Chapter 7: The Photograph
Marcus stared at the photograph until the edges blurred.
The man beside Vanessa was smiling.
Vanessa wasn't.
Behind them was the hallway of Marcus's own house.
He recognized the staircase.
The framed family photo.
The narrow table by the wall.
And, half-hidden in the corner, the locked door.
Marcus turned the photograph over again.
*ASK VANESSA ABOUT NOAH.*
Maya sat quietly in the back seat.
“Dad?””
Marcus looked at her in the mirror.
“Where did you get this?””
“I told you. Under the door.””
“Did you take it from inside?””
“No.””
“Did anyone give it to you?””
Maya shook her head.
Marcus looked at the photograph again.
“Who took it?””
“I don't know.””
“How did you find it?””
Maya hesitated.
“Vanessa dropped it.””
“When?””
“Last week.””
Marcus's fingers tightened.
“Where?””
“In the kitchen.””
“And you picked it up?””
Maya nodded.
“She got really scared when she saw it.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Did she say anything?””
“She said I wasn't supposed to see it.””
“What else?””
Maya swallowed.
“She said the man was nobody.””
Marcus looked down at the photograph.
Nobody.
Yet he knew him.
Three weeks earlier, Marcus had come home early from work and found a man walking down the stairs.
Vanessa had immediately smiled.
“Plumber.””
Marcus had nodded.
He remembered the man's eyes.
Cold.
Nervous.
He remembered asking whether something was broken.
Vanessa had laughed.
“Just a leak upstairs.””
Marcus had believed her.
He suddenly felt sick.
“Maya.””
“Yeah?””
“Did Noah know this man?””
Maya shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Did he ever go upstairs?””
“Sometimes.””
“Where?””
“The locked room.””
Marcus's head snapped up.
“What?””
Maya's eyes filled.
“Sometimes Noah goes in there.””
Marcus sat completely still.
“Noah?””
“He brings things.””
“What things?””
“Food sometimes.””
Marcus stared at her.
“Why?””
“I don't know.””
“Did Vanessa send him?””
Maya shook her head.
“She tells him not to talk about it.””
Marcus looked at the photograph again.
The words on the back seemed darker now.
*ASK VANESSA ABOUT NOAH.*
He started the car.
“We're not going home.””
Maya looked surprised.
“Where are we going?””
“To the police station.””
She immediately grabbed the seat belt.
“Will they take me away?””
“No.””
“Will they take Dad away?””
Marcus looked at her in the mirror.
“No.””
Maya hesitated.
“Will they take Noah?””
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
“I don't know.””
“He didn't do anything.””
“I know.””
“He's little.””
“I know.””
Maya's eyes dropped.
“Vanessa makes him do things.””
Marcus's foot eased off the accelerator.
“What things?””
Maya looked out the window.
“Things she says are secrets.””
“What kind of secrets?””
“I don't know.””
“Maya.””
She began crying again.
“She made him tell me that if I ever told you about the room, you'd disappear.””
Marcus gripped the steering wheel.
“She told Noah to say that?””
Maya nodded.
“He cried afterward.””
Marcus's phone rang.
Vanessa.
He declined it.
It rang again.
He declined it again.
Then a text appeared.
*You need to come home. Now.*
Another message arrived.
*Before someone gets hurt.*
Marcus stared at the screen.
Then he called.
Vanessa answered immediately.
“Where are you?””
“Who is the man in the photograph?””
Silence.
“Marcus…”
“Who?””
“You shouldn't have that.””
“Maya found it.””
“She doesn't understand.””
“Then help me understand.””
Vanessa breathed shakily.
“The man is Noah's biological father.””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
“He came back.””
Marcus glanced at Maya.
“Where is he?””
“I don't know.””
“You know exactly where he is.””
“He's dangerous.””
“Is he in our house?””
Vanessa said nothing.
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“Is he in the locked room?””
“No.””
“Vanessa.””
“He was.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“What does that mean?””
“I'll explain everything if you come home.””
“No.””
“Marcus, please.””
“I'm going to the police.””
“Don't!””
Her voice cracked.
Then she whispered,
“If you go to the police, Noah may never see his mother again.””
Marcus stared at the phone.
“What did you do?””
Vanessa began crying.
“I was trying to protect my son.””
“And Maya?””
“I never wanted her involved.””
“She's already involved.””
Marcus ended the call.
Maya looked at him.
“What did she say?””
Marcus pulled into a gas station parking lot.
He turned around.
“Maya, I need you to listen carefully.””
She nodded.
“Whatever happens next, you stay with me.””
“Okay.””
“You don't go anywhere alone.””
“Okay.””
“And if anyone tells you to keep a secret from me, you tell me.””
Maya nodded again.
Marcus reached into the glove compartment and took out an old emergency contact card.
He wrote a number on it.
“Keep this.””
“What is it?””
“Someone I trust.””
Maya held it.
Marcus's phone buzzed again.
This time it wasn't Vanessa.
It was an unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Marcus opened it.
His face went pale.
It showed Noah standing in front of the locked upstairs door.
Beside him stood the man from the photograph.
The message underneath contained only six words:
*Ask your wife what happened before you.*
Marcus stared at the image.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
*You have one hour.*
