Using our own free will, Liam and I exit the business building and  make our way to the grassy common area. Liam looks back to Topher to  take the lead and we then follow behind him to a smaller two-story  building that holds the professor's offices. He holds the main door open  for us and we follow him single file down the narrow hall.

Staleness is  the first thing that comes to mind as we walk down the halls and I see colorful  displays of counselor information embellishing the otherwise empty white  walls. I can hear the buzzing from the fluorescent lights above us but  otherwise, the building is silent. It's Friday afternoon and the first  week of classes, so it makes sense that no one is taking advantage of  office hours right now.

As we walked down the hallway, I noticed that most of the small office doors were closed with signs indicating office hours posted on the front. Topher leads us to a closed door in the middle of the hall, swiftly produces a key, and pushes open the door. We file in behind him.

His office is bright, with sunshine streaming through a large window on the side of the desk. Two worn, brown, leather chairs from the 80s sit in front of Topher's small metal desk, and I find that they are surprisingly quite comfortable as Liam and I take a seat.

Topher's desk is cluttered with papers, and the only personal item on display was a small silver picture frame. Inside holds an old elementary school yearbook photo of Liam, causing my stomach to tighten as I realize how long Topher has been carrying this around. The image depicts a younger Liam, with a goofy smile and missing teeth, with a light brown cowlick springing up from the top of his head. This must be how Topher remembers his son.

"Do you need water or anything?" Topher asks but both Liam and I  shake our heads no. I dump my bag onto the floor in front of me as Liam  settles into his chair. Topher plops into the computer chair behind his  desk and clears his throat before looking back at Liam.

"Look Liam, I  never went to Chicago. I don't know why Lisa told you that because it is  so far from the truth. To be honest, I figured out you could read minds  almost as quickly as you did. I wanted to talk to you about it so many  times but I didn't know how to approach the subject with you without  having you freak out. Your mom didn't want me to talk to you about it at  all. She didn't want to encourage the behavior as she hardly accepted  that I could do it."

"Mom knew you could read minds? This whole time she's known?" Liam asks with a hint of anger.

"I told your mom about my ability right after you were born. She  didn't believe me at first but I knew I couldn't hide my capabilities  from her any longer. I wanted to tell someone what I could do. Someone  with authority because I thought my capabilities could make a  difference. I wanted to go to the F.B.I. or the C.I.A. but your mother  wanted me around because we had an infant to take care of. When you grew  older and I realized you had the same skill, I knew I wanted to  learn more again. I told your mom I was ready to go find someone that  could help me and in turn help you. She fought with me all the time  about it, she didn't want me encouraging you to read minds. She was  afraid and I don't blame her. It's not an easy thing to wrap your head  around. Shortly after I discovered what you could do, I met with a recruiter for the C.I.A and I was ready to talk. We planned a  meeting up in Boston and when I left, your mom was fully  aware of who I was meeting and where I was going."

"Is that when you left? That's where you went when you left us?" Liam  asks and Topher's shoulders pull back as he inhales looking frustrated.

"Liam, I had every intention of coming back. I went and met with my  contact and he immediately sent me to Langley in Virginia. I was  strapped to machines, tested, and observed. When they realized what I  could do, they had me constantly in meetings. What was supposed to be a  weekend trip turned into a month-long series of meetings and tests. I  had no contact with the outside world until my final meeting was over.  They had officially wanted me to join a special task force and they  wanted to bring you in with me. There were others like us already in the  C.I.A. and I could learn from them. I was finally allowed to call your  mom and I told her I wanted you guys to move out to Virginia with me  immediately. I told her you could learn so much being here but she  fought me on it. She didn't want me to join and she certainly didn't  want you to come with me. The C.I.A. didn't want me out of their sight since they had already vetted me, so it wasn't possible for me to come back to  Iowa right away. I called your mom every day and begged for her to get  on a plane. I was learning so much from the people I was working with  that I knew you had to be a part of it. I knew you deserved to  understand your capabilities but she never let me talk to you. She  eventually stopped answering my calls altogether so I asked two agents  to go collect you and your mother and bring you to me. They came back and  told me your mother had agreed to send you once you turned sixteen  because she was convinced your abilities might go away if I wasn't  around encouraging you to use them. On your ninth birthday, they finally  let me fly back to Iowa to see you but when I got to our old  house, you and your mother no longer lived there. I lost all contact with her and I had no idea where you went. I have been looking for  you since."

Liam drops his head in his hands and I instinctively touch his  shoulder. His head bobs around in his hands until he pops up and runs  his hands through his hair.

I watch as he bites his cheek and he finally says, "You're telling me you worked for the C.I.A  and you couldn't find me or mom for ten years? I call bullshit."

I don't think Topher was expecting more hostility from Liam when I watch his eyes go wide. He shakes his head and says, "Liam, your mom never left a trail. She never used credit cards or a  passport. She never started a job and she must have assumed another  identity. There was never a trace for Lisa Greysor. We didn't even know  where to start since we didn't know what state you were in. This was before cellphones and email. I would  start to find leads but when I would go investigate you had already  left. I couldn't even find you until you created a Facebook page a  little over a year ago."

"Really? Because I've been Liam Greysor my whole life. When Ellie first met me she read, Liam Christopher Greysor on my class schedule, which means I've been enrolled in multiple schools as Liam Greysor, public schools I'll add, and you never found me?" Liam says angrily, "So you're telling me ten years ago, you decided to join the C.I.A,  you wanted me to join you but mom refused until I was sixteen. You then  came to Iowa to get us but we had already left and you were never able to find us  until a year ago." I think Liam is going to let Topher respond to his fiery retort but he suddenly asks, "So why are you a teacher now? What happened with being  an agent or whatever it is you were doing?" I glance from Liam to Topher and now I have questions. How do you just become a college  professor with no credentials?

"I still work for the C.I.A.- that's why I go by Topher," he explains. "They wanted  me to completely change my name but I knew you would never find me if I  completely changed it. I took Christopher as my first name to be  connected to you and Topher somehow became my nickname. I am actually on  an assignment here in Malibu. I can't discuss much with you, but when I  saw through Facebook that Eleanor had decided to come here for school I  agreed to stay on my assignment longer than initially planned. It was  honestly a coincidence that you, Eleanor, had even signed up for my  class. I had seen your face through pictures on Facebook but I was  unaware you had the same capabilities Liam and I had until you showed up  in my class."

I scoff, "So instead of coming to me and telling me who you were, you decided to take over and ransack my mind?"

A wry grin spreads across Topher's face and he gathers his hands in  front of him on the desk, "Eleanor, I have been waiting for a lead on  Liam like that for ten years. When you were about to walk out of my  classroom, I knew I couldn't chance you not returning and I knew I had to  get all the information I could out of you. I have ran into others in  the past that have had glimpses of Liam or Lisa, but I had never ran into  anyone who has direct contact with both of them. From what I saw in  your memories, I learned that Liam does everything he can to protect you. So if I provoked you in any way, Liam would come charging in to defend  you."

So I was right. Topher knew I would tell Liam everything and Liam would lash out. We did exactly what he wanted us to do.

"I didn't think you'd necessarily escort her to class but it was a  pleasant surprise to see you sitting next to her today Liam. I can't  believe how grown up you are," Topher's tone is now light and friendly and I see  his Adam's apple bob up and down as if he's choking back tears. I went  from despising this man to sympathizing with him in less than a minute. He has been looking  for his son for ten years and he had no idea Liam didn't know the truth  about where he was. I look to Liam and my heart hurts knowing Liam's  head has been filled with nothing but lies for the past ten years.