Chapter 15
1049 Words
The door slammed shut behind them.
David turned sharply.
“What was that?”
Michael rushed toward the door and grabbed the handle.
“It’s locked.”
Sally stepped closer to David.
“Locked from the outside?”
Michael nodded.
Daniel looked toward the windows.
“They found us.”
David stared at him.
“Who?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Suddenly, headlights appeared through the dusty windows.
A vehicle had stopped outside.
David's heart began pounding.
“Is that my mother?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Yes.”
David froze.
“My mother came here?”
“She knows this place.”
Michael frowned.
“How?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Because she was here before.”
David's expression hardened.
“When?”
Daniel hesitated.
“The night Rebecca disappeared.”
Silence filled the room.
David stepped closer.
“You knew my mother was involved?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not involved in the way you're thinking.”
“Then what happened?”
Daniel looked toward the locked door.
“There isn't enough time.”
David grabbed his arm.
“Make time.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Your mother tried to protect Rebecca.”
David's eyes widened.
“Protect her from who?”
Before Daniel could answer, someone knocked on the front door.
Three slow knocks.
Everyone froze.
Michael whispered,
“Don't move.”
Another three knocks followed.
Then a woman's voice came from outside.
“David.”
David immediately recognized it.
His mother's voice.
Sally looked at him.
David didn't move.
“David, please open the door.”
His mother sounded frightened.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Don't.”
David looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because she's not the person you should be afraid of.”
David stared at the door.
“What are you saying?”
Daniel took a breath.
“Your mother came here years ago because she was trying to save Rebecca.”
David shook his head.
“Then why did she hide everything from me?”
“Because she made a promise.”
“To whom?”
Daniel looked toward Michael.
Michael's face had gone pale.
David noticed.
“You know too.”
Michael slowly nodded.
David's voice trembled.
“What happened?”
Michael looked at him.
“Your father made a deal with your grandfather.”
“What kind of deal?”
“Your father would stop searching for Rebecca if your grandfather agreed to reveal where Daniel had been taken.”
David stared at him.
“But my father never found Daniel.”
Michael looked away.
“Because your grandfather broke the agreement.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“And your mother was the one who discovered it.”
David looked confused.
“So my mother found out Daniel was alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't she tell me?”
Daniel answered quietly.
“Because she was afraid.”
“Afraid of my grandfather?”
“No.”
Daniel looked toward the door.
“Afraid of someone else.”
The room became silent.
David's phone vibrated.
He looked down.
A new message appeared.
YOUR MOTHER IS NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS THE TRUTH.
Another message followed.
ASK MICHAEL WHAT HE DID THE NIGHT DANIEL WAS TAKEN.
David slowly raised his eyes.
He looked directly at Michael.
Michael's expression changed.
“David…”
“What did you do?”
Michael didn't answer.
David stepped closer.
“What did you do that night?”
Michael closed his eyes.
“I made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“I was supposed to protect Daniel.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You were there?”
Michael nodded.
“I was young. I was working for your father.”
David's voice became quieter.
“And you saw them take my brother?”
Michael swallowed.
“Yes.”
David stared at him in disbelief.
“Then why didn't you stop them?”
Michael looked at Daniel.
“Because I was ordered not to.”
“By who?”
Michael's silence was enough.
David's face hardened.
“My grandfather.”
Michael nodded.
David turned away.
Everything he had believed about his family was falling apart.
Then the front door opened.
Everyone turned.
Mrs. Matthews stood in the doorway.
Her face was pale.
She looked at David.
“Son…”
David stared at her.
“You knew.”
His mother said nothing.
“You knew Daniel was alive.”
She lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
David felt tears gather in his eyes.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
She stepped inside.
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
She looked at Daniel.
Then at Michael.
Finally, she looked back at David.
“From the truth.”
David shook his head.
“I want the truth.”
His mother took a deep breath.
“Then you need to know who Rebecca really was.”
David waited.
His mother whispered,
“Rebecca was your father's sister.”
David's eyes widened.
“But that's not all.”
Everyone became silent.
Mrs. Matthews looked at him.
“Rebecca was also the reason your father and grandfather became enemies.”
David stared at her.
“Why?”
His mother's voice trembled.
“Because Rebecca discovered what your grandfather had been hiding.”
“What?”
She looked toward Daniel.
“The truth about the missing children.”
David's heart sank.
“How many were there?”
His mother closed her eyes.
“Three.”
David froze.
“Three?”
She nodded.
“Daniel was one.”
“Rebecca?”
“She was another.”
David's voice became barely a whisper.
“And the third?”
His mother looked directly at him.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then she whispered,
“The third child was never found.”
A cold silence filled the room.
David stared at her.
“Who was the child?”
His mother looked terrified.
Before she could answer, the lights suddenly went out.
Someone screamed.
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Michael immediately reached for the door.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
“Don't move.”
David froze.
He recognized the voice.
It was the same voice from the messages.
And this time, the person was inside the room.
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