chapter four
1447 Words
The darkness lasted only a few seconds.
But to Clara, it felt much longer.
She stood completely still, the photograph still clutched in her hand.
Somewhere in the house, a door had slammed.
Noah moved immediately.
"Stay behind me."
His voice was low and controlled.
Clara didn't argue.
He reached for the flashlight attached to his belt and switched it on. A narrow beam cut through the darkness.
The study appeared exactly as it had moments earlier.
The desk.
The shelves.
The fireplace.
The open compartment behind the painting.
Nothing moved.
Yet Noah didn't relax.
He scanned the doorway, then the windows, then the hallway.
"Someone is inside."
Clara swallowed.
"How can you be sure?"
"The door didn't close itself."
She tightened her grip on the photograph.
"Then where are they?"
"I don't know."
A sound came from upstairs.
Both of them looked toward the ceiling.
Clara's heart began racing.
Noah turned toward her.
"Stay here."
"Absolutely not."
"Clara."
"You told me my mother didn't die by accident, and now someone is inside the house. I'm not standing alone in this room."
Noah stared at her.
For a moment, he seemed ready to argue.
Then he nodded.
"Fine. But you stay behind me."
They moved into the hallway.
The house was strangely quiet.
Noah's flashlight passed over the walls.
Nothing.
They reached the staircase.
A faint sound came from above.
Clara whispered, "Someone's there."
Noah nodded.
He moved up the stairs.
Clara followed.
At the top, the hallway was empty.
A bedroom door stood open.
Noah approached it.
He pushed it wider.
The room was empty.
But the window was open.
Rain blew through the curtains.
Noah crossed the room and examined the window.
"They escaped."
Clara looked around.
"Why come here?"
"To leave the photograph."
"And the notebook?"
"Maybe they wanted us to find it."
Clara's expression tightened.
"Then this was planned."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Noah turned toward her.
"Because whoever is doing this wants you to discover something."
"What?"
"Your past."
Clara looked down at the photograph.
Her mother had been dead for twelve years.
At least, that was what she had always been told.
She remembered the funeral.
The flowers.
The black clothes.
Her father's hand holding hers.
The endless stream of people telling her how sorry they were.
She remembered believing that her mother had died in a car accident.
She had never questioned it.
Until now.
"My father lied to me."
Noah didn't deny it.
"Why would he?"
"I don't know."
"You're supposed to know everything."
"I'm a bodyguard, Clara. Not a mind reader."
She almost smiled.
Then she noticed his expression.
He was staring at the photograph.
"You knew my mother."
It wasn't a question.
Noah was silent.
"You knew her."
"I knew of her."
"That's not what I asked."
He looked at her.
"Yes."
Clara's heart sank.
"How?"
Noah looked away.
"I was assigned to a security operation involving your family years ago."
"My mother?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
He hesitated.
"She discovered something."
"What?"
"I never found out."
Clara stepped closer.
"But you knew she was in danger."
"Yes."
"And you didn't save her."
Noah's jaw tightened.
"No."
The answer was quiet.
Clara saw regret in his eyes.
Not the kind people pretended to feel.
Real regret.
"Was it your fault?"
"No."
"Then why do you look like it was?"
He didn't answer.
Clara lowered the photograph.
"Tell me everything you know."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know who is listening."
She looked around the empty hallway.
"You think someone is still here?"
"I know someone is."
Before Clara could respond, Noah grabbed her arm.
A sharp sound came from the bedroom.
The window shattered.
Clara flinched.
Noah pulled her away from the window and shielded her as glass scattered across the floor.
Then silence returned.
Noah waited.
Nothing.
He carefully approached the window.
Outside, the grounds were empty.
But something had been thrown through the glass.
A small black object lay on the carpet.
Noah picked it up.
It was a memory card.
Clara stared at it.
"What is that?"
"Evidence."
"Of what?"
"I don't know yet."
---
They returned to the study.
Noah connected the memory card to a secure laptop.
Several files appeared.
Most were encrypted.
One wasn't.
A video.
Clara sat beside him.
"Play it."
Noah clicked the file.
The screen flickered.
Then a woman appeared.
Clara stopped breathing.
She knew that face.
Her mother's face.
Older than Clara remembered.
Alive.
Standing in what appeared to be an office.
The recording was clearly old.
Her mother looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this, something has gone wrong."
Clara's hands began trembling.
Noah remained silent.
Her mother continued.
"Richard, if this reaches you, you already know what happened."
Clara looked at Noah.
Her father was being addressed.
Her mother continued.
"Do not tell Clara."
The video paused briefly.
Clara's heart broke.
"Why wouldn't she want me to know?"
Noah didn't answer.
The recording continued.
"She's safer believing I'm gone."
Clara covered her mouth.
Her mother looked frightened.
"I made a mistake trusting the wrong person."
A name appeared on the screen.
Daniel Cross.
Clara stared.
"No."
The video continued.
"If Daniel finds out Clara knows the truth, he will come after her."
The screen went black.
Clara couldn't speak.
Daniel.
Her father's trusted adviser.
The man she had known since childhood.
The man whose photograph had been found beside her missing father.
She stood abruptly.
"Where is he?"
Noah grabbed his phone.
"Probably nowhere you can find him."
"Then find him."
"I'm trying."
"Noah!"
He looked at her.
Tears filled her eyes.
"My father is missing. My mother may have been alive when I was told she was dead. And the man my family trusted may be responsible."
Her voice broke.
"I need answers."
Noah stepped closer.
"You'll get them."
"When?"
"As soon as I can."
She looked at him.
"You promised."
"I know."
For a moment, neither moved.
Noah had protected dozens of people.
He had learned to keep emotion out of his work.
But looking at Clara now, he found that rule becoming harder to follow.
He didn't just want to protect her.
He wanted to take away the fear in her eyes.
And that frightened him.
Because attachment could compromise judgment.
He had seen it happen before.
He wouldn't let it happen again.
---
Hours later, Clara sat alone in the library.
She couldn't sleep.
The rain had stopped.
The first light of morning was beginning to appear beyond the windows.
She opened the black notebook again.
There were pages she hadn't read.
One entry caught her attention.
If anything happens to me, take Clara to Noah Hayes.
She stared at the name.
Noah.
Her mother had known him.
Not only known him.
Trusted him.
Clara closed the notebook.
She suddenly heard footsteps behind her.
She turned.
Noah stood in the doorway.
"You should be sleeping."
"So should you."
"I'm working."
She lifted the notebook.
"My mother knew you."
Noah didn't respond.
"She specifically wrote your name."
He walked into the room.
"Then she knew what she was doing."
"Why would she trust you?"
"Because I protected her once."
Clara's eyes widened.
"You did?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
"I failed."
She stood.
"Noah."
He looked at her.
"I was supposed to keep her safe."
His voice was quieter now.
"I couldn't."
Clara studied him.
She suddenly understood why he had accepted her father's assignment so quickly.
Why he watched every door.
Why he checked every window.
Why he never allowed himself to relax.
He was trying to correct an old failure.
"That's why you took this job."
Noah didn't deny it.
"Partly."
"What is the other reason?"
His eyes met hers.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Noah's phone rang.
He answered.
"Hayes."
His expression changed.
Clara watched him carefully.
"What happened?"
A long silence.
Then Noah said:
"Where?"
He listened again.
His jaw tightened.
"Don't touch anything. I'm coming."
He ended the call.
Clara stood.
"What is it?"
He looked at her.
"They found your father."
Her heart jumped.
"Where?"
Noah's expression remained grim.
"At the old Carter estate."
"The house my father sold?"
"Yes."
"Is he alive?"
"We don't know."
Clara rushed toward the door.
Noah caught up with her.
"Clara."
She turned.
"I need you to stay calm."
"How can I possibly stay calm?"
"Because we're walking into something we don't understand."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"And I need you beside me."
Clara nodded.
They left the room together.
Neither noticed the black notebook lying open on the table.
One final line was visible beneath the others.
Trust Noah only until you discover why he really came back.
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