Chapter 6: The Man She Remembered
Ava wouldn't let go of Leah's hand.
Not even when Daniel opened the car door.
Not even when the hospital security guard asked if they needed help.
Not even when the rain began tapping against the windshield.
“The man who took you,” Leah said gently.
“Do you know him?””
Ava stared through the window.
“Yes.””
“Who is he?””
“I don't know his name.””
Daniel started the engine.
“Then what do you remember?””
Ava's breathing quickened.
“A smell.””
Leah turned around from the passenger seat.
“What smell?””
“Aftershave.””
Daniel's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“Anything else?””
“A gold watch.””
Leah exchanged a glance with him.
“And the ring?””
Ava nodded.
“Black stone.””
Daniel suddenly looked at Leah.
“What?””
“You know something?””
He shook his head.
“No.””
“Daniel.””
“I said no.””
Ava spoke quietly.
“He had your watch.””
Daniel went still.
“My watch?””
Ava nodded.
“The same one.””
Daniel looked down at his wrist.
A silver watch.
Not gold.
Leah noticed.
“What happened to your old watch?””
Daniel's eyes remained on the road.
“I lost it eight years ago.””
“Where?””
“Outside the hospital.””
Ava whispered, “He wore it.””
The car fell silent.
Rain smeared the city lights across the windshield.
Daniel turned onto a quieter street.
Leah watched him.
“Where are we going?””
“My childhood home.””
“The address from the file?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because whoever arranged the transfer wanted me to believe my daughter died.””
Daniel glanced at Ava in the rearview mirror.
“If the records point there, that's where we start.””
Ava suddenly sat upright.
“Stop.””
Daniel braked.
The car stopped beside an empty park.
“What?””
Ava pointed through the rain.
“That building.””
Across the street stood an old brick apartment complex.
Its windows were dark.
Leah looked at Ava.
“Do you recognize it?””
Ava nodded.
“I've been there.””
Daniel stared.
“When?””
“I don't know.””
“Were you alone?””
“No.””
“Who was with you?””
Ava pressed her palms against her temples.
“The woman.””
“What woman?””
“The one who looked like Mommy.””
Daniel's face tightened.
“What do you mean?””
“She wasn't Mommy.””
Leah turned.
“Then who was she?””
Ava's eyes closed.
“She had Mommy's voice.””
Daniel whispered, “A recording?””
“No.””
Ava began crying.
“She told me not to call her Mommy.””
Daniel parked.
Nobody moved.
Then Leah noticed a light turning on inside the apartment building.
One window.
Third floor.
Then another.
Fourth floor.
Then another.
Lights climbed upward.
Floor by floor.
Someone was moving through the building.
Daniel opened his door.
Leah grabbed his arm.
“Don't.””
“My daughter is inside that building.””
“We don't know that.””
Ava suddenly screamed.
“Daddy!””
Daniel froze.
Ava pointed toward the third-floor window.
A silhouette stood behind the curtain.
A woman.
Long hair.
Still as a statue.
Then she raised one hand.
Ava's face crumpled.
“Mommy.””
Daniel ran across the street.
“Daniel!”” Leah shouted.
She followed with Ava.
The building entrance was unlocked.
Daniel shoved through.
The hallway smelled of dust and old carpet.
“Naomi!””
No answer.
He climbed the stairs two at a time.
Leah stayed behind him.
Ava followed.
Third floor.
Apartment 314.
Daniel stopped outside the door.
The number plate hung crooked.
He touched it.
“This was my mother's apartment.””
Leah stared.
“Your mother lived here?””
“Yes.””
Ava looked at the door.
“She told me never to open it.””
Daniel tried the knob.
Locked.
He stepped back.
Leah understood.
“Don't.””
Daniel kicked the door.
The wood cracked.
Again.
The lock snapped.
The apartment opened into darkness.
Daniel reached for the light.
Nothing.
Leah turned on her phone flashlight.
Furniture covered the room.
Old photographs lined the walls.
Daniel walked inside.
Then stopped.
Every photograph had been turned face-down.
Except one.
It showed Daniel as a teenager.
Standing beside his mother.
And beside them was another man.
Leah pointed.
“Who is that?””
Daniel stared.
“I don't know.””
Ava whispered:
“You do.””
Daniel turned.
“What?””
Ava walked toward the photograph.
“He used to visit Mommy.””
Daniel's face hardened.
“You've seen him before?””
Ava nodded.
“He told me you were dangerous.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Who is he?””
Ava touched the photograph.
“This is the man who took me.””
Leah looked at Daniel.
Daniel looked at the stranger.
Then something clicked.
The man's wrist.
A gold watch.
His hand.
A black stone ring.
Daniel stumbled backward.
“No.””
Leah looked at him.
“What?””
Daniel's voice cracked.
“That man wasn't a stranger.””
He picked up the photograph.
“He was my brother.””
Leah stared.
“You have a brother?””
“I had one.””
“What was his name?””
Daniel looked at the photograph.
“Marcus.””
Ava suddenly pointed toward the hallway.
“He's here.””
Everyone froze.
Footsteps sounded outside the apartment.
Slow.
Heavy.
Approaching.
Daniel whispered, “Get behind me.””
The footsteps stopped directly outside the door.
A shadow appeared beneath it.
Then came three quiet knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A man's voice spoke from the other side.
“Daniel?””
Daniel's face went white.
Leah whispered, “Is that Marcus?””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
The voice came again.
This time, softer.
“You've been looking for the wrong man.””
The doorknob began to turn.
And from somewhere deep inside the apartment, an old answering-machine suddenly clicked on.
May you like
A woman's recorded voice filled the darkness.
“Daniel, if you're hearing this, *don't let him see Ava.*”
