Chapter 8: Room 17
The old Brooks clinic had been abandoned for decades.
Marcus knew that.
He had driven past the building hundreds of times without ever noticing it.
Now, at nearly midnight on Christmas Eve, he stood outside its rusted gates beside Samuel and Daniel.
Rain had replaced the snow.
Water ran down the cracked windows.
A faded sign hung above the entrance:
*BROOKS FAMILY CLINIC*
Marcus stared at it.
“You said it was closed.””
Daniel nodded.
“It was.””
“Then why is the door unlocked?””
Nobody answered.
Samuel pushed it open.
The hinges screamed.
Inside, the air smelled of dust, mold, and old disinfectant.
Marcus switched on his flashlight.
The beam swept over overturned chairs, broken cabinets, and peeling Christmas decorations.
A small paper star still hung from the ceiling.
Marcus looked at it.
“My mother used to make those.””
Daniel stared at the star.
“She made one every Christmas.””
Marcus turned.
“You remember?””
“I remember everything.””
Samuel looked at him.
“I don't.””
Daniel's expression softened.
“You will.””
They moved deeper into the clinic.
A hallway stretched ahead.
Rooms lined both sides.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Marcus's breathing became faster.
At the end of the hall was a door.
*17.*
The number had been painted over.
Someone had recently scratched it back into the wood.
Marcus reached for the handle.
Daniel grabbed his wrist.
“Wait.””
“Why?””
“Listen.””
They stood silently.
From inside came a faint sound.
A baby crying.
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“That can't be real.””
Samuel stepped closer.
The crying stopped.
Then Elena's voice came from behind the door.
“Marcus?””
He immediately reached for the handle.
Daniel pulled him back.
“Don't.””
“That's my mother.””
“It could be a recording.””
Marcus shook him off.
“Move.””
He opened the door.
The room was empty.
Except for an old hospital bed.
And a tape recorder.
Marcus stared.
The machine clicked.
Then Elena's recorded voice filled the room.
“If you're hearing this, Marcus, I'm sorry.””
Marcus's face crumpled.
Samuel looked around.
Daniel closed the door behind them.
Elena continued.
“I didn't know how to tell you.””
Marcus stepped toward the recorder.
“You were born here.””
The room seemed to shrink.
“Your father was Samuel.””
Samuel closed his eyes.
Marcus looked at him.
Elena's voice continued.
“He didn't abandon us.””
A tear rolled down Samuel's cheek.
“I told you he did because Calvin threatened to kill you.””
Marcus covered his mouth.
Daniel whispered, “Keep listening.””
Elena continued.
“Calvin had discovered the trust your grandfather created for you.””
The tape crackled.
“He wanted control of it.””
Marcus whispered, “So he took me.””
“No.””
Daniel's voice was firm.
“Elena moved you.””
Marcus looked at him.
The recording continued.
“I asked Daniel to help me.””
Daniel lowered his head.
“He wasn't your father,” Elena said.
“But he was the only man I trusted to get you somewhere Calvin couldn't find you.””
Marcus stared at Daniel.
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“I took you to my sister,” he whispered.
Marcus's heart stopped.
“You raised me?””
“No.””
Daniel shook his head.
“I delivered you.””
“To who?””
Daniel looked away.
The tape answered.
“I gave you to a woman named Ruth.””
Marcus froze.
“Ruth?””
His mother's middle name.
Daniel nodded.
“Elena changed her name.””
Marcus stepped back.
“So my mother…”
“She was Ruth.””
“She raised me under another identity.””
“Yes.””
Marcus stared at the recorder.
The tape continued.
“I couldn't stay with you.””
His mother began crying.
“I thought leaving you was the only way to keep you alive.””
Samuel whispered, “Elena…”
The tape crackled.
“But there is one thing I never told you.””
Marcus leaned closer.
“Your father didn't lose his memory that night.””
Samuel's eyes widened.
“What?””
Elena continued.
“He remembered.””
Samuel staggered backward.
“No.””
“He remembered who attacked him.””
Marcus looked at Samuel.
“Who?””
The tape clicked.
Static filled the room.
Then Elena whispered:
“Daniel.””
Marcus turned sharply.
Daniel's face went white.
Samuel stared at him.
“You.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
Elena's recorded voice continued.
“Samuel believed Daniel attacked him because Calvin told him so.””
Daniel looked horrified.
“But that wasn't what happened.””
The tape clicked again.
“Daniel was trying to save Samuel.””
Marcus frowned.
“What?””
Daniel whispered:
“She knew.””
The recording continued.
“Daniel found Samuel unconscious.””
Samuel stared at him.
Daniel nodded.
“You had been poisoned.””
Samuel touched his head.
“Poisoned?””
“Calvin had drugged you.””
Marcus looked toward the door.
“Then who attacked Elena?””
The recorder suddenly stopped.
The room went silent.
A second tape began playing automatically.
A man's voice filled the room.
Calvin.
“You should've listened to me, Elena.””
Marcus froze.
Calvin's voice continued.
“You were never supposed to tell him.””
The tape ended.
The door behind them slammed shut.
Samuel rushed to it.
Locked.
Daniel tried the handle.
Nothing.
Marcus backed toward the bed.
Then a hidden panel clicked open beside the wall.
Inside was a small metal box.
Marcus pulled it out.
On top was an envelope.
His name.
Inside was a birth certificate.
This one looked different.
Official.
Stamped.
Signed.
Marcus read the father's name.
His knees weakened.
The name wasn't Samuel.
It wasn't Daniel.
It wasn't Calvin.
It was a name he'd heard only once in his childhood.
A name his mother had refused to explain.
Marcus whispered:
“Thomas Brooks.””
Samuel stared at him.
“My father's name.””
Daniel looked at the certificate.
Then at Samuel.
“No.””
Marcus looked up.
“What?””
Daniel pointed to the date.
“This certificate was issued thirty years after Thomas died.””
Samuel took it.
His hands began trembling.
“That's impossible.””
The lights in Room 17 suddenly turned on.
A speaker crackled above them.
Calvin's voice filled the room.
“Now you understand.””
Marcus looked toward the ceiling.
Calvin continued:
“Samuel wasn't your father's son.””
Samuel froze.
“What did you say?””
Calvin laughed.
“Thomas was.””
Marcus stared at Samuel.
May you like
Samuel stared back.
And then, from somewhere behind the wall, came the sound of a key turning.
