Chapter Eleven — The Missing Notebook
738 Words
Everyone stood frozen in the living room.
The lights were back on, but nobody moved.
Stella looked at the empty space on the table.
The notebook was gone.
“My notebook…”
Nathan immediately checked the doors and windows.
“Nobody leave the house.”
Manzi looked toward the hallway.
“Whoever took it must still be nearby.”
Stella looked at him.
“You knew this could happen, didn’t you?”
Manzi didn’t answer.
“Nathan, check the back door.”
Nathan hurried away.
Chloe remained standing beside her mother.
Her hands were trembling.
Stella noticed.
“Chloe, what did you see?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re scared.”
“I said I didn’t see anything.”
Stella stepped closer.
“Chloe, please. We need the truth.”
Before Chloe could answer, Nathan returned.
“The back door is open.”
Manzi’s expression became serious.
“Then they came through there.”
Nathan looked at his father.
“Dad, what exactly are you hiding?”
Manzi looked at Stella.
“More than I should have.”
Stella shook her head.
“That’s not an answer.”
“No.”
Manzi sat down.
“Your mother discovered that someone was using my business to move money without my knowledge.”
Nathan frowned.
“And you never found out who?”
“I suspected someone.”
“Who?”
Manzi looked toward Deborah.
Stella followed his eyes.
“Deborah?”
Deborah immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Manzi spoke quietly.
“Not Deborah.”
Everyone became silent.
“Then who?” Nathan asked.
Manzi took a deep breath.
“Daniel.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed.
“But Daniel said he was helping Mom.”
“He may have been.”
“May have been?”
Manzi stood.
“I don’t know who to trust anymore.”
Suddenly, Chloe spoke.
“I do.”
Everyone turned toward her.
Chloe looked frightened, but she continued.
“I know who took the notebook.”
Stella rushed toward her.
“Who?”
Chloe looked toward the window.
“The man who has been watching us.”
Nathan asked,
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know his name.”
“Then how do you know him?”
Chloe hesitated.
“Because he came to our house years ago.”
“When?”
“The night your mother disappeared.”
Stella felt her heart stop for a moment.
“You saw him?”
Chloe nodded.
“Only for a few seconds.”
“What did he look like?”
“He was tall. He wore a dark coat.”
Nathan asked,
“Anything else?”
Chloe closed her eyes.
“He had a scar near his eyebrow.”
Stella looked at Nathan.
“We have to find him.”
Nathan nodded.
But Manzi suddenly said,
“No.”
Nathan turned.
“Why?”
“Because if he took the notebook, he knows what is inside it.”
“And?”
“And he knows exactly what your mother was trying to hide.”
Stella stepped toward her father.
“What was she hiding?”
Manzi looked at her.
“Not what.”
He paused.
“Who.”
Stella frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Manzi looked at Deborah.
Deborah lowered her eyes.
Then Manzi said,
“Your mother wasn’t only trying to protect you from someone outside the family.”
Stella’s voice became quiet.
“Then who was she protecting us from?”
Manzi didn’t answer.
Instead, he walked toward an old cabinet.
He opened it and pulled out a small envelope.
“This is the last thing your mother left with me.”
Nathan stared at it.
“Why didn’t you show us this before?”
“Because I was afraid.”
Stella reached for the envelope.
“What is inside?”
Manzi looked at her.
“The truth about the night she disappeared.”
Stella opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Her mother was standing beside someone.
Stella stared at the person next to her.
She recognized him immediately.
It was Daniel.
But there was something else.
Written on the back of the photograph were five words:
Daniel was not working alone.
Stella looked at Nathan.
“We’re missing someone.”
Nathan nodded slowly.
“And whoever that person is…”
He looked toward the open back door.
“…they’ve been watching us all along.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
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