FINDING YOU , LOVING ME

THE HIDDEN DOOR

CHAPTER 11

The Hidden Door

Mia's POV

I barely slept.

The message kept replaying in my head.

STOP LOOKING FOR ELENA.

Someone had been watching us.

Someone knew about the blue box.

And now they knew that Ethan and I were searching for answers.

I wanted to tell Mom.

But something stopped me.

Maybe it was fear.

Or maybe it was the feeling that she already knew more than she was telling me.

The next morning, I met Ethan outside school.

He looked tired.

"You didn't sleep either," I said.

He shook his head.

"Not really."

"What did your message say?"

He pulled out his phone.

Stay away from Mia.

I stared at it.

"Who sent it?"

"Unknown number."

I sighed.

"So what do we do?"

Ethan looked at me.

"We find Elena."

I smiled slightly.

"That's what I was hoping you'd say."

---

After school, we went to the address from the old book.

It led us to a quiet street several blocks from The Book Nook.

There was an old house at the end of the road.

The paint was faded.

The windows were covered.

Ethan checked the address again.

"This is it."

We approached the door.

He knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again.

Still nothing.

"Maybe she's not home."

I turned around.

Then I noticed something.

A small star was carved into the wooden fence.

The same symbol.

"Ethan."

He came closer.

His expression changed.

"The symbol."

I touched it.

"Maybe she left it for us."

We walked around the house.

Behind it was a small garden.

At the very back stood an old wooden shed.

Another star was carved into the door.

Ethan tried the handle.

Locked.

I took the silver key from my bag.

"Maybe..."

I inserted it.

Click.

The door opened.

Inside was almost completely empty.

Except for an old desk.

On top of it was a note.

I picked it up.

"If you found this, you already know enough to begin."

I looked at Ethan.

"What does that mean?"

He turned the paper over.

Nothing.

Then I noticed a small drawing underneath the desk.

A rectangle.

A door.

"There's something here."

We moved the desk.

Behind it was a narrow wooden panel.

Ethan pushed it.

Nothing happened.

Then I remembered my childhood note.

Ethan knows where the door is.

I looked at him.

"Try the star."

He pressed the small symbol carved into the wall.

A hidden latch released.

The panel opened.

Behind it was a narrow passage.

I stared.

"There's no way."

Ethan looked equally shocked.

"Apparently there is."

---

The passage led underneath the house.

At the end was a small room.

There were boxes everywhere.

Old documents.

Photographs.

Letters.

And a large metal cabinet.

Ethan opened one of the boxes.

Inside were documents with our parents' names.

I picked up a photograph.

It showed my father talking to Elena.

They looked serious.

On the back was a date.

September 5, 2012.

Again.

"Everything keeps going back to that day," I whispered.

Ethan opened another folder.

Inside was a newspaper clipping.

He read it silently.

Then his face changed.

"What?"

He handed it to me.

The article reported that an important set of business documents had disappeared from Adrian's office on September 5, 2012.

I looked at Ethan.

"Your father?"

"Maybe."

"Was he accused?"

Ethan nodded.

"But he always denied stealing anything."

I looked through the documents.

There was a handwritten note.

"The documents were never stolen. They were moved."

"Moved where?"

I turned the page.

Nothing.

Then Ethan opened the metal cabinet.

Inside was a small black folder.

He pulled it out.

There was a name written on it.

REYES FAMILY — CONFIDENTIAL

He opened it.

The first page contained a photograph of Adrian.

The second contained copies of financial records.

The third made my heart stop.

It was a photograph of me.

As a child.

I stared at it.

"Why do they have my picture?"

Ethan took the photograph from my hand.

His expression became serious.

On the back was a date.

September 5, 2012.

And underneath it:

"The girl remembers."

I felt confused.

"Remembers what?"

Ethan shook his head.

"I don't know."

Then we heard something.

A noise from above.

Footsteps.

We both froze.

Someone had entered the house.

Ethan quickly closed the folder.

"Someone's here."

We turned off the light.

The footsteps moved closer.

One step.

Then another.

Someone stopped directly above the hidden room.

I held my breath.

Then we heard a familiar voice.

"I know you're down there."

Ethan's eyes widened.

It was Elena.

She knew we were there.

The hidden door slowly opened.

Light filled the room.

Elena stood at the entrance.

She looked at both of us.

Then at the folder in Ethan's hands.

Her expression was serious.

"You shouldn't have found this."

I stepped forward.

"Then tell us the truth."

She looked at me for a long moment.

Finally, she whispered:

"Your father didn't disappear because of Adrian."

I froze.

"What?"

Elena's eyes filled with sadness.

"He disappeared because of me."

The room went silent.

And suddenly, the mystery we'd been trying to solve became even more complicated.