Chapter 8: The Box Beneath the Kennel
The alarm continued screaming.
Emily held Ethan close as the officers moved toward the backyard.
Ryan remained frozen near the staircase.
Natalie was crying.
Marcus stared through the glass doors at the overturned kennel.
The black metal box sat half-buried in the soil.
Emily looked at him.
“What is it?””
Marcus shook his head.
“I don't know.””
“You just said it wasn't supposed to be here.””
“I said it wasn't supposed to be found.””
One of the officers approached the box.
“Everyone stay inside.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Don't open it.””
The officer stopped.
“Why?””
Marcus looked at Ryan.
Ryan whispered,
“Because whoever put it there wanted us to find it.””
Emily felt a chill.
“What does that mean?””
Ryan looked at her.
“It means this isn't over.””
The officer crouched beside the box.
A small red light blinked on its side.
He immediately stood.
“Back up.””
Everyone moved.
The alarm suddenly stopped.
Silence returned.
Then the black box clicked.
Emily flinched.
A tiny screen illuminated.
A video began playing.
No sound at first.
Then a man's voice came through the speakers.
Emily knew it instantly.
Marcus did too.
Their father.
Dead for fifteen years.
The video showed an older Black man sitting in a chair in a room Emily didn't recognize.
His expression was serious.
“If you're watching this,” he said, “then Ryan failed.””
Emily's knees weakened.
Marcus whispered,
“Dad…”
The video continued.
“Emily, if you're seeing this, I need you to understand something. The story you were told about your brother is false.””
Emily covered her mouth.
Her father looked directly into the camera.
“Marcus did not die.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“He disappeared because I asked him to.””
Emily looked at her brother.
“You knew?””
Marcus shook his head.
“I knew Dad was hiding something. I didn't know this.””
On the screen, their father continued.
“Ethan is not just my grandson. He is the reason people came after our family.””
Emily's face went pale.
“Why?””
The video answered.
“Because Ethan inherited something.””
The recording cut.
A second file opened automatically.
This time, the screen showed Ryan.
Years younger.
Standing in the same room.
Emily's stomach twisted.
Ryan stared at the camera.
“If Emily ever finds this, tell her I did what I had to do.””
Emily turned toward him.
“You recorded this?””
Ryan didn't answer.
On-screen Ryan continued.
“I was told Ethan would be taken if the truth became public.””
Marcus stepped toward the television.
“Who told you?””
The video didn't answer.
Instead, another person entered the frame.
Natalie.
But she looked different.
No red dress.
No polished smile.
She looked terrified.
Emily turned toward the real Natalie.
“You were there.””
Natalie shook her head.
“I didn't know what it was.””
“You were in the video.””
“I was there because Ryan asked me to help.””
“Help with what?””
Natalie's tears fell.
“Hide him.””
Emily stared.
“Hide who?””
Natalie pointed at Ethan.
“Your son.””
Ryan suddenly shouted,
“Stop!””
The video continued.
Natalie's younger self looked into the camera.
“They said someone would come for him.””
Ryan grabbed her arm.
“Don't say anything else.””
Natalie pulled away.
“They already know where he is.””
The video ended.
The screen went black.
Emily looked at Ryan.
“What did they know?””
Ryan's breathing became ragged.
“I don't know.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“You knew enough to build a fake identity.””
“I was trying to protect him.””
“You isolated him.””
“I protected him!””
“You took his mother away!””
“I saved his life!””
Emily screamed,
“Then why did you put him beside a dog kennel?””
Ryan stopped.
No one spoke.
Emily walked toward him.
“You keep saying you saved him.””
She pointed at Ethan.
“Look at him.””
Ryan looked.
Ethan was trembling.
“Does he look saved?””
Ryan's face broke.
“I didn't know what else to do.””
Emily shook her head.
“You always knew what to do.””
She looked at Marcus.
“What did Ethan inherit?””
Marcus stared at the black box.
“I don't know.””
“You're lying.””
“I swear.””
The officer interrupted.
“Mrs. Moretti.””
Emily turned.
He held a small envelope found inside the box.
“There's something else.””
Emily took it.
Her name was written across the front.
She opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Not of Ethan.
Of Emily.
Standing outside a hospital.
Pregnant.
But the date printed on the photograph was two years before Ethan's birth.
Emily stared.
“That isn't possible.””
Marcus took the photograph.
His face changed.
“Emily…”
“What?””
He turned it over.
Written on the back were six words:
*THE FIRST CHILD WASN'T ETHAN.*
Emily stopped breathing.
Ryan whispered,
“No.””
Natalie backed away.
The officer looked between them.
“What first child?””
Emily stared at Ryan.
“What did you do?””
Ryan's eyes filled with tears.
“I thought she was dead.””
Emily's voice shook.
“Who?””
Ryan looked toward the front doors.
A shadow moved beyond the glass.
Everyone froze.
Then the doorbell rang.
Once.
Twice.
A woman spoke from outside.
“Emily?””
Emily knew the voice.
It was her own voice.
May you like
The woman continued.
“Please open the door.””
