Chapter 5 - The Dead Man's NameThe name on the report was Daniel Reed.

Michael knew him.

Everyone in the family knew him.

Daniel had been his father's closest friend.

A lawyer.

A family adviser.

And the man who had died in a car accident when Michael was nineteen.

Michael stared at the report.

"This is impossible."

Evelyn didn't answer.

Olivia stood behind him.

"That's what I told her."

Michael turned.

"You knew?"

"I saw the report."

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Because your mother showed it to me two weeks ago."

Michael's eyes narrowed.

"What did she say?"

"She said Ethan wasn't safe with you."

The room went silent.

Michael looked at Evelyn.

"You've been blackmailing her."

"I'm trying to save my grandson."

"You forged this."

Evelyn shook her head.

"Then check it."

Michael immediately called the clinic listed on the report.

The receptionist confirmed the test number existed.

The sample was real.

But there was a problem.

The test had been ordered through a private physician.

A doctor Michael had never heard of.

Dr. Samuel Vale.

Michael searched the name.

Nothing.

No clinic.

No office.

No public record.

His mother watched him.

"You're beginning to understand."

"Understand what?"

"That your family has been lying to you for years."

Michael looked at Olivia.

"Why would Daniel's DNA be involved?"

"I don't know."

Evelyn replied:

"I do."

Michael turned.

"Then tell me."

She didn't.

Instead, she looked upstairs.

"Ethan is sleeping."

"Don't change the subject."

"You should check on him."

Something in her voice made Michael move.

He ran upstairs.

The nursery was empty.

The crib was empty.

Ethan was gone.

"OLIVIA!"

She rushed behind him.

"No!"

Michael's heart pounded.

The window was closed.

The door had been locked.

The baby was gone.

Then they heard a sound.

A faint mechanical click.

Michael turned toward the closet.

He opened it.

Nothing.

Then a second click came from behind the wooden panel.

He pulled it.

A hidden compartment opened.

Inside was a monitor.

And dozens of printed photographs.

Photos of Ethan.

Photos of Olivia.

Photos of Michael.

Photos taken while they slept.

In the center was a single handwritten note.

HE IS NOT SAFE WITH EITHER OF YOU.

Michael turned pale.

Then his phone rang.

Unknown number.

He answered.

A distorted voice spoke.

"You should never have opened the closet."

"Who is this?"

A pause.

Then:

"Look behind you."

Michael slowly turned.

Olivia was standing in the doorway.

Holding Ethan.

Her face was white.

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Because she had not been downstairs when he opened the closet.

Someone else had brought the baby back.