Chapter 11: The Room Behind the Wall
885 Words
Maya stared at Adrian as though the man standing in front of her had suddenly become a stranger.
“My father was taken?” she whispered.
Adrian nodded slowly.
“By my father.”
The words hung between them.
For years, Maya had imagined a thousand possibilities. Her father had abandoned her. He had died. He had run from someone. Maybe he had simply chosen a life without her.
But she had never imagined this.
“You knew?” Her voice trembled. “You knew my father was alive—or that he had been taken—and you said nothing?”
“I didn’t know everything.”
“But you knew enough.”
Adrian looked down.
“Yes.”
Maya stepped backward.
The room suddenly felt too small.
“You promised me the truth.”
“I’m giving it to you now.”
“After how long?”
Adrian had no answer.
Maya turned away from him and wiped the tears gathering in her eyes.
On the table between them sat the old flash drive her father had left behind. Beside it was the letter—the one warning her not to trust anyone.
Not even the man delivering it.
Adrian.
Her heart hated the thought.
But another part of her refused to believe that he was the enemy.
“Why would your father take mine?” she asked.
Adrian walked toward the table.
“Because your father discovered something.”
“What?”
“Something involving the Vale family.”
Maya looked at him.
“Room 17?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“You know about Room 17?”
“My father mentioned it.”
Silence.
Then Adrian reached into his jacket and pulled out a small brass key.
Maya frowned.
“Where did you get that?”
“My father kept it hidden.”
He placed it on the table.
Engraved across the top were two characters.
17.
Maya’s breath caught.
“You had this all along?”
“No. I found it three days ago.”
“Where?”
“In my father’s study.”
Maya picked it up.
The metal was cold against her palm.
“Then we go there.”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
She looked at him sharply.
“You don’t get to tell me no.”
“Maya, listen to me. If Room 17 is what I think it is, going there could put you in serious danger.”
“My father disappeared because of this.”
“I know.”
“And you expect me to sit here while we do nothing?”
“No.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“We’re going together.”
For the first time that night, Maya saw something in his eyes she hadn’t seen before.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For her.
Before she could respond, a sound came from the hallway.
A soft click.
Both of them froze.
Adrian immediately reached for Maya’s hand.
“Stay behind me.”
The hallway was dark.
“Adrian…”
“Quiet.”
Another sound.
A floorboard creaked.
Adrian moved toward the door.
Maya followed despite his warning.
He opened it slowly.
Nothing.
Only the empty hallway.
Then Maya noticed something on the floor.
A white envelope.
Her name was written across it.
MAYA CARTER.
Her stomach tightened.
Adrian picked it up.
“Don’t.”
He tore it open.
Inside was a single photograph.
Maya’s hands began to shake.
It was her father.
Alive.
Older, thinner, but unmistakably him.
He was standing inside a dark room.
Behind him was a wall covered with photographs.
And beneath the photograph, someone had written:
HE KNOWS WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR.
Maya stared at the picture.
“When was this taken?”
Adrian turned it over.
There was a date.
Yesterday.
Maya’s heart stopped.
“My father is alive.”
“Yes.”
“And someone knows we’re looking for him.”
Adrian looked toward the dark end of the hallway.
“Someone has been watching us.”
A sudden vibration came from Maya’s phone.
Unknown number.
She answered.
“Hello?”
For several seconds, there was only breathing.
Then a man’s voice whispered:
“Stop searching for Michael Reed.”
Maya’s blood ran cold.
“How do you know that name?”
The caller laughed softly.
“Because I was there when your father disappeared.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“Who are you?”
The line went dead.
Maya stared at the phone.
Adrian took it from her.
“We’re leaving.”
“Where?”
“To Room 17.”
She looked at him.
“You said it was dangerous.”
“It is.”
“Then why are we going?”
Adrian’s eyes met hers.
“Because whoever called you just confirmed something.”
“What?”
He held up the photograph.
“Your father left a trail.”
Maya swallowed.
“And someone is desperate for us not to follow it.”
Adrian reached for her hand.
This time, Maya didn’t pull away.
Together, they walked toward the elevator.
Neither of them noticed the small camera hidden above the hallway light.
Behind it, someone watched them leave.
And smiled.
“Let them go to Room 17.”
A second voice answered from the darkness.
“They’ll find what we want them to find.”
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