Chapter 3 - The Father Hunter Feared
Mason arrived that evening carrying a remote-controlled truck and a box of expensive candy.
Diane let him enter through the back door.
Rachel stood in the kitchen with her arms crossed.
“This is a terrible idea,” she whispered.
“He only wants to see Hunter,” Diane replied.
“There’s a protective order.”
“Abigail exaggerated what happened.”
Rachel glanced toward the living room.
“You didn’t see her face the night she left him.”
Diane’s expression tightened.
“She was emotional. Marriages become ugly. That does not mean a father should be erased.”
Mason stepped into the living room.
Hunter was sitting on the carpet building a plastic spaceship.
The pieces slipped from his hands.
Mason smiled as though nothing had happened.
“Hey, buddy.”
Hunter scrambled to his feet.
“You’re not supposed to be here.”
The words surprised Diane.
Mason’s smile weakened.
“Your mom told you that?”
“The judge did.”
Hunter backed toward the stairs.
Mason held out the toy truck.
“I brought you something.”
“I don’t want it.”
Diane placed a hand on Hunter’s shoulder.
“Don’t be rude.”
Hunter twisted away from her.
“Mom said to call the police if he comes.”
Rachel looked toward the kitchen phone.
Mason noticed.
His expression changed for only a second.
Then he lowered himself to Hunter’s height.
“Your mom has been telling you scary stories because she’s angry with me.”
“She’s not a liar.”
“No one said she was.”
“You did.”
The room became still.
Mason slowly stood.
Diane led Hunter upstairs and told him to stay in his bedroom.
When she returned, Mason was staring at the staircase.
“He’s afraid of me.”
“What did you expect?” Rachel asked.
Mason ignored her.
He took an envelope from his jacket and placed it on the table.
Inside were several hundred-dollar bills.
Diane stared at the money.
“What is this?”
“For groceries. The mortgage. Whatever you need.”
Diane’s house was two months from foreclosure.
Rachel’s salon had closed, leaving her buried in debt.
Mason knew both facts.
“I can help this family,” he said. “But Abigail will never allow it.”
Rachel pushed the envelope back toward him.
“We are not selling access to Hunter.”
Mason smiled.
“Of course not.”
But Diane did not return the money.
Upstairs, Hunter had pressed his ear against the heating vent.
He heard Mason say one final sentence.
May you like
“All I need is a little time alone with my son.”
👉 Diane believed she was restoring a broken family, but Mason had not come for forgiveness—he had come to make Hunter turn against his mother.
