Chapter 6: The Memory He Was Forced to Forget
Danielle couldn’t hear anything except her own heartbeat.
The photograph sat on the table between them.
A piece of paper.
A frozen moment.
A moment that had just destroyed everything she thought she knew.
She looked at Daniel.
The man she had loved.
The man she had trusted.
The man who had promised to protect their son.
“Tell me it’s not true.””
Daniel didn’t move.
“Danielle…”
“Tell me.””
Her voice broke.
“Tell me that picture is fake.””
Daniel looked at Isaiah.
And that hesitation was the answer.
Danielle stepped back.
“No.””
Daniel’s face twisted with pain.
“I didn’t give him away.””
“Then explain what I’m seeing.””
“I was trying to get him out.””
“By handing him to someone else?””
“It wasn’t like that.””
Isaiah suddenly spoke.
“He was there.””
Everyone turned.
The boy’s eyes were fixed on the photograph.
“I remember.””
Danielle’s chest tightened.
“What do you remember?””
Isaiah’s breathing became uneven.
“I remember crying.””
He touched his forehead.
“I was looking for you.””
Danielle felt tears form.
“I was looking for you too.””
Isaiah closed his eyes.
“There was a man yelling.””
His voice became smaller.
“He said I couldn’t stay.””
Daniel took a step forward.
“Isaiah.””
The boy flinched.
Not dramatically.
Not like a movie.
Just a tiny movement.
But Danielle saw it.
And Daniel saw it too.
The pain on his face was immediate.
“I would never hurt you.””
Isaiah looked at him.
“Then why did you leave me?””
Daniel had no answer.
Evelyn quietly moved closer to the table.
“Because he was afraid.””
Danielle turned.
“Stop defending him.””
“I’m not.””
“Then tell me the truth.””
Evelyn looked at Daniel.
“You tell her.””
Daniel stared at the floor.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he whispered:
“I made a deal.””
The words felt heavier than a confession.
Danielle’s face went cold.
“What kind of deal?””
Daniel swallowed.
“After Isaiah was born, Northbridge started monitoring him.””
“Why?””
“I told you. His DNA.””
“No. You told me a piece of a story.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You deserve the whole thing.””
“Finally.””
He sat down.
His hands were shaking.
“Northbridge wasn’t just doing medical research.””
“What were they doing?””
“They were studying inherited conditions.””
Danielle waited.
“And?””
“They discovered Isaiah had a genetic trait they had been looking for.””
“That still doesn’t explain anything.””
“It made him valuable.””
The word disgusted her.
Valuable.
Like he was an object.
Like he wasn’t a child.
“He was three years old.””
“I know.””
“He was my baby.””
“I know.””
Danielle slammed her hand against the table.
“Stop saying that!””
Daniel looked up.
She pointed at him.
“You knew people wanted him.””
“Yes.””
“And you stayed?””
“I tried to stop them.””
“But you failed.””
“Yes.””
The room became quiet.
Daniel looked at Isaiah.
“The night he disappeared, I found out Northbridge had someone inside our home.””
Danielle froze.
“Someone?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Daniel shook his head.
“I never found out.””
Evelyn interrupted.
“I did.””
Everyone looked at her.
Daniel’s expression changed.
“No.””
Evelyn ignored him.
“The person closest to your family.””
Danielle felt uneasy.
“What are you saying?””
Evelyn looked at Daniel.
“Tell her.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“It was someone who had access to everything.””
“Who?””
He didn’t answer.
Danielle’s patience broke.
“Who?””
Daniel whispered:
“Your brother.””
The room went silent.
Danielle stared.
“My brother?””
Daniel nodded.
“Michael.””
Her mind rejected it immediately.
Michael.
Her younger brother.
The person who brought gifts for Isaiah.
The person who helped search for him.
The person who cried at the memorial service.
“No.””
“He was involved.””
“No.””
“I saw the evidence.””
“You’re lying.””
Daniel’s expression hurt.
“I wish I was.””
Danielle turned away.
Too many betrayals.
Too many names.
Too many people she trusted.
She looked at Isaiah.
“How much did you know?””
The boy shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
“Did you know Michael?””
Isaiah frowned.
The name seemed familiar.
“I remember someone coming to the house.””
Danielle held her breath.
“Who?””
“A man.””
“What did he look like?””
Isaiah stared into the distance.
“He smelled like coffee.””
Danielle froze.
Michael always smelled like coffee.
He drank it constantly.
“He had a scar on his hand.””
Danielle’s eyes widened.
Michael had a long scar across his palm from a childhood accident.
“Isaiah…”
The boy looked at her.
“That was him?””
She couldn’t answer.
Because the answer hurt too much.
Evelyn quietly spoke.
“Michael helped arrange the transfer.””
Danielle turned.
“Transfer?””
Evelyn nodded.
“He believed he was protecting the family.””
“Protecting?””
Danielle laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps using that word.””
She looked around the room.
“My husband betrayed me.””
“My brother betrayed me.””
“And you kidnapped my child.””
Her voice cracked.
“Everyone says they were protecting me.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Isaiah asked:
“Why did you take care of me?””
The question was directed at Evelyn.
The woman looked at him.
And for the first time, Danielle saw real emotion.
“I didn’t plan to.””
Isaiah looked confused.
“What?””
Evelyn sat down slowly.
“When I first took you, I was supposed to deliver you to Northbridge.””
Danielle’s anger returned.
“Excuse me?””
“But I couldn’t.””
Evelyn looked at Isaiah.
“You were three years old.””
Her voice softened.
“You were crying for your mother.””
Danielle looked away.
Evelyn continued.
“You kept asking the same question.””
“What question?””
Evelyn’s eyes filled.
“‘When is Mommy coming?’”
Danielle covered her mouth.
“And nobody came.””
The room was silent.
“I realized that whatever they wanted from you, you were still a child.””
Isaiah looked down.
“So you kept me?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you bring me back?””
Evelyn looked at Danielle.
“Because they would have killed you.””
Daniel suddenly stood.
“That’s enough.””
Evelyn looked at him.
“No.””
“You don’t get to tell this story like you’re innocent.””
“I never said I was.””
Daniel’s voice became bitter.
“You stole a child.””
“Yes.””
The admission surprised everyone.
Evelyn looked at Isaiah.
“I did.””
Then she looked at Danielle.
“And I’m sorry.””
Danielle stared.
The apology didn’t fix anything.
Nothing could fix ten years.
Then Isaiah suddenly grabbed the edge of the table.
His face changed.
A memory.
A painful one.
“Wait.””
Danielle rushed to him.
“What is it?””
“I remember something else.””
Everyone became quiet.
Isaiah closed his eyes.
“There was another person.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Who?””
Isaiah shook his head.
“I don’t know.””
“Try.””
“I can’t.””
“You can.””
“No!””
The boy shouted.
Then immediately covered his mouth.
“I’m sorry.””
Danielle held him.
“It’s okay.””
Isaiah was crying now.
“I remember the room.””
“What room?””
“The room where they kept me.””
Danielle’s heart broke.
“What about it?””
“There was a wall.””
“A wall?””
“With pictures.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“What pictures?””
Isaiah looked at him.
“Pictures of me.””
Nobody spoke.
“From before.””
Danielle felt cold.
“What do you mean?””
Isaiah whispered:
“They were watching me before I disappeared.””
A sudden sound came from outside.
A car.
Then another.
Daniel moved toward the window.
His face changed.
“What?””
Danielle asked.
Daniel didn’t answer.
He looked terrified.
“They found us.””
Evelyn stood immediately.
“No.””
Daniel turned.
“They’re here.””
The woman’s calm disappeared.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
Isaiah looked between them.
“Who?””
Nobody answered.
Then Danielle’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
The same number from before.
This time, she answered.
A man’s voice came through.
A voice she knew.
A voice that made her blood freeze.
“Hello, Danielle.””
She couldn’t speak.
Because she recognized it.
The voice belonged to the person she had spent ten years believing was helping her search.
Her brother.
May you like
Michael.
“Where is my nephew?”” he asked.
