Chapter 9 - The Red DoorThe red door had no lock.
No handle.
Only a small brass plate.
MARGARET.
Marcus touched it.
The door opened.
Inside was a bedroom.
A real bedroom.
Warm.
Dusty.
Preserved.
Margaret's bedroom.
Her books still sat on the shelf.
Her scarf hung over a chair.
A dried flower remained inside a glass bottle.
Marcus stopped.
He hadn't seen this room since he was a child.
Except he had.
He realized something.
He remembered it.
A dream he had carried for years.
His mother standing in front of the mirror.
Telling him:
“Never trust the clock.”
He had thought it was a nightmare.
Arthur entered behind him.
“Your mother slept here only three nights before the crash.”
Marcus looked around.
“Then why preserve it?”
“Because she wanted you to find it.”
Marcus noticed the clock.
11:17.
Stopped.
Again.
He turned it.
Behind it was a compartment.
Inside sat a cassette.
He played it.
Margaret's voice.
“Marcus, if you're hearing this, then Arthur finally failed.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
Margaret continued:
“I know you will hate him.”
Marcus looked at his father.
“He lied to you.”
The recording paused.
“He lied because he thought lies were safer than truth.”
Marcus listened.
“But there is one thing he never told you.”
A click.
“You are not the first heir.”
Marcus frowned.
“What?”
Margaret continued.
“Before you, there was another.”
Clara looked shocked.
Arthur whispered:
“No.”
Margaret's voice became softer.
“A child born before you.”
Marcus stared.
His mother's voice continued:
“His name was Noah.”
The room went silent.
Eli looked at Marcus.
“Do I have a brother?”
Marcus couldn't answer.
Margaret explained:
“He was taken when he was three.”
Arthur stepped forward.
“Margaret…”
The recording continued.
“They told us he died.”
Marcus's face went white.
“But he didn't.”
Clara covered her mouth.
Margaret said:
“Vincent knows where he is.”
Marcus turned.
“What?”
The tape continued.
“Noah is the real reason they want Calder House.”
The recording clicked off.
Marcus looked at Arthur.
“You had another son?”
Arthur nodded.
“We tried to find him.”
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“You told me nothing.”
“I thought he was dead.”
Margaret's final words echoed in his head.
Vincent knows where he is.
Marcus grabbed the radio.
“Vincent!”
No answer.
“VINCE!”
Static.
Then a voice.
“You finally found him.”
Marcus stopped.
“Where is Noah?”
Vincent laughed.
“Closer than you think.”
The room's television turned on.
A live camera appeared.
A young man sat inside a dark room.
Late twenties.
Thin.
Pale.
His eyes were unmistakably Arthur's.
Marcus stared.
“That's him.”
Arthur stumbled toward the screen.
“Noah.”
The young man looked up.
For a moment, he simply stared into the camera.
Then he said:
“Dad?”
Arthur collapsed to his knees.
Marcus felt his heart crack.
His brother was alive.
Vincent's voice came through the speakers.
“Do you want to know why Noah was taken?”
Marcus couldn't speak.
Vincent continued.
“Because Noah was the first person to discover who really controlled the trust.”
The young man on the screen looked frightened.
“Who?”
Vincent smiled.
“You're looking at him.”
The camera moved.
Someone stepped into frame behind Noah.
Marcus expected Daniel.
Instead, he saw Susan.
She was holding a gun.
Marcus froze.
“Susan?”
Susan stared directly at the camera.
She whispered:
“I'm sorry.”
Then Noah screamed.
The feed cut.
Marcus turned to Arthur.
His father was crying.
“She's alive,” Marcus said.
Arthur shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“That wasn't Susan.”
Marcus stared.
Arthur looked at the screen.
“That woman died eleven years ago.”
The room went silent.
Marcus slowly turned toward Clara.
“If that's not Susan…”
Clara whispered:
“Then who have we been talking to?”
Behind them, a floorboard creaked.
Someone was standing in the doorway.
May you like
And a woman's voice said:
“Finally.”
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