Chapter 12 - THE NAME FROM THE PAST

I spent the rest of the morning going through everything Olivia had collected. Every note. Every number. Every strange name or abbreviation. But nowhere did I find “S.O.”

Detective Miller called back shortly after noon. She had checked every person connected to Sterling, Vanessa, and the Holloway family. No one matched the initials S.O.

“Whoever helped him,” she said, “Adrian didn’t write the name down clearly. Or maybe he didn’t have time. Or maybe… he didn’t want Sterling to know.”

That evening, I sat in Adrian’s study, going through his books and papers, searching for anything that might give me a clue. A name. A contact. A secret ally.

On his desk, beneath a stack of documents, I found a small, framed photograph. It showed Adrian when he was much younger—barely twenty—standing beside another young man. They had their arms around each other, laughing.

I turned the photo over. On the back, in Adrian’s handwriting: Samuel O’Connor. My best friend. My brother. Always there.

My heart stopped.

S.O.

Samuel O’Connor.

I searched through Adrian’s address book. Found the number. Found the address. And then I remembered—Adrian had mentioned him once, months ago. Sam had been his best friend since childhood. They had grown up together. Sam had stood by him through everything. Until… until something had driven them apart. Adrian had never spoken of it. Only that Sam had moved away. And that they had lost touch.

But if Adrian had carved those initials into the wall… it meant he had known Sam was nearby. It meant he had trusted him. It meant Sam had helped him escape.

I called Detective Miller. “Samuel O’Connor. Find him.”

She called back within the hour. Her voice was strange.

“Clara… Samuel O’Connor died seven years ago. In a car accident.”

I sat in silence, the phone pressed to my ear.

“Died?” I repeated.

“Confirmed,” she said. “Death certificate. Obituary. Everything.”

“Then who helped Adrian?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “But I’m digging deeper. There’s something… odd about the accident. The body was never recovered. Only identified by personal effects.”

I stood up, my mind racing. “So he could still be alive.”

“It’s possible,” she said. “Adrian believed he was alive. That’s why he carved the initials. He knew Sam was there.”

May you like

She Destroyed My Priceless Monet Painting—Then Discovered Who She Had Ju...

“Who let you in, you filthy disgrace?”” My mother-in-law crossed the ballroom before I had taken three steps inside. I stopped b...

THE SHOES SHE STOLE WERE NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT SHE LOST

My stepsister stole my shoes, my dress, and my chance to walk the runway. But she made one mistake. She assumed I couldn't creat...

They Stole My Design, But They Couldn't Steal What I Knew

The export bar reached one hundred percent. For the first time in three months, I let myself smile. Then a hand reached past my...

“But why would Sam hide?” I asked. “If he’s alive… why stay away all these years?”

“That,” Detective Miller said quietly, “is exactly what we need to find out.”