Chapter 4 - Calla could not sleep.She sat on the floor outside Emma's bedroom, knees pulled against her chest.
She could hear her mother breathing on the other side of the door.
For six years, Calla had dreamed about finding her.
Never like this.
Never with fear attached.
Never with so many unanswered questions.
At midnight, Daniel came downstairs.
He found Calla awake.
“You should be in bed.”
“I want the truth.”
Daniel sat beside her.
“So do I.”
“What baby?”
Daniel looked away.
Emma had told him only fragments.
Six years earlier, she had discovered she was pregnant.
Then she disappeared.
Then Drea entered their lives.
The timing suddenly felt poisonous.
“Dad?”
He looked at Calla.
“Your mom said she was pregnant.”
“With who?”
Daniel's face fell.
“Me.”
Calla stared.
“But you only have me.”
“I thought so.”
“What happened?”
“I don't know.”
A noise came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
Daniel stood immediately.
“Stay here.”
He walked toward the stairs.
Drea appeared.
Her face was pale.
“You should talk to Emma.”
“I will.”
“Before she tells you lies.”
Daniel stopped.
“Why are you so afraid of what she might say?”
Drea's eyes flickered.
“I loved you.”
“That doesn't answer me.”
“I protected this family.”
“From what?”
Drea stepped closer.
“From her.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Emma was locked in our pool house.”
“You don't understand.”
“No, Drea. I don't.”
Drea looked toward Calla.
“She was unstable.”
Calla stood.
“My mother isn't unstable.”
Drea's expression hardened.
“You have no idea what she did.”
“Then tell me.”
Drea said nothing.
Emma appeared behind Daniel.
“Calla.”
The girl ran to her.
Emma embraced her.
Then she looked directly at Drea.
“You never changed.”
Drea's face tightened.
“You should have stayed quiet.”
Daniel's eyes widened.
The words hung in the air.
Drea immediately tried to correct herself.
“I meant... you should rest.”
Emma shook her head.
“No.”
She reached into her pocket.
And pulled out a tiny piece of cloth.
It was faded blue.
Calla recognized it immediately.
Her mother's old sweater.
“The night I disappeared,” Emma said, “I tore this from someone's hand.”
She handed it to Daniel.
He studied the fabric.
There was something stitched inside.
A symbol.
A crescent-shaped mark.
Drea backed away.
Emma noticed.
“You remember it.”
Drea whispered:
“No.”
“You saw this before.”
“No.”
Emma stepped closer.
“You told me not to scream.”
Daniel looked at Drea.
“What is she talking about?”
Drea suddenly turned and ran.
Daniel chased her.
She reached the front door.
Police officers outside stopped her.
“Mrs. Hale, you need to stay here.”
Drea panicked.
Then she screamed:
“You're making a mistake!”
Detective Hayes grabbed her arm.
“Why were you about to leave?”
Drea's eyes darted around.
Then she looked straight at Emma.
“You don't understand what happens if they find out.”
Emma went still.
“Who?”
Drea smiled faintly.
“You think I'm the worst thing that happened to you?”
Emma's face went white.
Drea leaned closer.
“She is still alive.”
Then Drea was taken away.
Calla turned to her mother.
“Who is she?”
Emma's lips trembled.
“The woman who took your brother.”
Calla stared.
“My brother?”
Emma nodded.
“Yes.”
Daniel whispered:
“Where is he?”
Emma looked toward the dark woods beyond the pool.
“I don't know.”
Then the power in the house suddenly returned.
Every security monitor flickered on.
One by one.
All sixteen screens displayed the same image.
A little boy.
Maybe five years old.
May you like
Standing barefoot in a dark hallway.
And beneath him was a timestamp from six years ago.
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