What the child saw
988 Words
The text kept repeating in Lia’s mind.
> Elias is watching too much now. He remembers more than you think.
That night, Lia couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched. Shadows felt heavier. Every car door outside sounded suspicious. She double-checked her locks and barely slept a wink.
By morning, her chest ached with the weight of anxiety. She needed to see Elias. Now.
---
Marina opened the door, eyes puffy, her robe knotted at the waist.
“You okay?” Lia asked quickly.
“Fine,” Marina said, but her voice sounded hoarse, like she’d been crying. “Rough night. Elias has been having nightmares again.”
Lia’s stomach dropped.
“Is he awake?”
“Yeah,” Marina sighed. “He’s been quiet, though. Drawing. He’s in the living room.”
Lia stepped inside.
There he was—Elias, sitting cross-legged on the floor with a crayon in each hand and a mess of papers around him. His curls stuck up in wild tufts. His little shoulders were hunched, and his eyes were too serious for a five-year-old.
He didn’t look up when she sat beside him.
“Hey, Bug,” Lia said gently. “Whatcha drawing?”
He held up a picture.
It was scribbled in red and black crayon—messy, but distinct. A man standing outside a window. His eyes were hollow circles. His mouth was a jagged line. And behind him, a small figure watched from the shadows.
“Is that you?” she asked softly, pointing to the smaller figure.
Elias nodded slowly.
“And who’s that?”
He hesitated.
Then whispered, “The man in the hat.”
Lia’s heart kicked.
“Elias… when did you see him?”
The boy frowned. “Sometimes he comes when Mama’s asleep.”
Marina, who had just come back with tea, froze.
“What did you just say?” she asked sharply.
Elias didn’t answer.
Lia knelt closer, heart racing. “Elias, sweetie. Do you remember the night your daddy went away?”
He nodded again. “There was a loud sound. Like a pop. Daddy said to hide in the closet. I heard shouting. Then the man in the hat came.”
Lia glanced at Marina, who had gone pale.
“You never told me this,” she whispered.
“I thought he’d imagined it,” Marina murmured. “He was only four. He didn’t say a word for two weeks after James died. I didn’t want to force him to remember.”
“But he didn’t forget,” Lia said. “He couldn’t.”
Elias was still drawing. His crayons moved with quiet focus, filling in shadows like they were the only things he trusted.
“Did the man say anything?” Lia asked.
Elias looked up at her. “He said Daddy broke the rules.”
---
Later that day, Lia walked home in a daze.
James didn’t die in a random crash. He was silenced. Elias had seen the man who threatened him—and possibly more.
She could barely keep her thoughts straight.
As she crossed the street, her phone buzzed.
Another anonymous message.
> He’s remembering too much. They’ll come for him next.
Lia stopped walking.
The words on the screen blurred.
Her stomach twisted. Her chest felt tight.
They’ll come for him next.
No. No, no, no.
She hit call on Noah’s name.
He picked up on the second ring. “Lia?”
“We need to protect Elias. Now.”
---
That evening, Lia, Noah, and Marina sat at the kitchen table, a storm of silence swirling between them.
Marina clutched her mug so tightly her knuckles had gone white. “Are you saying someone is after my son?”
“I’m saying,” Lia said, trying to sound calm, “Elias remembers things he was never supposed to. Things James probably never wanted him to see. And if Blackstrand has been watching us, then they’re watching him too.”
Noah nodded grimly. “We need to move him. Just until we know more.”
“Move him where?” Marina demanded. “You think I can just vanish with my child? What about school? My job?”
“I’ll help,” Lia said. “I can cover costs. I’ll say it’s a retreat. Somewhere quiet. Just for a few weeks.”
“And then what?” Marina’s voice cracked. “You keep digging until you get yourself killed too?”
Lia swallowed hard.
“I’m not backing down,” she said. “James trusted me. Elias is all he left behind.”
Noah leaned forward, voice low. “What if we made them think she did back down? We go dark. Stop asking questions publicly. Make it look like we gave up.”
Lia met his eyes.
“You want to fake surrender?”
“I want to buy time,” he said. “They’re playing chess. So let’s play too.”
---
That night, Marina agreed to take Elias to a quiet coastal cabin where her cousin lived. No phone service. Off-grid. No records.
As they packed, Elias tugged on Lia’s sleeve.
“Are we going on an adventure?”
Lia smiled down at him, trying to keep her eyes dry.
“Yeah, Bug. The biggest one yet.”
He grinned. “Will Daddy come too?”
She froze.
Her voice cracked as she pulled him into a hug.
“He’s already with us,” she whispered. “And we’re going to make sure no one ever forgets him.”
---
After they left, Lia stood alone in her apartment, staring out the window at the street below.
She didn’t know what would come next.
But she knew one thing:
This wasn’t just a love story anymore.
It was a war.
And she was ready to burn down every lie until the truth stood alone.
Even if it meant losing everything.
- Writer
