Chapter 7: The Hidden Room
The shattered glass kept falling long after my mother pulled me beneath the row of seats.
Arthur covered my head with his arms.
“Stay down!”” he shouted.
Another crack exploded through the hall.
People screamed and scattered between the chairs.
Dean Walker dropped behind the podium while security rushed toward the rear doors.
My mother grabbed my face with both hands.
“Marcus, look at me.””
I could barely hear her.
“Mom?””
Her eyes were exactly as I remembered them.
Or maybe exactly as I had imagined them.
“You have to trust me.””
“I don't understand.””
“I know.””
She pulled me toward the stage.
Arthur followed.
Daniel stood frozen for half a second before rushing after us.
“Rebecca!””
My mother turned.
“Daniel, keep them away from him.””
Daniel nodded.
“Got it.””
Arthur grabbed my shoulder.
“Move.””
We ducked behind the stage curtains.
The noise of hundreds of people rushing for the exits swallowed everything.
Dean Walker crawled toward us.
“There’s a service corridor behind the stage.””
Rebecca nodded.
“I remember.””
“You haven't been here since—”
“Twenty-five years.””
The dean stopped.
“Then you know where it leads.””
Rebecca grabbed my hand.
“Come.””
We ran.
The corridor was narrow and dark, lined with old framed photographs of graduating classes.
My graduation gown dragged behind me.
My cap had disappeared somewhere in the chaos.
Arthur kept looking over his shoulder.
Daniel came behind him.
“Arthur!””
“What?””
“Someone is following us.””
Arthur stopped.
“What?””
Daniel pointed toward the corridor.
A figure appeared briefly at the far end.
Black jacket.
Dark baseball cap.
Then it disappeared around the corner.
Arthur swore under his breath.
“Faster.””
Rebecca opened a steel door.
Inside was a stairwell.
We rushed down two flights.
At the bottom, she stopped beside a blank concrete wall.
I stared at her.
“Where are we going?””
She pressed her palm against a section of brick.
A hidden latch clicked.
Part of the wall moved inward.
I stared.
“You're kidding.””
Rebecca gave a sad smile.
“This university has always had secrets.””
We stepped inside.
The room beyond was small and windowless.
There was a desk.
A filing cabinet.
A dusty lamp.
And dozens of cardboard boxes stacked against the walls.
Rebecca closed the hidden door.
Arthur leaned against it, breathing hard.
Daniel looked at my mother.
“You kept it?””
She nodded.
“I kept everything.””
I turned slowly.
“What is this?””
“My old office.””
“You worked here?””
“Before you were born.””
I walked toward the desk.
A faded photograph sat beneath a layer of dust.
I picked it up.
Rebecca, Arthur, and Daniel stood together.
They were younger.
Much younger.
And Rebecca was pregnant.
I looked at Arthur.
“You all knew each other.””
Arthur nodded.
“We were friends.””
Daniel looked down.
“Before everything went wrong.””
I turned toward my mother.
“Why did you disappear?””
She sat down.
“Because I discovered that someone inside the university was selling confidential medical information.””
Dean Walker stiffened.
“Who?””
Rebecca shook her head.
“I never found out.””
“But you knew someone was after you.””
“Yes.””
“And you knew Arthur was my biological father?””
She looked at him.
“I suspected.””
Arthur's eyes widened.
“You suspected?””
“I had reason to believe it.””
“But Daniel?””
“I thought Daniel was your father.””
Daniel lowered his head.
“I believed it too.””
I looked between them.
“So when did you find out?””
Rebecca's fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.
“After Marcus was born.””
She opened a drawer.
Inside were medical records.
“His blood type didn't match Daniel's. That made me suspicious. I ordered a private genetic test.””
She placed a document on the desk.
“The results showed Arthur was your biological father.””
I stared at him.
Arthur wiped his eyes.
“I didn't know.””
“You found out later,” Rebecca said.
Arthur nodded.
“When you disappeared.””
“Because I sent the results to him.””
I looked at Arthur.
“You knew.””
“Yes.””
“And you still let me believe Daniel was my father?””
Arthur's face twisted.
“Your mother told me to protect you.””
“By lying?””
“By keeping you alive.””
Rebecca stood.
“I thought Daniel's enemies would use you against him.””
Daniel's voice was bitter.
“They did.””
Rebecca looked at him.
“They tried.””
Daniel nodded.
“But I survived.””
He reached into his jacket.
“And I found this.””
He placed a small USB drive on the desk.
I stared at it.
“What is that?””
“Everything I uncovered after your mother disappeared.””
Dean Walker stepped closer.
“Where did you get it?””
“From the person who attacked the graduation.””
The room went silent.
Arthur stared at him.
“You had it all this time?””
“I didn't know what it contained.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Until today.””
He connected it to an old laptop.
Folders appeared.
Dates.
Names.
Financial records.
Medical files.
Then one folder appeared at the top.
*PROJECT REED*
My stomach dropped.
“That's my name.””
Rebecca closed her eyes.
“Yes.””
I clicked it.
A scanned document appeared.
At the top was a university letterhead.
Below it was a list of names.
Arthur Reed.
Rebecca Collins.
Daniel Collins.
And several others.
Then I saw a final name.
*Dr. Samuel Whitmore.*
Dean Walker went pale.
“That's impossible.””
“Who is he?”” I asked.
The dean didn't answer.
Rebecca did.
“The man who ran the research program.””
“What happened to him?””
She looked at me.
“He died twenty-five years ago.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
He pointed at the screen.
“Look at the signature.””
I zoomed in.
A recent date appeared beneath it.
Two months ago.
My heart stopped.
“He's alive.””
Arthur stepped toward the laptop.
“That's not possible.””
Rebecca whispered, “Then we've been looking in the wrong place.””
A phone began vibrating on the desk.
Everyone froze.
It wasn't mine.
It wasn't Arthur's.
It was Rebecca's.
She stared at the screen.
Her face went white.
“Who is it?”” I asked.
She didn't answer.
The phone kept vibrating.
Finally, she picked it up.
A single message appeared.
*YOU BROUGHT HIM BACK TO ME.*
Rebecca dropped the phone.
May you like
Then another message appeared.
*NOW GIVE ME THE BOY.*
