Chapter 8: The Truth In The Basement
We didn’t stop running until the house disappeared behind the trees.
The rain had almost stopped, but the ground was still soaked.
Every step sank into the mud.
Eli struggled beside me.
I slowed down.
Marcus noticed.
“You’re protecting him.””
I looked at him.
“Of course I am.””
He nodded.
“That’s why Lena trusted you.””
I stopped walking.
“What did you say?””
Marcus looked ahead.
“She always knew you would come.””
My eyes narrowed.
“You talked to her.””
“Yes.””
“When?””
Marcus didn’t answer.
That answer made me angry.
“Marcus.””
He finally turned.
“Many times.””
The words sat between us.
A betrayal wrapped in two simple words.
“You saw her.””
“Yes.””
“You knew she was alive.””
“Yes.””
“And you said nothing.””
His face changed.
“Because if I told you, you would have gone after her.””
“Exactly.””
“And you would have died.””
The anger disappeared for a second.
Not because I believed him.
Because I hated that part of me did.
Marcus had always known me.
The problem was, he also knew how to use that.
We reached an abandoned building hidden behind the trees.
An old mechanic shop.
The windows were boarded.
The sign above the door was faded.
Inside, Marcus lit a lantern.
Eli stayed close to Rocket.
I watched my brother.
Waiting.
“Start talking.””
Marcus sighed.
“Twenty years ago, Lena discovered something about Eli’s father.””
“Money?””
“Power.””
He opened an old metal box.
Inside were documents.
Photos.
A second phone.
“He wasn’t the man everyone thought he was.””
Marcus placed a picture on the table.
Eli’s father standing beside several men.
One of them was wearing a police uniform.
Another was a businessman.
Another was someone I recognized.
My stomach turned.
“Those men.””
Marcus nodded.
“They controlled everything in that town.””
Eli looked confused.
“What does my mom have to do with them?””
Marcus looked at him.
“She found proof.””
“What proof?””
“The kind that puts powerful people in prison.””
The room became quiet.
I looked at Marcus.
“And Lena disappeared because of it.””
He nodded.
“But she wasn’t supposed to.””
“What does that mean?””
Marcus looked at the floor.
“Your father wanted her gone. But he didn’t want her dead.””
My face hardened.
“Explain.””
“He wanted her afraid. He wanted her hidden.””
“And the body?””
Marcus looked at me.
“That was never Lena.””
I felt like the air left the room.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did you let me bury a stranger?””
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Because I was trying to protect you.””
I slammed my hand onto the table.
“Don’t say that.””
The lantern shook.
“You don’t get to destroy my life and call it protection.””
Marcus didn’t fight back.
Maybe because he knew I was right.
Maybe because he was tired.
Eli quietly stepped between us.
“Can we stop fighting?””
We both looked at him.
The anger faded.
Because a child shouldn’t have to stand between two broken adults.
Marcus reached into the box.
He pulled out a small key.
“Your mother left this for you.””
He handed it to Eli.
The boy stared.
“For me?””
“Yes.””
“What does it open?””
Marcus looked at me.
“A place only Bear knows.””
I frowned.
“What?””
Marcus smiled sadly.
“The garage.””
My heart stopped.
Not just any garage.
My old garage.
The place where Marcus and I built our first bikes.
The place I abandoned after he disappeared.
“Why there?””
“Because Lena knew you would never look anywhere else.””
I grabbed my jacket.
“We’re going.””
Marcus shook his head.
“Not yet.””
“Why?””
“Because there’s something you need to see first.””
He pulled out the second phone.
Not Lena’s.
Another one.
He pressed play.
A video appeared.
Marcus.
Twenty years younger.
Standing beside Lena.
And between them…
Was a baby.
Eli.
Marcus looked at me.
“I was there the night Eli was born.””
I stared.
“You knew him?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
Marcus whispered:
“Because Bear…”
The video continued.
And a younger Lena turned toward the camera.
She said six words.
May you like
Six words that made my entire body go cold.
“Don’t let Bear raise him.””
