Chapter 3: The Girl at the Window
Daniel stared at Noah.
For a moment, the street seemed to disappear.
The traffic noise faded. The diner door swung shut behind them. Somewhere nearby, a truck hissed as it stopped at a red light.
All Daniel could hear was his son's breathing.
“You saw her?”” Daniel asked.
Noah nodded.
“Last night.””
“Where?””
“In my room.””
Daniel lowered himself until they were eye to eye.
“What was she doing?””
Noah rubbed his mittened hands together.
“She was standing by the window.””
“Did she talk to you?””
“No.””
“Did you see her face?””
Noah hesitated.
“Kind of.””
Daniel's stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?””
“She was crying.””
Mara covered her mouth.
Daniel looked at her.
“You knew.””
“I suspected,” she whispered.
“You suspected my daughter was sneaking into my house?””
“Not your daughter.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“She is my daughter.””
Mara looked at Noah.
“Charlotte would never come that close unless she had a reason.””
Daniel turned back to his son.
“What happened after she stood by the window?””
Noah frowned, trying to remember.
“She put something on my desk.””
“What?””
“A little box.””
Daniel's pulse jumped.
“Where is it?””
“At home.””
“Did you open it?””
Noah shook his head.
“She told me not to.””
Daniel froze.
“She spoke to you?””
A tiny nod.
“What did she say?””
Noah looked frightened.
“She said, ‘If your daddy asks, tell him the truth.’”
Mara whispered, “Oh God.””
Daniel stood abruptly.
“What box?””
Noah pointed toward his backpack.
“I put it inside.””
Daniel pulled the zipper open with shaking fingers.
Under a coloring book and a half-eaten granola bar sat a small wooden box.
It was no bigger than Daniel's palm.
Old.
Dark.
A thin silver line ran around the lid.
Daniel knew it immediately.
His chest tightened.
“No.””
Mara stepped closer.
“What is it?””
Daniel couldn't speak.
He ran his thumb across the carved symbol on the top.
A crescent moon.
And beneath it, a tiny bird.
Mara stared.
“Daniel?””
He looked at her.
“It's hers.””
“Whose?””
“Our daughter's.””
Mara's face crumpled.
“That box was in the nursery.””
Daniel remembered.
Their old house.
The tiny white crib.
The pale yellow walls Mara had painted herself because she couldn't stand the thought of their baby sleeping in a room that felt cold.
After Charlotte's disappearance, Daniel had packed away nearly everything.
But one box had vanished.
This one.
He had spent months searching for it.
Mara had told him she had thrown it away.
Daniel looked at her.
“You said you destroyed this.””
“I lied.””
“About that too?””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“You keep saying that.””
“Because it was true.””
Daniel opened the lid.
Inside was a silver bracelet.
A faded hospital identification tag.
And a folded piece of paper.
His hands started shaking.
He unfolded it.
There were three lines.
*Dad,*
*I know who I am.*
*Please don't trust Mom.*
Daniel stopped breathing.
Mara saw the page.
Her face went white.
“No.””
Daniel looked at her.
“No what?””
“She didn't write that.””
“How do you know?””
“Because I never taught her that handwriting.””
Daniel looked down again.
The letters were uneven, almost childlike.
But there was something else.
At the bottom of the page was a date.
Yesterday.
Daniel's heart pounded.
“Noah, where did she leave this?””
“On my desk.””
“Did anyone else come into your room?””
“No.””
“Are you sure?””
Noah nodded.
“Daddy, she knew your name.””
Daniel's head lifted.
“What?””
“She said, ‘Your daddy's name is Daniel.’”
Mara took a slow step backward.
“She shouldn't know that.””
Daniel stared at her.
“You just told me she found the photograph.””
“I told you she knew about him.””
“How much did she know?””
“I don't know.””
“That isn't good enough.””
Mara looked away.
Daniel's voice hardened.
“What haven't you told me?””
She swallowed.
“Everything.””
Before Daniel could answer, the man beside the SUV spoke.
“We need to leave.””
Daniel ignored him.
“Mara, you have thirty seconds.””
Her eyes met his.
“What do you want to know?””
“The truth.””
“I've spent thirteen years trying to uncover it.””
“Then start now.””
Mara glanced at Noah.
“The box.””
“What about it?””
“It proves something.””
“What?””
“That Charlotte has access to records she should never have seen.””
Daniel frowned.
“What records?””
“Birth records. Adoption documents. Financial transfers.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“She found them?””
“She was looking for you.””
“Why?””
“Because she thinks you're the only person who can get her out.””
Daniel clenched his jaw.
“Then we'll get her out.””
Mara shook her head.
“You don't understand what you're walking into.””
“I understand that my daughter is alive.””
“No. You don't understand what happens when Hale realizes she contacted you.””
The man beside the SUV suddenly stepped forward.
“He already knows.””
Daniel looked at him.
“How?””
The man held up a phone.
“This came through five minutes ago.””
He turned the screen toward Daniel.
There was a photograph.
Noah.
Standing outside the diner.
Taken from across the street.
Daniel's blood froze.
“When was this taken?””
“Two minutes ago.””
Daniel looked around.
Every face suddenly seemed suspicious.
“Who took it?””
“We don't know.””
Another photograph appeared.
Mara.
Then Daniel.
Then Noah.
All three together.
Daniel grabbed the man's wrist.
“You said you're protecting us.””
“We are.””
“You're doing a terrible job.””
The man pulled free.
“We were late.””
Daniel stepped toward him.
“Who is Hale?””
The man stared at him.
“You've seen him.””
“No.””
“Yes, you have.””
Daniel frowned.
“Where?””
“At your daughter's funeral.””
Daniel's face changed.
The memory slammed into him.
The dark cemetery.
Rain dripping from black umbrellas.
Victor Hale standing beside Mara.
Daniel had thought the billionaire was there because of his foundation's donation to the hospital.
But now—
Daniel remembered Hale's eyes.
The way he had looked at the grave.
Not grief.
Possession.
Daniel whispered, “He was there.””
Mara nodded.
“He always was.””
“Why?””
“Because Charlotte was never supposed to leave him.””
Daniel looked at the photograph in his hand.
“Where is she now?””
The man checked his phone.
“We tracked her once.””
“And?””
“She turned her phone off.””
“Then track her another way.””
“We're trying.””
“Try harder.””
A sharp tone sounded from the phone.
The man's expression changed.
“What?””
Daniel saw his face go pale.
“What happened?””
The man looked toward Mara.
“She activated the emergency signal.””
Mara went rigid.
“Where?””
The man entered a code.
Then he stopped.
“No.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“What?””
The man looked at the screen.
“She isn't at your house.””
“Then where is she?””
He turned the phone toward Daniel.
The map showed a blinking red point.
Daniel recognized the location immediately.
His old house.
The house where Charlotte had been born.
The house he had sold after Mara disappeared.
The house that had been empty for years.
Daniel stared.
“She went there.””
Mara shook her head.
“No. That's impossible.””
“Why?””
“Because the basement was sealed.””
Daniel looked at her.
“What basement?””
Mara's eyes widened.
“You never knew?””
“No.””
“There was another room.””
Daniel felt the blood drain from his face.
“What room?””
Mara's voice dropped.
“Behind the nursery wall.””
Daniel stared at her.
“What was inside?””
“I don't know.””
“You don't know?””
“I was never allowed to see it.””
“Who told you?””
Mara didn't answer.
Daniel took a step toward her.
“Who?””
“Victor.””
The name hung between them.
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Why would Victor Hale have a hidden room in our house?””
Mara shook her head.
“It wasn't our house.””
“What does that mean?””
“It was already being used before we moved in.””
Daniel felt sick.
“Our home was part of this?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did you marry me?””
Mara flinched.
Daniel realized the question sounded cruel, but he couldn't pull it back.
“Was I part of the plan too?””
“No.””
“Then what was I?””
Mara's eyes filled with tears.
“The mistake.””
Daniel went still.
She touched his arm.
“The only mistake they ever made.””
A sharp crack sounded from the SUV.
The rear window shattered.
Daniel grabbed Noah and threw both of them behind the parked car.
Mara dropped beside them.
“Get down!””
Glass rained across the pavement.
People screamed and scattered.
Daniel pulled Noah against his chest.
“Are you hurt?””
Noah shook his head.
Mara crouched beside them.
The man from the SUV pulled a weapon.
“Stay here.””
Daniel stared at him.
“I thought you said we were out of time.””
“We are.””
He rose and moved toward the vehicle.
Another shot struck the hood.
Daniel looked across the street.
A black sedan sat with its engine running.
The driver's face was hidden.
Mara gripped Daniel's coat.
“That's not Hale.””
“How do you know?””
“Because Hale doesn't send warnings.””
Daniel looked at her.
“What does he send?””
Mara's answer came quietly.
“Funeral flowers.””
The man returned.
“Move!””
Daniel lifted Noah and ran.
They reached the SUV.
The rear door was open.
Mara climbed inside.
Daniel pushed Noah in after her and followed.
The vehicle lurched away before the door had fully closed.
Daniel looked back through the shattered window.
The black sedan was gone.
He turned toward Mara.
“You're coming with us.””
She stared at him.
“Where?””
“To the old house.””
“No.””
“We're getting Charlotte.””
“You can't.””
“She went there.””
“And that's exactly why you can't.””
Daniel leaned forward.
“Why?””
Mara's eyes locked onto his.
“Because the room behind the nursery wall doesn't hold secrets.””
She paused.
“It holds bodies.””
Daniel's blood turned to ice.
Then the phone in the man's hand began to ring.
He looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke.
Then a girl's voice came through the speaker.
Soft.
Shaking.
“Dad?””
Daniel froze.
Mara closed her eyes.
Charlotte continued.
“I'm in the house.””
A man's voice suddenly whispered in the background.
Daniel's heart slammed against his ribs.
Charlotte gasped.
“Dad, please—”
The call cut off.
The man looked at the screen.
Daniel grabbed him.
“What happened?””
The man shook his head.
“Signal lost.””
Daniel stared at Mara.
She was crying silently.
Then Noah whispered from the seat beside him.
“Daddy?””
Daniel turned.
Noah was staring at the little wooden box.
The lid was open again.
A second piece of paper had appeared inside.
Daniel pulled it out.
May you like
There was only one sentence.
*Don't bring Mom to the house. She's the reason I'm still missing.*
