Chapter 7: The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Vanessa stared at the photograph until her knees gave way.
I caught her before she struck the floor, but she shoved my hands away and crawled toward the coffee table, clutching the edge as though the room were spinning.
“That's Thomas,” she whispered.
“That's my brother.””
Daniel stood beside the staircase, his face drained of color.
“Your brother disappeared when you were sixteen,” he said.
“How can he still look sixteen?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.””
I studied the photograph again. The boy wore a faded blue sweater, and his dark hair fell across his forehead. There was a thin scar above his right eyebrow, shaped like a crescent.
The same scar I remembered from a photograph in Vanessa's childhood album.
But there was something else.
Behind Thomas, partially obscured by a metal cabinet, hung a calendar. Its pages showed October 2026.
The photograph had been taken recently.
Very recently.
I enlarged the image on my phone.
On the wall beside the calendar, someone had written a sentence in thick black marker.
*THE FIRST SON REMEMBERS EVERYTHING.*
“What does that mean?”” I asked.
Vanessa pressed her hands against her temples.
“My father used to say Thomas was the only person who could remember the things other people forgot.””
“That sounds like something a parent says about a child.””
“Not my father.””
She looked toward the front door.
“When Thomas was little, he had an extraordinary memory. He could remember conversations word for word, dates, account numbers, anything he saw. My father used to bring him into business meetings and make him memorize things.””
Daniel frowned.
“Why?””
“Because Thomas remembered every secret.””
I felt the brass ring in my pocket.
My father's final note.
The forged signature.
The missing company records.
Everything seemed to circle back to the same family.
Richard Voss hadn't simply stolen a business. He had built a system around secrets, and the people who knew too much disappeared into rooms nobody knew existed.
I called Helen again.
She answered immediately.
“Marcus, thank God. The girls are with me, but we can't stay here.””
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you over the phone.””
“Good. Keep it that way. Is Maya hurt?””
“No. She's frightened, but she's safe. Lily hasn't let go of her hand since they met.””
I closed my eyes briefly.
“Listen to me. Don't let either girl out of your sight. I'm going to get them somewhere safe.””
“Marcus, I need to tell you something.””
“What?””
“Lily recognized the man in the photograph.””
I stared at the screen.
“Thomas?””
“Yes. She said he's the boy who sometimes talks to her through the wall.””
My blood ran cold.
“What wall?””
“The wall in the hidden room. She says he used to tell her stories at night.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She had heard every word.
Her face had turned gray.
“Dad kept Thomas there,” she whispered.
Daniel gripped the banister.
“For nine years?””
Vanessa nodded slowly.
I tried to make sense of it.
Nine years ago, Vanessa's sixteen-year-old brother had vanished. Nine years ago, my father had died. Seven years ago, Daniel had disappeared and been declared dead. Six years ago, Lily had been born.
Every event was connected, but I couldn't yet see how.
Then I remembered the date inside the ring.
October seventeenth.
The day my father died.
I checked the time.
11:14 p.m.
We had less than an hour before the deadline in the message.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Tell me everything you know about your father's house.””
She wiped her face.
“The old Voss estate is outside town. It's been empty for years, at least officially. My father bought the surrounding land through shell companies. The house has a basement that connects to a service tunnel.””
“Where does the tunnel lead?””
“To the original archive.””
“Who has access?””
“My father. His security chief. And me.””
“Then you're coming with us.””
She looked up sharply.
“You can't trust me.””
“No,” I said.
“I can't.””
The answer hurt her more than I expected.
“But you know the layout. You know the doors. And you know what Richard is afraid of.””
Vanessa slowly stood.
“He's afraid of Thomas.””
“Why?””
“Because Thomas knows what happened to your father.””
Daniel moved toward her.
“Then why didn't Richard kill him?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears again.
“Because Thomas isn't the only person who remembers.””
She looked directly at me.
“Your father recorded everything before he died. Richard spent years searching for those recordings. He never found them.””
I touched the ring through my pocket.
“What if they're in the archive?””
“Then Richard will kill everyone in that house before you can take them.””
I turned toward the front door.
“Let's find out.””
We reached the garage when my phone rang again.
An unknown number.
I answered.
A young voice whispered, “Uncle Marcus?””
I stopped walking.
“Thomas?””
“Don't come to the house.””
His voice sounded strained, as if he were speaking through a damaged microphone.
“Where's Maya?””
“She's here.””
“Is she hurt?””
“No. Not yet.””
The last two words made my stomach twist.
“Thomas, listen to me. We're coming to get you.””
“No. You don't understand. Grandpa wants the ring.””
“Why?””
“Because it opens the room where he keeps the real records.””
I looked at Vanessa.
She had gone completely still.
“What room?”” I asked.
Thomas hesitated.
“The room where your father died.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“That's impossible. My father died at a construction site.””
“No,” Thomas whispered.
“He died here.””
A noise sounded behind him.
A door opening.
Then Richard's voice came through the phone.
“Thomas, who are you talking to?””
The boy went silent.
I heard footsteps.
Richard spoke again, closer now.
“Give me the phone.””
There was a brief struggle.
Then the call ended.
I stood motionless beside the car.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Daniel whispered, “Marcus?””
I looked at the time.
11:19 p.m.
Then I opened the driver's door.
“We're going to the estate.””
Vanessa caught my arm.
“Marcus, there's something you need to know about Thomas.””
I turned.
“What?””
She looked toward the dark road beyond the garage.
“My father didn't keep him alive because he loved him.””
May you like
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“He kept him alive because Thomas is the only person who knows which one of us actually killed your father.””
