Chapter 7: The Voice in the Dark
“Elias, sweetheart…”
My body stopped before my mind did.
That voice.
The soft rise at the end of my name.
The slight breath between words.
The same voice that had whispered bedtime stories when I was a boy.
The same voice that had told me not to be afraid during thunderstorms.
My mother's voice.
Anna tightened her fingers around my wrist.
“Don't answer.””
I couldn't move.
The greenhouse was completely dark.
Moonlight leaked through the glass panels overhead, turning rows of plants into crooked shadows. Somewhere near the irrigation system, water dripped at steady intervals.
Drop.
Drop.
Drop.
Then the door opened.
A silhouette stepped inside.
I could hear her breathing.
“Elias?””
My heart pounded so hard I thought she could hear it.
Anna pulled me backward behind a row of tall palms.
The woman took another step.
Then stopped.
“I know you're here.””
My hand covered my mouth.
Anna leaned toward my ear.
“She knows.””
“Who is she?”” I whispered.
Anna stared at the silhouette.
“Our mother.””
I looked again.
The woman stood beneath the faint moonlight.
Older.
Much older than the mother I remembered.
Her hair was almost entirely gray.
She wore a dark coat and held a small handbag against her side.
But even after all those years, I knew the shape of her face.
The way she tilted her head.
The way she stood with one shoulder slightly lower than the other.
My knees nearly gave out.
“Mom?””
Anna's grip tightened.
Too late.
The woman smiled.
“There you are.””
She turned toward our hiding place.
“You always did have trouble staying quiet when you were frightened.””
I stepped out.
Anna hissed my name.
“Elias, no.””
But I couldn't stop.
I walked into the moonlight.
My mother stared at me.
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then she covered her mouth.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Oh, my God.””
My voice shook.
“You're alive.””
She nodded.
“Yes.””
“You lied to me.””
Her expression broke.
“I had to.””
“No.””
I moved closer.
“You didn't have to.””
“I did.””
“You let me believe you were dead.””
“I needed you to believe that.””
“Why?””
She looked at Anna.
Then back at me.
“Because they were watching you.””
“Who?””
She didn't answer.
Anna stepped out from behind the plants.
“You told me the same thing.””
My mother froze.
“Anna.””
“You told me everyone was dead.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“You took me away.””
“Yes.””
“You let Elias grow up alone.””
My mother's face crumpled.
“I had no choice.””
I laughed bitterly.
“No choice?””
She looked at me.
“I watched my entire childhood thinking you were dead.””
“And I watched mine knowing you might be.””
Anna's voice cut through the darkness.
My mother turned toward her.
“I was trying to keep both of you alive.””
“Then why are you here now?”” I asked.
She looked toward the greenhouse doors.
“Because they found me.””
“Who?””
“Richard.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“He knew where you were?””
“He suspected.””
“And the other people?””
My mother hesitated.
“There are people worse than Richard.””
Anna stared at her.
“Who?””
My mother looked at me.
“The people who financed everything.””
The words chilled me.
“Everything?””
“The Hawthorne empire.””
I shook my head.
“Alexander?””
“Not alone.””
My mother stepped closer.
“He inherited a machine that was already running.””
“What machine?””
“Money laundering. Corporate fraud. Political payments. Blackmail.””
Anna whispered, “The ledger.””
My mother nodded.
“Your father found it.””
“And that's why they tried to kill him?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did he survive?””
“Because Margaret helped him.””
I looked toward the greenhouse entrance.
“Margaret.””
My mother nodded.
“She was the only person inside the Hawthorne estate who still had a conscience.””
I remembered the gun in Margaret's hands.
“She said she took Anna.””
“She did.””
“Why?””
“Because after the warehouse fire, everyone believed my daughter was dead.””
My mother swallowed.
“Margaret found her.””
“Then why didn't she find me?””
“She tried.””
My mother lowered her eyes.
“You were already gone.””
“Where?””
“You were sent away.””
“By whom?””
She looked at me.
“Your father.””
I stared at her.
“Why would he send me away?””
“Because the people hunting him were asking about you.””
My anger rose again.
“So he left me.””
“He saved you.””
“That's what everyone keeps saying.””
I stepped closer.
“I spent fifteen years thinking my father abandoned us.””
My mother began crying.
“He thought he had no other choice.””
“And you?””
She looked away.
“I made a different choice.””
“What choice?””
Her voice dropped.
“I betrayed him.””
Anna closed her eyes.
“I knew it.””
I stared at my mother.
“You helped them find Dad.””
“Yes.””
The admission was almost inaudible.
“But I didn't know they intended to kill him.””
My voice cracked.
“You gave them his location.””
“I thought they would arrest him.””
“For what?””
“For the ledger.””
I looked at Anna.
Then back at my mother.
“What happened?””
She wiped her cheeks.
“Your father hid the ledger. Richard discovered that I knew where it was.””
“And?””
“He threatened you.””
My blood ran cold.
“What did he threaten?””
My mother couldn't speak.
Anna answered.
“He threatened to kill Elias.””
I stared at her.
My mother nodded.
“I gave them the location because I believed I could buy your life.””
“And did you?””
She looked at me.
“No.””
The word hung between us.
“They still came.””
She closed her eyes.
“The warehouse burned.””
“And Dad escaped.””
“Yes.””
“Why did you disappear?””
“Because Richard believed I died too.””
I shook my head.
“You let everyone think you were dead.””
“Yes.””
“Even me.””
“Yes.””
“Why come back now?””
My mother's face changed.
“Because Richard no longer wants the ledger.””
Anna looked confused.
“What does he want?””
My mother looked at me.
“He wants the person who has it.””
I felt a chill.
“Who?””
“You.””
I shook my head.
“I don't have it.””
My mother stepped forward.
“Yes, you do.””
Anna stared at her.
“What are you talking about?””
My mother reached into her handbag.
She removed a small brass key.
I recognized it immediately.
My father had owned one just like it.
I had seen it on his key ring when I was a child.
My mother held it out.
“Your father gave this to you.””
I took it.
The metal was cold.
“When?””
“The last time you saw him.””
“I don't remember.””
“You were six.””
My chest tightened.
“He hid something in the greenhouse.””
I looked around.
“The greenhouse?””
My mother nodded.
“He knew one day you'd come looking.””
Anna stepped closer.
“What's the key for?””
My mother looked toward the wooden potting bench.
“The drawer beneath it.””
I turned.
The old bench had been there for years.
I'd repaired it myself twice.
I rushed toward it.
Anna followed.
I dropped to my knees.
Under the bench was a narrow wooden panel.
I ran my fingers along the edge.
There.
A tiny keyhole.
My hands shook as I inserted the brass key.
Click.
The panel opened.
Inside was a metal box.
My breathing stopped.
Anna crouched beside me.
“What is it?””
I pulled the box free.
It was heavier than it looked.
There was an envelope taped to the lid.
My name was written across it.
*ELIAS.*
My mother's voice came softly behind us.
“Your father left that for you.””
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
I read the first line.
And every muscle in my body went rigid.
*My son, if you're reading this, I am dead—or someone wants you to believe I am.*
Anna leaned closer.
“What does it say?””
I continued reading.
*Do not trust Alexander Hawthorne.*
My mother gasped.
I looked up.
“Why?””
She didn't answer.
I read the next line.
*But more importantly, do not trust your mother.*
The paper shook in my hand.
I stared at her.
She had gone completely still.
Anna looked between us.
“Mom?””
My mother backed away.
“No.””
I stood.
“What does this mean?””
“I don't know.””
“Dad wrote this.””
“I know.””
“He told me not to trust you.””
“I know.””
“Why?””
She shook her head desperately.
“Elias, listen to me.””
A gunshot exploded outside.
Anna screamed.
The greenhouse glass shattered.
My mother dropped to the floor.
I threw myself over Anna.
Another shot cracked through the night.
Then a man's voice came from beyond the broken glass.
“Step away from the box.””
I looked toward the darkness.
A shadow stood among the roses.
And I recognized the voice immediately.
May you like
Richard.
“You've got something that belongs to me.””
