A doorbell. Two timbres. Three timbres. A dry click.
“Speak Gordon Calvinson.”
His voice was serious. Clara. It sounded... real. It was not the voice of a ghost. Mrs. VGA looked at me, her eyebrows, telling me to speak. I couldn't breathe.
“Sir, this is...” she began.
“Dad?”
The word was so small that I wasn’t sure I spoke it. But the silence on the other side of the line was absolute. Then, a short and abrupt breath.
“Leah? ...Leah, is it you?”
The dam broke. The tears he had been holding burst.
“Yes,” I sob.
“Mom left me. At the airport. He went to Hawaii and told me to manage to get home. I don’t know what to do...”
What happened next was as if the world were leaning on its axis. The voice on the other side of the phone didn’t panic. He didn't scream. It became a sharp, powerful and concentrated blade.
“Where are you? What is your exact location? What airport?” I asked.
“Denver. Door 14. I’m in an office now.”
“Leah, listen to me. You're safe. Nothing bad is gonna happen to you. I'm going over there. Pass me the phone with the woman you are with.”
Mrs. VGA took the earpiece, with a pale face. I was no longer talking to an irresponsible father. I was talking to... someone else.
“Yes, sir. I'm the VGA Family Services agent... yeah, she's safe. It's right here... a private jet? Is he... in Wyoming? Understood, sir. One hour. Yes. We'll have it ready. We will wait for her right here.”
He hung up the phone and stared at me. The pity was gone. Instead, there was something that seemed... awe.
“Leah,” he said in a trembling voice.
“Your father... is coming. He's diverting his plane. He will be here in an hour.”
Part 2
The rest you will find on the next page.
