Chapter 7: The Boy Named Elias
The gunshot echoed through the archive.
Noah screamed.
Marcus grabbed him and dropped behind the steel shelving.
Buddy lunged forward, barking toward the doorway.
“Dad!””
“I've got you.””
Marcus pulled Noah against his chest.
Rachel crouched beside them.
Ethan whispered, “Nobody move.””
Another gunshot sounded downstairs.
Then came the crash of breaking glass.
Marcus looked at Collins.
“You said they knew we were here.””
Collins nodded.
“They followed me.””
“You led them here?””
“No.””
“Then who did?””
Collins stared at the dark hallway.
“Someone with access.””
Vanessa's face appeared in Marcus's mind.
He immediately shook it away.
No.
She had betrayed him.
But she had also been terrified.
He couldn't understand which part of her was real anymore.
Rachel touched Marcus's shoulder.
“We have to leave.””
Marcus looked at the address in his hand.
“Elias.””
Collins nodded.
“If you stay here, you'll never meet him.””
“Then we're getting out.””
Ethan pointed toward the rear archive door.
“There’s a service tunnel.””
Collins shook his head.
“It's sealed.””
“It wasn't last year.””
Ethan moved toward the wall.
He found a recessed handle and pulled.
A panel opened.
Marcus stared.
“You knew about this?””
Ethan shrugged.
“I told you. Tonight is not a good time for questions.””
They slipped into the passage.
Marcus carried Noah.
Buddy followed.
Rachel came behind them.
Collins went last.
They had barely moved twenty feet when a voice echoed from the archive.
“Marcus!””
He stopped.
The voice belonged to Vanessa.
Marcus turned.
“Vanessa?””
Collins grabbed his arm.
“Don't.””
Marcus pulled free.
“She came with them.””
“She might be trying to help.””
“No,” Collins said.
“She's trying to survive.””
That answer told Marcus more than he wanted to know.
They reached the end of the passage and emerged behind the building.
Rain had stopped.
An old van waited in the alley.
Ethan opened the door.
“Get in.””
Marcus climbed inside with Noah and Buddy.
As soon as everyone was seated, Ethan drove.
No one spoke.
The city blurred past the windows.
Marcus stared at the address.
20 miles.
That was all.
Seven years of secrets.
Twenty miles away.
Finally Marcus looked at Collins.
“Tell me the truth.””
Collins nodded.
“About what?””
“Everything.””
The doctor stared through the windshield.
“Your mother came to me seven years ago.””
“Why?””
“She had discovered your father's plan.””
“What plan?””
“To take control of the Mercer Trust.””
Marcus frowned.
“I don't understand.””
“Neither did she at first.””
Collins sighed.
“Your father believed one of Lena's twins would inherit the trust. He didn't know which one.””
“Why did it matter?””
“Because the firstborn was legally entitled to everything.””
Marcus looked at the papers again.
“And the second?””
“Nothing.””
“So he wanted the firstborn.””
“Yes.””
Marcus looked down at Noah.
“Then why was my son taken?””
Collins looked at him in the mirror.
“Because your mother was trying to save him.””
Marcus frowned.
“You said she took the firstborn.””
“She did.””
“But from whom?””
“Your father.””
Marcus stared.
“She took Elias before he could be transferred.””
“Then why was there another baby?””
Collins hesitated.
“Because Lena refused to let either child disappear.””
Marcus's chest tightened.
“What does that mean?””
“Lena had a plan.””
“Which was?””
“To hide one child inside your family.””
Marcus looked at Noah.
“And the other?””
“Your mother arranged for him to be sent somewhere your father wouldn't look.””
Boston.
The school.
Elias.
Marcus finally saw the shape of it.
But one thing remained.
“Why didn't my mother tell me?””
Collins's voice softened.
“Because she believed your father had people watching you.””
Marcus swallowed.
“He was my father.””
“Exactly.””
Silence filled the van.
Then Noah spoke.
“Dad?””
Marcus looked down.
“Yes?””
“Are we going to see my brother?””
Marcus smiled faintly.
“Yes.””
“Does he know about me?””
“No.””
“Will he like me?””
Marcus's throat tightened.
“I hope so.””
Noah smiled.
“I'll show him Buddy.””
Buddy lifted his head as if his name had been mentioned.
For the first time that night, Marcus almost laughed.
The van turned onto a narrow country road.
A stone wall appeared beside the trees.
Then a tall iron gate.
Ethan slowed.
“What is this place?””
Collins looked at the gate.
“The school.””
Marcus frowned.
“There’s no school here.””
“It closed two years ago.””
He pointed beyond the trees.
“Look.””
A building emerged from the fog.
Old brick.
Three stories.
Most windows dark.
One upstairs window glowed.
Marcus stared.
Someone was inside.
They parked behind a row of trees.
Ethan handed Marcus a flashlight.
“No lights unless you need them.””
Rachel looked at Noah.
“Stay close.””
They crossed the grounds.
The front door opened before they reached it.
Lena stood inside.
Marcus stopped.
He knew her face.
He had seen it in the photograph.
But seeing her alive was different.
She looked older than the picture.
Thin.
Exhausted.
Her eyes went directly to Noah.
She covered her mouth.
“No.””
Noah hid behind Marcus.
Lena took one trembling step forward.
Marcus lifted a hand.
“Don't.””
She stopped.
“Please.””
“Are you Lena?””
She nodded.
“Yes.””
“Are you his mother?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.””
Marcus's voice hardened.
“Then where is Elias?””
Lena looked past him.
At Noah.
Then back at Marcus.
“He's upstairs.””
Marcus's heart slammed.
“Take me to him.””
Lena shook her head.
“You can't.””
“Why?””
“Because he doesn't know you're coming.””
“He should.””
“He knows he has a brother.””
Marcus stared.
“How?””
“Your mother told him.””
“My mother met him?””
“Once.””
“When?””
“Before she died.””
Marcus felt a sharp ache in his chest.
Lena stepped aside.
“Come inside.””
They entered the old school.
The hallway smelled like dust, books, and rain.
Children's drawings still hung on the walls.
Marcus looked at one.
A family drawn in crayon.
Two boys standing beside a woman.
Underneath were the words:
*MY BROTHER LOOKS LIKE ME.*
Marcus stopped.
“Did he draw that?””
Lena nodded.
“He's known for years.””
“Known what?””
“That he wasn't alone.””
They climbed the stairs.
At the top, Marcus heard piano music.
A simple melody.
Slow.
Sad.
Noah squeezed his hand.
“That's Mommy.””
Marcus looked at Lena.
She shook her head.
“No.””
The melody continued.
“It’s Elias.””
Marcus stopped outside the classroom.
Lena opened the door.
A boy sat at the piano with his back to them.
Dark hair.
Blue-gray eyes.
A thin scar across the left shoulder, visible beneath his shirt collar.
Marcus couldn't breathe.
The boy finished the melody.
Then turned around.
He looked at Noah.
Noah stared back.
Neither spoke.
Buddy was the first to react.
The dog walked into the room.
Elias looked at him.
“Buddy?””
Noah blinked.
“You know him?””
Elias smiled.
“Your dog visited me once.””
Noah's eyes widened.
“That's impossible.””
Lena covered her mouth.
Elias stood.
“I've seen him before.””
Marcus looked at her.
“What?””
Lena whispered, “Your mother brought Buddy to the hospital.””
“When?””
“Six years ago.””
Marcus remembered Buddy disappearing for one weekend.
Vanessa had said they took him to the vet.
She had lied.
Again.
Elias stepped closer.
He looked at Marcus.
“Are you him?””
Marcus swallowed.
“Who?””
“The father.””
The word nearly broke him.
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
Elias looked at Noah.
“And you're my brother.””
Noah nodded slowly.
“Are you really Elias?””
“Yes.””
Noah smiled.
“I knew you looked like me.””
Elias smiled back.
“You look like me too.””
Marcus stood behind them, overwhelmed.
Then Lena suddenly looked toward the window.
Her smile vanished.
“We have to go.””
Marcus turned.
“Why?””
“Because they're here.””
A vehicle stopped outside.
Then another.
Headlights flooded the grounds.
Ethan moved to the window.
“Three SUVs.””
Rachel whispered, “How did they find us?””
Lena looked at Collins.
“He told them.””
Collins's face hardened.
“No.””
Lena pointed at him.
“You always betray everyone.””
Marcus looked between them.
“What is she talking about?””
Collins said nothing.
Lena's voice shook.
“Your father didn't send those men.””
Marcus frowned.
“Then who did?””
She looked at Vanessa.
Marcus's stomach dropped.
“Vanessa?””
Lena nodded.
“She knows exactly where the boys are.””
Marcus turned toward the door.
“You're sure?””
Lena stared at him.
“I was the one who taught her.””
Marcus felt cold.
“Taught her what?””
“To switch the babies.””
Silence.
Noah looked frightened.
Elias stepped closer to him.
Lena continued:
“Vanessa isn't the woman you think she is.””
Marcus's phone suddenly vibrated.
A message appeared.
*YOU FOUND BOTH BOYS.*
Another message arrived.
*NOW CHOOSE WHICH ONE COMES HOME.*
Marcus's blood ran cold.
A third message appeared.
*BECAUSE ONLY ONE OF THEM IS REALLY YOUR SON.*
Outside, the engines shut off.
The doors opened.
And from the courtyard came Vanessa's voice.
“Marcus.””
May you like
She looked up toward the window.
“I know you're in there.””
