Chapter 4: The Empty Bedroom
Marcus read the note three times.
Each time, the words seemed to become more terrible.
*I'M SORRY, MARCUS. BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, THE BOY WILL ALREADY BE GONE.*
He crushed the paper in his fist.
“Where is my son?””
Raymond appeared in the doorway, his face pale.
“Sir, Ethan is in the security office. Two officers are with him.””
“Then why did someone write this?””
“I don't know.””
Marcus shoved past him.
He took the stairs two at a time, his shoes striking the polished wood hard enough to echo through the house. At the bottom, a uniformed officer stepped into his path.
“Mr. Hale, please slow down. We need to secure the scene.””
“My brother just threatened my child!””
“Sir, we're taking that seriously.””
“Then get out of my way.””
The officer hesitated before stepping aside.
Marcus reached the security office and pushed through the door.
Ethan sat on a leather sofa beneath a wall of surveillance monitors. His knees were pulled against his chest, and Raymond's assistant, Peter, stood beside him with a bottle of water.
The boy looked up.
“Dad?””
Marcus crossed the room and wrapped both arms around him.
“I'm here.””
Ethan clung to his jacket.
“Did Uncle David come back?””
“No.””
“Is he angry?””
Marcus pulled away just enough to see his son's face.
“Why would you ask me that?””
Ethan lowered his eyes.
“Because he said I ruined everything.””
Marcus went still.
“When did he say that?””
“Last night. I was going to my room, and he was in the hallway with Victoria. He saw me listening.””
“What did he do?””
Ethan rubbed his wrist.
“He grabbed me. Not hard enough to leave a mark, but he told me that people who interfere with grown-up business sometimes get sent away.””
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“And Victoria?””
“She told him to let me go. Then she smiled at me and said we were all going to be one happy family soon.””
Ethan's voice broke on the final words.
Marcus drew him close again.
“You are not going anywhere. I promise.””
A sharp knock interrupted them.
Raymond opened the door, revealing a police sergeant.
“Mr. Hale, we have a problem.””
Marcus did not release his son.
“What now?””
“The side gate was opened remotely twelve minutes ago. One of the exterior cameras went offline shortly afterward.””
“Who opened it?””
“The access record shows your household administrator's credentials.””
Marcus frowned.
“That's impossible. She left for vacation three days ago.””
The sergeant glanced at Raymond.
“Someone used her account.””
Marcus stood.
“Where does that gate lead?””
“To the old service road. It connects to the wooded property behind the east wall.””
“Send officers there.””
“We already have two units searching the road.””
Marcus turned to Raymond.
“Lock down every exit. Nobody uses a household credential until we've verified it in person.””
Raymond nodded and left.
Ethan tugged at his father's sleeve.
“Dad, I need to tell you something.””
Marcus crouched in front of him.
“I'm listening.””
“Victoria has a second phone.””
“What?””
“It's small. Black. She keeps it inside a makeup bag in her dressing room.””
“Did you see her use it?””
“Last night. She was whispering to someone, and when she saw me, she threw it into the drawer.””
Marcus looked toward the sergeant.
“Can you secure that phone?””
The officer nodded.
“We'll need to document everything, but we can arrange that.””
Ethan hesitated.
“There was something else.””
Marcus waited.
“She called someone Daddy.””
The word landed like a stone.
“Who?””
“I don't know. She said, ‘Daddy, Marcus suspects nothing. The papers will be ready tomorrow.’ Then she said something about the boy.””
Marcus felt a chill move down his spine.
Victoria had never mentioned a father who played any role in her life. She had told Marcus that her parents died when she was young and that she had grown up moving between relatives.
He had never questioned the story.
He had been too busy believing that his new wife wanted to build a family with him.
Now every memory seemed to contain a hidden door.
“Ethan, you did the right thing telling me.””
The boy wiped his nose with his sleeve.
“Are you going to send Victoria away?””
Marcus looked at him.
“I don't know what will happen to her. But she will not be alone with you again.””
For the first time since the garden, Ethan seemed to breathe normally.
Then Peter turned toward one of the monitors.
“Mr. Hale?””
His voice had changed.
Marcus approached the screen.
The camera showed the rear driveway, where a dark SUV had stopped beside the hedge. A figure in a gray coat stepped out, looked toward the house, and opened the rear passenger door.
A second person emerged.
A woman.
She wore a baseball cap pulled low over her face.
Peter enlarged the image.
Marcus recognized the coat immediately.
It belonged to Victoria.
“That's impossible,” he whispered.
She was supposed to be upstairs, under police supervision.
The sergeant rushed toward the control panel.
“Where is that camera located?””
“Near the old guesthouse,” Peter replied.
“Can you pull up the last fifteen minutes?””
Peter typed quickly.
The screen flickered.
The SUV disappeared.
The driveway was empty.
Then another camera activated, showing the vehicle traveling along the service road toward the woods.
Marcus grabbed the desk.
“Stop it.””
Peter froze the footage.
The rear passenger window was open.
A small hand rested against the glass.
Marcus stared.
“Ethan?””
The boy stood beside him, looking at the monitor.
His face drained of color.
“That isn't me.””
Marcus turned sharply.
“What?””
Ethan shook his head.
“Dad, I was here the whole time.””
Marcus looked back at the screen.
The hand inside the vehicle belonged to someone else.
Someone small enough to be mistaken for a child.
And when the vehicle turned toward the woods, the camera caught a glimpse of the passenger's face.
It was a girl.
A girl with dark hair and a white ribbon tied around her wrist.
Ethan whispered, “I know her.””
Marcus could barely speak.
“Who is she?””
The boy's eyes filled with tears.
“That's Sophie.””
Marcus stared at him.
Sophie was the name of Ethan's mother.
His first wife had died four years earlier after a sudden medical emergency. Ethan had been eight when they buried her.
There had never been a daughter.
Marcus looked at his son.
“Ethan, tell me exactly what you mean.””
The boy pointed at the frozen image.
“That's the girl in Mom's photographs. The one Victoria told me was imaginary.””
Before Marcus could ask another question, the security office door flew open.
An officer rushed inside.
“Mr. Hale, we need you upstairs. We've found someone in the east guesthouse.””
“Who?””
The officer swallowed.
“Your wife.””
Marcus looked at the monitor again.
The SUV was still moving toward the woods.
If Victoria had been found in the guesthouse, then the woman in the vehicle was someone else.
Someone who looked like her.
Someone who had been taken from the property.
Marcus tightened his grip on Ethan's shoulder.
“Lock every gate,” he ordered.
“Find that SUV.””
The officer nodded and hurried away.
Then Ethan whispered something that made Marcus's blood run cold.
“Dad, Sophie isn't imaginary.””
May you like
He looked up at his father.
“She's my twin sister.””
