Chapter 4: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The photograph was impossible.
That was the only thought repeating inside my head.
Impossible.
I stared at the image on my phone until my eyes burned.
My father.
Richard Reed.
Standing behind my family.
Alive.
Smiling.
Two years after everyone told me he was buried.
Agent Morgan took the phone from my hand and studied the picture carefully.
“Where did this come from?””
“Vanessa.””
“When?””
“Five minutes ago.””
She looked toward the agents searching the room.
“Trace the message.””
A detective immediately grabbed a laptop.
I barely heard him.
My mind was somewhere else.
Somewhere twelve years ago.
At my father’s funeral.
The black suit that didn’t fit.
The rain.
The empty feeling in my chest.
Vanessa standing beside me, holding my shoulder.
“You have to be strong, Marcus.””
That was what she said.
Not “I’m sorry.””
Not “I’ll miss him.””
Strong.
Like she already knew I would need to survive something.
I walked toward the window.
“Agent Morgan.””
She looked at me.
“What?””
“What if my father never died?””
She didn’t answer immediately.
That scared me more than if she had laughed.
Because she was considering it.
“Marcus, people disappear all the time.””
“Not from their own funeral.””
She lowered her voice.
“Then maybe the funeral wasn’t what you thought it was.””
The words hit me.
I turned around.
“What does that mean?””
Before she could answer, the detective interrupted.
“Agent Morgan.””
We both looked over.
He held up his screen.
“The message was routed through multiple servers.””
“Can you trace it?””
“Not yet.””
“Where was the final location?””
He hesitated.
Then looked at me.
“A private network.””
“Whose?””
The detective swallowed.
“Bright Future Foundation.””
My sister.
Again.
Everything led back to Vanessa.
But now I wasn’t sure if she was the beginning of the nightmare.
Or just another person trapped inside it.
By noon, the FBI had taken over Vanessa’s mansion.
The hidden room was no longer a secret.
It was evidence.
Technicians photographed every inch of it.
Every scratch.
Every book.
Every bottle of water.
Every mark on the wall.
I stood outside while Noah was transported to a safe location.
He looked smaller in daylight.
A child who had spent almost a year living in darkness.
Before he left, he stopped.
“Mr. Reed?””
I crouched.
“What is it?””
He looked around nervously.
Then whispered:
“Your sister wasn’t always mean.””
That surprised me.
“What do you mean?””
“She used to bring me food.””
I frowned.
“Then why did she lock you down there?””
Noah looked at the ground.
“Because she was scared.””
“Scared of what?””
He looked directly into my eyes.
“The man who came after her.””
My stomach tightened.
“The man who looked like my father?””
He nodded.
“He told her if she didn’t listen, more children would disappear.””
I felt my hands close into fists.
“Did he hurt you?””
Noah shook his head.
“No.””
“Then what did he do?””
The boy looked toward the mansion.
“He made Aunt Vanessa choose.””
“Choose what?””
Noah’s voice became barely audible.
“Which children lived.””
I couldn’t move.
The words didn’t make sense.
They couldn’t.
But every piece of evidence was pointing toward something bigger.
Something organized.
Something that had been hidden for years.
That evening, I went back to my house with Lily.
I didn’t want to leave her alone.
Not for one second.
She sat at the kitchen table drawing while I made dinner.
Normally, she would tell me every detail about her day.
The things she saw.
The things she imagined.
The funny things her classmates said.
Tonight, she was quiet.
Finally, she looked up.
“Daddy?””
“Yeah?””
“Is Aunt Vanessa a bad person?””
The question broke something inside me.
I put down the knife.
“I don’t know.””
Children deserved honesty.
Even when the truth hurt.
Lily looked at her drawing.
“She looked scared.””
I sat beside her.
“You noticed that?””
She nodded.
“When I told her about the boy, she looked like she already knew.””
I stared at my daughter.
Because she was right.
Again.
Lily pushed the paper toward me.
It was a drawing of Vanessa’s staircase.
The wall.
The hidden room.
And a person standing behind Vanessa.
A tall figure.
A man.
I felt a chill.
“Lily.””
She looked at me.
“Did you see this person?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Then why did you draw him?””
She shrugged.
“Because Noah said someone else was there.””
I froze.
“Noah told you?””
She nodded.
“When I was with him.””
I remembered.
The first night.
The chaos.
The police.
The investigators.
I had forgotten Lily was nearby.
“What else did Noah say?””
She looked nervous.
“He said the man told Aunt Vanessa something.””
“What?””
Lily lowered her voice.
“He said…”
She stopped.
“Sweetheart?””
She swallowed.
“He said, ‘The Reed family always protects its secrets.’”
The room went silent.
My family.
Our secrets.
My father.
My sister.
My mother.
All connected.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A voice came through.
A man’s voice.
Older.
Calm.
“Marcus.””
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“Who is this?””
“You already know.””
I stood up.
Lily watched me.
My heart pounded.
“Richard?””
The man laughed softly.
“I wondered when you would figure it out.””
I couldn’t breathe.
“My father is dead.””
“No.””
The voice became colder.
“Your father was hidden.””
I gripped the phone.
“Where are you?””
“Somewhere your sister has never been able to find.””
“What did you do to those children?””
Silence.
Then:
“You still think this is about the children.””
My blood went cold.
“What does that mean?””
“It means Vanessa was never the person you should have been afraid of.””
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Then a final message appeared.
A location.
An abandoned warehouse outside the city.
May you like
And one sentence.
*Come alone if you want the truth about your mother.*
