, her first encounter with the Callahans was when she saved Gregory Callahan’s young daughter from being kidnapped for ransom,” Grady answered. “I checked the police reports and records in that town and it’s true. This is merely my speculation, but I presume that Gregory Callahan wanted to repay Miss Parker for her act of heroism.”

Michael sighed deeply. So that was how Camille got entangled with that troublesome family.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

“How had she been living all that time?” he said in a quiet voice. “Did she have a place to stay? Someone that she relied on?”

He had been so worried during the time that she just up and disappeared. After all, she was only freshly eighteen back then. If she left her family behind, then she had no support system at all.

It was hard to believe that the reliable and self-disciplined girl that he knew would do something so reckless. It was really unlike her.

“From what I gathered, she lived together in the same roof with a nurse. The nurse’s name is Holly Lebouf, and she’s currently 45 years old. She works at a psychiatric hospital.” Grady paused for a moment. “Would you like me to find out how she managed to live with this woman?”

Michael shook his head. “There’s no need for that. She will tell me if she wants to. I want to hear it from her own mouth, and only if she feels comfortable telling me.” He hesitated. “Just see if that woman is truly innocent and trustworthy. That she doesn’t have any hidden agenda.”

“I checked that as well. She’s clean. She doesn’t have any connection to the Callahans or to any other shady individual. She has been working at that hospital for almost her entire adult life.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Michael leaned back in his chair. He never knew how Grady obtained his information. The man was, as always, pretty useful to have as an assistant. He had a lot of reliable sources, too.

Then again, Grady had always been a hard worker. He was also genuine and professional with people. It wouldn’t surprise Michael at all if Grady had hundreds or even thousands of friends all over the world. The man was pretty easy to get along with, after all.

At that moment, only a few seconds after their conversation just now, the door suddenly opened, startling them both.

Michael looked up, and he blinked in surprise.

“…What are you doing here?”