Chapter 4 - The first man reached for his weapon.Rafe reached him first.
The fight lasted less than twenty seconds.
A shoulder slammed into the hood of the SUV.
A wrist snapped backward.
A gun clattered onto wet asphalt.
The second attacker swung.
Rafe ducked.
His fist struck the man's ribs.
The man collapsed.
The third ran.
Rafe didn't chase him.
Because Anna had screamed.
He turned.
She was gone.
The police officer looked around in confusion.
"Where did she go?"
Rafe scanned the crowd.
Nothing.
No old woman.
No blanket.
No trace.
His chest tightened.
Then he noticed something beside the overturned basin.
A trail.
Small drops of blood leading toward the alley.
Rafe followed them.
At the end of the alley was a rusted service door.
It stood open.
Behind it sat an underground staircase.
Rafe descended.
The deeper he went, the colder it became.
At the bottom was a small room.
A single chair.
A table.
And Anna.
She sat there, breathing heavily.
Rafe stared.
"How?"
She smiled weakly.
"There's always another exit."
He crouched beside her.
"You knew this place."
"I used to bring you here."
"What?"
"When you were eight."
Rafe looked around.
Memory returned in flashes.
A basement.
A red toolbox.
A woman telling him to stay quiet.
His mother crying upstairs.
He pressed a hand against his forehead.
"I remember."
Anna nodded.
"You should."
She handed him the silver key.
"Locker 17."
Rafe stared at it.
"What am I going to find?"
"Something your father wanted you to have when you were old enough."
"How old?"
"Twenty-five."
Rafe looked at her.
"I turned twenty-five six years ago."
"I know."
"Why wait?"
"Because someone was watching you."
"Who?"
"Everyone."
She reached inside her coat and removed a folded newspaper.
The front page was twenty years old.
The headline read:
MERCHANT FAMILY DESTROYED IN TRAGIC HOUSE FIRE.
Rafe looked at the picture.
His childhood home.
Then noticed something strange.
The fire department report had been stamped two days before the fire.
His eyes narrowed.
"That's impossible."
Anna nodded.
"The report was prepared in advance."
"Someone knew the house would burn."
"Yes."
"Who?"
Anna didn't answer.
Instead, she pointed to the newspaper photograph.
At the edge of the frame stood a young detective.
Rafe stared.
He knew him.
Not as a detective.
As the current mayor of the city.
"Victor Hale."
Anna nodded.
"He was there the night your family disappeared."
Rafe's jaw tightened.
"The mayor?"
"Before he became mayor, he worked for your father."
"Doing what?"
"Cleaning problems."
Rafe looked at her.
"What problems?"
"People."
Silence settled over the room.
Then Anna said something that changed everything.
"Victor Hale was supposed to die that night."
Rafe frowned.
"Why?"
"Because your father discovered he was stealing from him."
"How much?"
Anna shook her head.
"It wasn't money."
"What was it?"
"Children."
Rafe's blood turned cold.
Anna leaned forward.
"Your father ran illegal operations, yes. But he never sold children."
"He was trafficking them?"
"No."
Anna looked directly into his eyes.
"Victor Hale was."
Rafe stood.
"Why would my father protect children?"
Anna smiled sadly.
"Because one of them was his."
Rafe froze.
"Lena?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Anna looked toward the ceiling.
"You."
The room seemed to shrink.
"What?"
"Your father discovered you weren't his biological son."
Rafe's breathing stopped.
Anna whispered:
"Your real father was one of Victor Hale's victims."
Rafe stared at her.
"Victim?"
"Your father stole you from him."
"Why?"
"Because your biological father was killed."
"By who?"
Anna's face went pale.
"By the man who now sits in the mayor's office."
Rafe backed away.
"No."
Anna nodded.
"And Locker 17 contains the proof."
A loud metallic bang came from upstairs.
Both of them looked toward the stairwell.
Someone was coming down.
Slowly.
One step at a time.
Anna whispered:
"He's here."
Rafe's hand closed into a fist.
"Who?"
Anna's eyes widened.
"The man you've been calling your father."
Rafe stared at the staircase.
A shadow appeared.
Then a voice echoed through the basement.
May you like
"Hello, Elias."
Rafe stopped breathing.
Related Stories
