Chapter 13 - The Safe House
The old Miller farm was twenty-seven miles outside the city.
The farther we drove, the darker the road became.
No streetlights.
No houses.
Only fields and winter trees.
The investigator’s SUV led the convoy.
Evan and I followed.
Diane and Richard were in the second vehicle.
Rachel refused to stay behind.
She sat beside Diane, gripping her mother’s letter.
Nobody spoke.
Finally, Evan said, “Do you trust Elaine?”
I looked out the window.
“I don't know.”
“She brought the boy.”
“She may have been protecting him.”
“She didn't tell us.”
“Neither did your mother.”
He went quiet.
“That’s different.”
“Is it?”
He looked at me.
I regretted the sharpness in my voice.
But I couldn't stop.
Every hour revealed another lie.
Every answer created two more questions.
We reached the farm at 2:13 a.m.
The house was dark.
The barn door stood slightly open.
The investigator raised his hand.
Everyone stopped.
He moved forward.
“Stay behind me.”
A light flickered inside the barn.
Evan whispered, “Someone's there.”
The investigator opened the door.
The barn was empty.
Except for a wooden chair.
On the chair was a backpack.
I knew immediately.
“Samuel’s.”
Evan rushed forward.
The investigator grabbed him.
“Wait.”
He examined the bag first.
Nothing explosive.
Nothing dangerous.
Just a notebook, a flashlight, and a small black box.
Evan opened the notebook.
The handwriting was neat.
Young.
He flipped through the pages.
Most were math problems and school notes.
Then he stopped.
One page had only three lines.
My father isn't dead.
My guardian says he is.
But I saw him.
Evan looked up.
“What does that mean?”
I took the notebook.
“Where?”
At the bottom of the page was a date.
Six months earlier.
And a location.
The Brooks family cemetery.
Rachel gasped.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“David’s grave is there.”
Evan looked at her.
“His grave?”
“Yes.”
“Then who did Samuel see?”
No one answered.
The investigator searched the barn.
“We need to find Elaine.”
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It was coming from the house.
We moved toward the front door.
The investigator entered first.
The phone stopped.
Then started again.
It was sitting on a kitchen counter.
An old landline.
No caller ID.
The investigator picked it up.
“Hello?”
Static.
Then a boy’s voice.
“Is my brother there?”
Evan stepped forward.
“Samuel?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“I don't know.”
“Are you safe?”
A pause.
“I think so.”
“Who are you with?”
The line clicked.
Then a woman’s voice.
“Evan?”
Elaine.
Evan looked at me.
“Elaine, where are you?”
“Listen carefully.”
“What did you do with Samuel?”
“I took him because someone was coming for him.”
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
Diane made a choking sound.
Elaine continued.
“She didn't come to the school by herself.”
I stared at Diane.
“What does that mean?”
“She sent someone.”
“Who?”
“I couldn't prove it.”
“Then why blame her?”
“Because Samuel told me.”
Evan gripped the phone.
“Put him back on.”
“I will.”
A second later, Samuel spoke.
“Mr. Brooks?”
Evan closed his eyes.
“I'm here.”
“I found something.”
“What?”
“A room under the school.”
The investigator leaned closer.
“What room?”
Samuel's voice trembled.
“An archive.”
“What was inside?”
“Boxes.”
“What kind?”
“Old records.”
The line crackled.
“And one had my name.”
Evan’s face tightened.
“What did it say?”
Samuel hesitated.
“It said my mother wasn't who they told me she was.”
The line went dead.
Rachel whispered, “His mother?”
The investigator immediately started making calls.
Richard sat down.
Diane stared at him.
“What did you know?”
Richard didn't answer.
Diane slapped him.
The sound echoed through the farmhouse.
“What did you know?”
Richard’s face turned red.
“I knew Samuel’s mother.”
“You said she was dead.”
“She is.”
“Then who was she?”
Richard looked at Evan.
“Her name was Anna.”
Diane’s face emptied.
Evan stared.
“Anna who?”
Richard whispered, “Anna Brooks.”
Evan shook his head.
“That was my mother’s name.”
“No.”
Richard’s voice trembled.
“Your mother’s name was Diane. Anna was your father’s first wife.”
The room seemed to tilt.
I grabbed the table.
“What?”
Evan stared at Diane.
“You told me Mom was his first wife.”
Diane didn't answer.
Rachel whispered, “Another marriage.”
Richard nodded.
“David married Anna before he married Diane.”
Evan’s face hardened.
“Then Samuel was Anna’s son.”
Richard looked down.
“Yes.”
“Then why hide him from me?”
“Because Anna died under suspicious circumstances.”
“Who killed her?”
Richard closed his eyes.
“We never proved it.”
“Victor?”
“We thought so.”
“And my father?”
“He left because he believed you were in danger.”
Evan looked at me.
Then back at Richard.
“Why would my father abandon his own son?”
“He didn't.”
Richard pointed toward the notebook.
“He spent years protecting him.”
The investigator’s phone buzzed.
He read a message.
Then looked at us.
“We found Elaine’s vehicle.”
“Where?”
“On the road toward the cemetery.”
Evan stood.
“Then that's where we're going.”
The investigator hesitated.
“What about Samuel?”
“He said he saw his father there.”
I looked at Evan.
“We need to know who he saw.”
We left the farmhouse.
But as we drove toward the cemetery, a thought kept repeating in my mind.
A child had been hidden for twelve years.
A mother had died.
A father had vanished.
And everyone had been told a different version of the truth.
May you like
Somebody had spent twelve years controlling those stories.
And I was beginning to suspect Victor had not been the only person doing it.
