Chapter 8: Ethan’s Message
Nobody breathed.
Nobody spoke.
The entire auditorium became a room filled with ghosts.
A young boy stared at us from the projector screen.
A boy who had been missing for years.
A boy who knew my name.
My father stepped toward the projector.
“Turn it off.””
Nobody moved.
“Turn it off!””
The desperation in his voice shocked me.
Because I had never heard him beg.
Not once.
Rachel stood still.
My mother watched the screen.
And I realized something.
They were all afraid of what Ethan was going to say.
Except me.
I needed to hear.
The video continued.
Ethan sat at a small desk.
He looked about six years old.
Around the same age I was when my mother disappeared.
“My dad says people will tell you different stories.””
He looked down.
Then back at the camera.
“But I want you to know what I remember.””
My hands tightened around the photograph.
Ethan smiled slightly.
“I remember Dad being scared.””
My father looked away.
“I remember him saying he had to protect someone.””
The video paused briefly.
Then Ethan said:
“I thought he meant me.””
The words hurt.
My father covered his mouth.
Rachel started crying silently.
Ethan continued.
“But then I found the picture.””
He held something up.
A photograph.
The same photograph I had just seen.
“You.””
My heart stopped.
“You were my sister.””
The room blurred.
My brother had known.
Somewhere out there, a little boy knew I existed.
And I never knew he did.
Ethan smiled sadly.
“I wanted to meet you.””
The video flickered.
“I wanted to tell you that you weren’t alone.””
My mother whispered:
“Oh my God.””
I looked at her.
She looked broken.
Because she was hearing this for the first time too.
Ethan leaned closer to the camera.
“But Dad told me something happened.””
My father closed his eyes.
“He told me someone was coming after our family.””
The video stopped.
For three seconds.
Then continued.
“And I think he was right.””
Everyone froze.
My father looked at Rachel.
Rachel looked back.
“What did you do?”” she whispered.
My father shook his head.
“Nothing.””
The video continued.
“I don’t know where I’m going.””
Ethan’s voice became quieter.
“But if Lily ever sees this…”
He looked straight ahead.
“Please tell her I tried to find her.””
A tear slipped down my cheek.
The boy on the screen continued.
“And tell her…”
The video distorted.
Static covered the sound.
Then his voice returned.
“Tell her David Holloway wasn’t my enemy.””
My father went completely still.
“What?””
The video ended.
The screen went black.
Nobody moved.
The sentence stayed in the air.
David Holloway wasn’t my enemy.
But everyone had acted like he was.
My mother slowly turned toward Marcus.
“What does that mean?””
My father didn’t answer.
Rachel looked terrified.
“You told me David took him.””
My father’s face changed.
“I thought he did.””
“You thought?””
Rachel’s voice broke.
“You destroyed lives because you thought?””
My father looked at me.
“I was wrong.””
The admission was quiet.
But it shook everything.
I stepped forward.
“Where is Ethan?””
My father looked at me.
“I don’t know.””
“Where is David?””
“I don’t know.””
My mother laughed bitterly.
“You always say that.””
Then her phone buzzed.
Everyone looked at it.
She picked it up.
A new message.
From David.
She read it.
Then slowly turned the screen toward us.
It was a photograph.
A recent photograph.
Not an old one.
Not a memory.
A current picture.
A man standing outside a hospital.
Older.
Tired.
Alive.
Ethan.
My knees almost gave out.
My brother was alive.
Rachel covered her mouth.
My father stared at the picture.
“No.””
My mother whispered:
“Marcus…”
But he wasn’t looking at Ethan.
He was looking at the person standing beside him.
A person none of us expected.
A person my father recognized immediately.
His face lost all color.
Because beneath the photograph, David had written one sentence.
“He knows why you changed your name.””
I looked at my father.
“Who is standing next to him?””
My father didn’t answer.
May you like
He just whispered:
“Someone who was supposed to be dead.””
