Chapter 8: What Was Hidden Beneath the Floor
For three seconds, I couldn't move.
Dad's words echoed through the hallway.
Why your mother was never supposed to have children.
Maya appeared behind me, breathing hard.
“What did he mean?””
“I don't know.””
“Ethan, he sounded serious.””
“I said I don't know!””
My voice came out louder than I intended.
She flinched.
I immediately regretted it.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered.
Maya shook her head.
“Don't apologize. Just tell me what we're going to do.””
I looked at the brass key in my hand.
Then I heard Dad's footsteps coming down the stairs.
“We need to get out.””
We ran through the kitchen and out the back door. Maya grabbed Noah's backpack from beside the washing machine, and I pulled the door shut behind us.
Dad reached the kitchen just as we crossed the garden.
“Ethan!””
I didn't stop.
“Come back here!””
Maya and I reached the car, climbed inside, and locked the doors.
Dad stood in the doorway, staring at us through the rain-speckled glass.
He didn't chase us.
He didn't call the police.
He simply raised one hand and pointed at me.
Then he mouthed four words.
*You have no idea.*
I started the engine.
We drove to our aunt Laura's house on the other side of town. Laura was Mom's older sister, a practical woman who had spent the previous month bringing us groceries and pretending not to notice that Dad barely spoke to anyone.
She opened the door before I could knock twice.
“Ethan? Maya? What's happened?””
I held up the key.
“We need to talk about Mom.””
Laura's expression changed.
She stepped aside.
“Come in.””
We sat at her kitchen table while Laura listened to everything that had happened.
When I repeated Dad's threat about the safe and our mother's children, she covered her mouth.
“Oh, Claire,” she whispered.
I leaned forward.
“You know something.””
Laura stared at me.
“I know your mother was afraid.””
“Of Dad?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you tell us?””
She lowered her eyes.
“Because Claire asked me not to.””
Maya slammed her palm against the table.
“Everyone knew something! Everyone knew Mom was scared, and nobody told us!””
Laura flinched.
“I know how that sounds.””
“It sounds like you all let her die alone!””
The words left Maya's mouth before she could stop them.
Laura's face crumpled.
For several seconds, she simply stared at the table.
Then she nodded.
“You're right to be angry.””
That silenced Maya.
Laura wiped her cheeks.
“Your mother called me two weeks before the accident. She said Daniel had become controlling. He checked her phone, questioned her purchases, and accused her of hiding money from him.””
“Was he hurting her?”” I asked.
Laura shook her head.
“Not physically, as far as I knew. But she said she felt as if she were living with a stranger.””
I thought about Dad gripping my shoulders the previous night.
I thought about his hand on my shirt in Mom's bedroom.
“Why didn't she leave?””
“She wanted to protect you. Daniel had taken out loans against the house. If she left without understanding the finances, she feared you would lose everything.””
Laura reached across the table and touched my hand.
“She was trying to build a case before confronting him.””
“And the key?”” I asked.
Laura's eyes moved to the brass object in my palm.
“Your mother gave me a message for you shortly before she died. She said that if you ever came asking about a key, I should tell you to look beneath the oldest floorboard in the house.””
I frowned.
“What floorboard?””
“The one in her childhood bedroom.””
I stared at her.
“Grandma's old house?””
Laura nodded.
“Your mother kept a small safe there after our parents died. She never told me what was inside. She only said that it contained the one thing Daniel could never be allowed to control.””
Maya sat up straight.
“Then we need to go there.””
Laura looked toward the window.
“Not yet.””
“Why not?””
“Because if Daniel knows about the key, he may already be on his way there.””
I checked my phone.
Three missed calls from Dad.
One text.
*Come home. We need to talk.*
I showed Laura.
She read it, then handed the phone back.
“Don't answer.””
My phone rang again.
This time, it was Detective Harper.
I answered immediately.
“Detective?””
“Ethan, where are you?””
“At my aunt's house.””
“Good. Stay there.””
“What happened?””
“We spoke to your father. He denied knowing anything about the hospital visit, the financial records, or the letter. But when we mentioned the photograph, he became uncooperative.””
“Can you arrest him?””
“Not yet. We need corroborating evidence.””
I looked at the key.
“I think my mother hid something at my grandmother's old house.””
Harper paused.
“Do not go there alone. I'll arrange for an officer to accompany you.””
“Thank you.””
“And Ethan?””
“Yes?””
“If your father threatens you again, call me immediately. Don't attempt to handle him yourself.””
After the call, Laura stood and retrieved her coat.
“I'll take you.””
Maya shook her head.
“You heard the detective. We shouldn't go alone.””
“Then we'll wait for the officer,” Laura replied.
She looked at me.
“But I need you to understand something before we find that safe.””
“What?””
“Whatever your mother hid, she did it because she believed the truth would protect you. Don't let Daniel convince you that discovering it is a betrayal.””
I nodded.
But deep down, I was terrified of what the truth might reveal.
Grandma's old house stood on a quiet street lined with oak trees. It had been empty since her death, and the garden had grown wild around the front steps.
Laura unlocked the door.
Dust hung in the air, and the faint smell of cedar drifted from the hallway closet.
Mom's childhood bedroom was at the end of the corridor.
The room was small, with faded yellow wallpaper and a narrow bed beneath the window. A wooden desk stood beside a bookshelf filled with old novels.
I ran my fingers along the floorboards.
One near the foot of the bed looked slightly different from the others.
Laura handed me a screwdriver from the kitchen drawer.
I worked the blade beneath the edge.
The board lifted with a soft crack.
Beneath it was a metal box wrapped in a piece of blue fabric.
My hands shook as I pulled it free.
Maya knelt beside me.
“Is that the safe?””
I nodded.
The brass key fit the lock.
It turned with a satisfying click.
Inside were three envelopes, a small stack of bank statements, and a photograph of Mom holding a newborn baby.
I stared at the picture.
Mom looked younger than I'd ever seen her. Her hair was tied back, and tears shone in her eyes as she cradled the baby against her chest.
On the back, she'd written a date.
Twenty-five years ago.
My birth date.
Beneath it were five words.
*My son. My greatest miracle.*
I smiled despite myself.
Then I noticed a folded medical document beneath the photograph.
I opened it.
The heading read:
*CONFIDENTIAL PATIENT RECORD — MATERNITY SERVICES.*
The patient's name was Claire Mercer.
The date matched the photograph.
But the next line made my blood run cold.
*INFANT TRANSFERRED TO: DANIEL MERCER.*
I frowned.
“What does this mean?””
Laura leaned over my shoulder.
Her face went white.
“Ethan, put that down.””
“Why?””
She reached for the document.
I pulled it away.
“Why does it say I was transferred to Dad?””
Laura's lips trembled.
“Because that's what happened.””
Maya stared at her.
“What are you talking about?””
Laura sank onto the edge of the bed.
“Your mother had complications when she gave birth to Ethan. She was unconscious for several hours. Daniel told everyone he was taking the baby home while Claire recovered.””
I looked at the document again.
“That's normal, isn't it?””
Laura didn't answer.
I turned the page.
A second document was attached.
It was a hospital record with a handwritten note in the margin.
*Biological father not verified. Paternity testing requested by attending physician.*
My heart began to pound.
“Paternity testing?””
Laura covered her face.
Maya whispered, “Ethan…”
I looked at my aunt.
“Am I Dad's son?””
She began to cry.
“I don't know.””
The room went silent.
I stared at the photograph of Mom holding me.
Twenty-five years of memories suddenly felt fragile.
Dad teaching me to ride a bicycle.
Dad standing beside me at graduation.
Dad telling me that I had his stubbornness and his eyes.
Had any of it been real?
I reached for the first envelope.
My name was written across the front in Mom's handwriting.
I opened it with trembling fingers.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
My dearest Ethan,
If you are reading this, then Daniel has finally discovered what I have spent years trying to protect.
There is something about your birth that I should have told you long ago.
Your father is not the man you think he is.
I stopped reading.
Maya leaned closer.
“What does the rest say?””
I turned the page.
There was only one more sentence.
And the person who knows the truth is the woman Daniel has spent his entire life trying to keep away from you.
Beneath the letter was a name.
A name I had never heard before.
May you like
*Rebecca Shaw.*
The nurse who had disappeared.
