Chapter 2: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Vanessa's words hung in the kitchen like a loaded gun.
“Because he's not dead.”
Ethan didn't blink.
For several seconds, he simply stared at her.
Then he glanced toward the dark windows overlooking the Pacific.
“You're telling me Daniel Cross is alive?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“I didn't say that.”
“You just did.”
“No. I said you shouldn't have found the recording.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Then explain it.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I can't.”
“You can.”
“I won't.”
Ethan's voice dropped.
“You will.”
Sophie suddenly grabbed his hand.
“Daddy…”
Ethan looked down.
The little girl was trembling.
“Can we go upstairs?”
He immediately softened.
“Of course.”
He lifted her into his arms.
Vanessa watched them.
Something changed in her expression.
Not anger.
Not jealousy.
Fear.
Real fear.
“Ethan,” she said.
He stopped at the doorway.
“Don't take her upstairs.”
Ethan turned.
“Why?”
Vanessa stared at the staircase.
“Because he's already inside.”
Ethan's entire body went still.
“What?”
Vanessa whispered,
“Daniel.”
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Sophie screamed.
Ethan spun around.
Vanessa's face became pale.
Another sound followed.
A door slamming.
Then footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Coming from the second floor.
Ethan immediately placed Sophie behind him.
“Stay here.”
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He pulled away.
“Don't touch me.”
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain!”
“He isn't here for you.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Who is he here for?”
Vanessa looked at Sophie.
The answer was written across her face.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
He picked up the nearest fireplace poker.
“Stay behind me.”
He started up the stairs.
Vanessa followed.
“Ethan, wait.”
He turned.
“If you know something, now is the time.”
She hesitated.
Then whispered,
“Three years ago, Daniel discovered something about me.”
“What?”
“He discovered who I really was.”
Ethan's grip tightened around the poker.
“And?”
“He threatened to expose me.”
“So you killed him.”
“No!”
Her voice cracked.
“I didn't kill him.”
“Then who did?”
Vanessa looked toward the second floor.
“I don't know.”
They reached the hallway.
The door to Sophie's bedroom was open.
The night-light flickered.
One of Sophie's stuffed animals lay on the floor.
Ethan's heart hammered.
“Sophie stays downstairs.”
Vanessa nodded.
Ethan entered the bedroom.
Nothing.
He checked the closet.
Empty.
Bathroom.
Empty.
Then he noticed something on Sophie's bed.
A photograph.
He picked it up.
His face changed.
It showed Sophie sleeping.
The photograph had clearly been taken inside the bedroom.
Tonight.
Ethan turned toward Vanessa.
“Who took this?”
She stared at the photograph.
“I don't know.”
He flipped it over.
Written on the back were six words.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT HER ALONE.
Vanessa stepped backward.
Ethan looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
She said nothing.
“Vanessa!”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
She shook her head.
“I swear.”
Suddenly, Ethan's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
“You finally came home.”
Ethan froze.
Vanessa's face lost all color.
The voice continued.
“You shouldn't have started digging.”
“Who is this?”
A quiet laugh.
“You know who I am.”
Ethan looked at Vanessa.
She was trembling.
“Daniel?”
The caller didn't answer.
Instead, he said,
“Ask your wife what happened at the hotel.”
The line went dead.
Ethan slowly lowered the phone.
“What hotel?”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“Ethan…”
“What hotel?”
She whispered,
“The Blackthorne.”
Ethan had heard the name.
Everyone in Malibu had.
The Blackthorne Hotel had been abandoned three years earlier after a mysterious fire.
Daniel Cross had supposedly died there.
Ethan stared at Vanessa.
“You told me Daniel died at home.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because the truth would have destroyed everything.”
“What truth?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“I wasn't alone that night.”
“Who was with you?”
She looked at him.
Then whispered a name.
Ethan's expression changed.
“That's impossible.”
“He was there.”
“Your brother?”
Vanessa nodded.
Ethan took a step backward.
Vanessa's older brother, Victor Hale, had supposedly died six months before she married Ethan.
A boating accident.
At least, that's what Vanessa had told him.
Ethan stared at her.
“You told me Victor was dead.”
“He was supposed to be.”
“What does that mean?”
“He disappeared.”
“And Daniel?”
Vanessa looked toward the window.
“Daniel found Victor.”
The room suddenly felt colder.
Ethan's mind raced.
“You're telling me your supposedly dead brother was involved in Daniel's death?”
“I don't know if he killed him.”
“But you know he was there.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell the police?”
“Because Victor threatened me.”
“With what?”
Vanessa looked at Ethan.
“With Sophie.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“What did he threaten to do?”
“He said if I told anyone, he would take her.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I don't care what you believe.”
Vanessa's voice broke.
“I've been protecting Sophie.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“Protecting her?”
He pointed toward the bruises on his daughter's arms.
“You call this protection?”
Vanessa looked away.
“I never wanted to hurt her.”
“Then who did?”
She didn't answer.
Ethan grabbed her shoulders.
“Who?”
Vanessa whispered,
“Victor.”
Ethan released her.
Before either could speak, a noise came from downstairs.
A soft creak.
Then another.
Someone was walking through the foyer.
Ethan raised the fireplace poker.
“Stay here.”
Vanessa grabbed his sleeve.
“No.”
He pulled free.
He descended the stairs slowly.
The mansion was dark.
Only moonlight spilled across the marble floor.
“Sophie?”
No answer.
His heart stopped.
He rushed into the living room.
Empty.
He checked the kitchen.
Empty.
Then he saw the back door.
Wide open.
Wind moved the curtains.
Ethan ran outside.
“Sophie!”
Nothing.
He turned.
Vanessa was standing at the top of the stairs.
Her face was frozen in terror.
“Where is she?”
Ethan's voice became a roar.
“Where is my daughter?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Then they heard something.
A child's voice.
Faint.
Coming from the garden.
“Daddy…”
Ethan sprinted toward it.
He reached the hedge.
“Sophie!”
But there was no Sophie.
Only her pink stuffed rabbit lying in the grass.
Ethan picked it up.
His fingers trembled.
Then his phone vibrated.
A new message.
He opened it.
There was a photograph.
Sophie was sitting inside a car.
Her face was wet with tears.
A man's hand rested on her shoulder.
Under the photograph were four words:
COME TO BLACKTHORNE ALONE.
Ethan's world collapsed.
He turned toward Vanessa.
“You're coming with me.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“You know where Blackthorne is.”
“Yes.”
“Then you're coming.”
Vanessa stared at him.
“If I go there, Sophie dies.”
Ethan froze.
“How do you know?”
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“Because that's exactly what Victor said three years ago.”
She looked toward the dark ocean.
“He told me that if I ever returned to Blackthorne…”
She stopped.
Ethan stepped closer.
“What?”
Vanessa whispered,
“I would wake up the dead.”
Far away, beyond the mansion gates, a black car disappeared into the night.
Inside the car, Sophie sat silently.
She wasn't alone.
The man beside her slowly removed his hat.
His face remained hidden in shadow.
But when he spoke, Sophie looked up.
“Don't be afraid.”
His voice was calm.
Familiar.
And then the man leaned into the light.
Sophie stopped crying.
Her eyes widened.
“Uncle Victor?”
The man smiled.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
And behind him, on the passenger seat, lay an old photograph of Vanessa, Daniel, and Victor standing together three years earlier.
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On the back of the photograph was a date.
THE NIGHT DANIEL WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE.
