Murder She Wrote (Book 2)

2. The Target

Michael's POV:

I approached the house, I was both feeling excited and regretful standing in front of this door. A part of me thought it would be a stupid attempt to show up announced to the house, I don't know if I'm prepared to face Sierra's father for the first time in years again. Another part of me felt nothing but excitement about seeing how much my little girl grew over the years. I held the big bag of presents to my side. After the second attempt of ringing the door bell, the door finally swung open.

I was face to face with woman dressed in heels and a tight gown. She scrunched her face at first, giving me a confused look.

"Hi," I greeted her. She parted her lips to say something but no words came out. She looked completely speechless. "Is Vincent home?" I then asked.

"Michael....isn't it?" She then asked. I nodded in response. "Wait a second," she sprinted into the house. Kids laughters were heard from the inside, there were pink balloons decorated outside of the house too. If there's one thing Sierra's father knows how to do is go all out with decorations.

A few minutes have passed before I was face to face with the man who despised me the most. He had an angry look on his face, he wasn't the slightest bit amused to see me. I smiled at him while he stared at me with disgust. "Didn't think we'd ever meet again," I spoke.

"What are you doing standing outside of my house?"

"I'm here to see Starr," I responded.

"You're 8 years too late and you're not seeing her," he spat.

"Look I only came here to drop off her birthday gift. I know I may not have custody of her now but please just allow me to see her this one time before I leave," I said to him politely. I didn't come here to argue or pick a fight with him. I know how much hurt he's endured too over the years. I tried to push my hatred towards him to the side, now I just feel guilty at the fact I failed to protect his daughter. "Vincent please, I know we have our differences but she's my daughter, and I haven't seen her for 8 years."

"You have some fucking nerve coming down here thinking you have a chance to play a father role and patch things up now. You've took the mother's child away from her and ruined that poor little girls life. There hasn't been a day that goes by where she asks me why she can't see her parents. Even if you showed your face to her, she wouldn't even be able to recognize you!" He spewed all his frustration at me. "You've wasted your time driving here. I want you to leave before I call the police."

He was ready to shut the door on me but I placed my foot in between the door. "Can you just give this to her. It has a necklace inside it. It's a necklace with a star symbol and the date of her birth on the back. Sierra talked about getting this for her years ago and there's a couple of her baby pictures with Sierra in it. The last thing I wanted to do is have her grow up without her parents, especially her mother."

He opened his mouth to talk but we were interrupted by a little girl who sprinted towards the door. She had big brown eyes and bouncy brunette curls. She was dressed down in a white sundress and plastic tiara with a big star in the middle. She looked up at me with a huge smile, one that looked oddly familiar. "Can we eat the cake now grandpa? I'm starving," she said to Vincent. I was then completely pale faced when I realized I was staring at my own daughter. My heart nearly pounded at out of chest as I was left star struck. She's grown so much...Her face was a spitting image of Sierra. Her hair, smile, nose...it was all there.

"Starr..." I found myself saying. Her head turned towards me when I mentioned her name out loud. She looked confused at first but she smiled at me again.

"How do you know my name?" She let out a small chuckle.

"Your grandpa mentioned that it's your birthday today," I hesitantly said. I wasn't sure if now was the the right time to expose who I am to her. I don't know how much or how little she even knows of me, it's a lot for a kid to take in. Having a father show up to your doorstep randomly after being absent in your life for years is too overwhelming. I don't want her to have a negative reaction.