Chapter 13: The Body Beneath the Old House
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
The photograph on my phone showed Nia sitting in the passenger seat of a dark vehicle. Her wrists were tied behind her back. A strip of tape covered part of her mouth, and there was a bruise near her left eye.
Beneath the photograph was another message.
*Your wife knows where the body is.*
I read it again.
Then I called the number.
It rang once.
Twice.
On the third ring, someone answered.
"Stop looking for her," a man's voice said.
"Who is this?""
"You've already lost enough family members, Marcus. Don't make another mistake.""
I gripped the phone.
"If you've touched my wife—"
"Your wife is not the person you should be worried about.""
The call ended.
Daniel immediately stood.
"Give me the phone.""
I handed it to him.
He examined the photograph, then forwarded it to the police investigator handling our case.
"Don't respond to any more messages," he said.
"We need to locate the vehicle.""
Ethan was already pacing.
"That message said she knows where the body is.""
Olivia looked at Margaret.
"What body?""
Margaret closed the trust folder.
"Your father told me something shortly before his death. Something I never fully understood.""
"What?"" I asked.
She hesitated.
"He said that if anything happened to him, I should look beneath the old house.""
Ethan's expression changed.
"The house he left to me?""
Margaret nodded.
I looked at the property deed.
"Why would there be a body there?""
"I don't know.""
Daniel received a call.
He listened carefully.
Then he looked at me.
"The photograph's location data has been partially recovered. It was taken near the old Carter property.""
The house where my father had first met Ethan's mother.
The house Ethan had just inherited.
I turned toward him.
"We're going there.""
Daniel shook his head.
"Not without the police.""
"I'm not waiting while someone holds my wife hostage.""
"Marcus, listen. Whoever sent that photograph knows we're investigating. They may be expecting you.""
I looked at the screen again.
Nia's frightened eyes seemed to follow me.
"I know.""
Daniel called the investigator back.
Within twenty minutes, two officers agreed to meet us at the property.
Ethan drove.
Olivia sat beside him.
I rode with Daniel.
The journey felt endless.
I kept thinking about the recording of Patricia's conversation, the forged documents, the medical reports, and my father's final video.
Every piece seemed to lead somewhere darker.
And now Nia was missing.
I hated what she had done.
I hated the lies.
But I couldn't pretend I wanted her dead.
When we arrived, the property looked abandoned.
Tall grass covered the driveway. The wooden fence had collapsed near the entrance, and the windows were clouded with dust.
Ethan unlocked the front door.
Inside, the air smelled of damp wood and old paper.
He walked slowly through the living room.
"My mother used to sit here," he said.
He pointed to a corner near the window.
"She liked watching the rain.""
I looked around.
The house contained almost nothing.
A wooden table.
Two chairs.
An old cabinet.
And a photograph of my father standing beside Elaine.
I approached it.
On the back, someone had written:
For the boys. One day, they will understand.
My chest tightened.
Then one of the officers called from the hallway.
"Mr. Carter? We found something.""
We followed him to the basement.
The floor was concrete.
At the far end, a section of wall looked newer than the rest.
The officer examined it.
"Has this area been renovated recently?""
Ethan shook his head.
"Not that I know of.""
Daniel looked at the floor.
"There are fresh marks.""
The officer called for additional support.
They removed several loose panels.
Behind them was a narrow storage compartment.
Inside sat a metal box.
Ethan recognized it immediately.
"That's my mother's.""
He reached for it, but the officer stopped him.
"Let us handle it.""
The box was opened carefully.
Inside were old letters, photographs, a small cassette recorder, and a sealed envelope.
But there was something else.
A folded hospital identification bracelet.
The name printed on it was:
*DR. SAMUEL BENNETT.*
I frowned.
"Why would my father's house contain his identification bracelet?""
Margaret, who had arrived with another officer, stepped forward.
She examined the bracelet.
Then she looked at the storage compartment.
"Because Samuel was here.""
Ethan picked up the cassette recorder.
"There are recordings.""
Daniel examined the device.
"Can we play them?""
The officer connected it to a portable speaker.
A woman's voice emerged.
Elaine.
"I know what you've done, Patricia. I know about the medication.""
Then another voice.
Samuel.
"You don't understand what you're interfering with.""
Elaine answered:
"I understand perfectly. You're stealing from Marcus's father, and you're trying to make sure Ethan never receives what belongs to him.""
A chair scraped.
Then Samuel spoke again.
"You should have stayed out of this.""
The recording stopped.
Ethan's face had gone white.
"That's my mother.""
He pressed the playback button again.
This time, the recording continued.
Elaine's voice was quieter.
"If anything happens to me, tell my son the truth. Tell him his father never abandoned him.""
A door slammed.
There was a muffled argument.
Then Samuel said something that made the entire room freeze.
"Your sister has already agreed. The hospital records will show whatever we need them to show.""
The recording ended.
I looked at Margaret.
"Patricia knew?""
Margaret nodded slowly.
"She may have known more than anyone.""
Then the officer examining the back of the compartment called us over.
He had found another envelope.
Inside was a photograph of a man lying unconscious in a hospital bed.
The man was my father.
A date was written underneath.
The night before he died.
But the most disturbing detail was the handwritten note.
Patient transferred to private care at 11:48 p.m. No receiving physician documented.
Daniel stared at the paper.
"That's a serious violation.""
One of the officers approached.
"We've found another compartment.""
Behind the wooden panel was a small package wrapped in plastic.
The officer carefully opened it.
Inside was a hospital access card.
The photograph belonged to Dr. Samuel Bennett.
And beneath it was a handwritten list of dates.
The final date was five years earlier.
The date my father died.
I looked at Ethan.
"Where is Nia?""
He didn't answer.
Then Daniel's phone rang.
It was the investigator.
Daniel listened.
His face changed.
"What happened?"" I demanded.
He ended the call.
"Police located the vehicle from the photograph.""
"Where?""
"An abandoned warehouse near the river.""
"Was Nia inside?""
Daniel swallowed.
"No.""
I felt my stomach drop.
"Then who was?""
He looked at me.
"Patricia Bennett.""
The officer beside us immediately reached for his radio.
Daniel continued.
"She was unconscious when they found her. There was blood on her clothes, but no obvious life-threatening injuries.""
I stared at the empty basement.
Patricia had been at the warehouse.
Nia was missing.
And someone had sent us a message about a body.
Then Ethan found something beneath the cassette recorder.
A small note in his mother's handwriting.
He unfolded it.
Read it once.
Then handed it to me.
Marcus, if you ever find this, the person you are looking for may not be the person you expect.
Below it was a name.
*NIA BENNETT.*
I looked at the note.
Then I heard footsteps above us.
A familiar voice called down the stairs.
"Marcus?""
It was Nia.
Alive.
But when she appeared at the top of the basement steps, she wasn't alone.
She was holding a gun.
May you like
And standing behind her was Edward Hayes.
"Everyone," Edward said calmly, "put your phones on the floor.""
