Chapter 6 - Nathan didn't remember leaving the house.He only remembered Lily screaming.
He remembered Victoria calling the police.
He remembered Marcus disappearing.
And he remembered one sentence repeating in his head.
The man who took Mommy.
Search teams surrounded the estate.
Dogs combed the property.
Roadblocks went up.
Every nearby road was checked.
Nothing.
Noah was gone.
No footprints.
No ransom note.
No sign of forced entry.
But Nathan knew one thing.
The kidnapper wanted him to believe this was connected to Emma.
And he was right.
At 2:14 a.m., Nathan received a message.
A photograph of Noah.
He was sitting in a dark room.
Alive.
Unharmed.
On the floor beside him was Emma's wedding ring.
The message said:
ONE CHILD FOR ONE TRUTH.
Nathan stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
TELL ME WHERE YOU HID THE LEDGER.
Nathan had no idea what ledger they meant.
Victoria did.
Nathan saw it in her face.
“What ledger?”
She looked away.
“Victoria.”
“I don't know.”
“You're looking at my son.”
“I said I don't know.”
Nathan grabbed her arm.
“You know what they want.”
She began to cry.
“Your father kept records.”
“What records?”
“Payments.”
“To whom?”
“Everyone.”
Nathan stared.
“Political figures?”
“Yes.”
“Police?”
“Yes.”
“Judges?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would they kidnap Noah?”
“Because the ledger disappeared.”
“Where is it?”
Victoria looked at him.
“It was in Emma's possession.”
Nathan remembered the flash drive.
“Emma hid it.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“She didn't tell me.”
Nathan's phone rang.
This time, the voice was distorted.
“You have twelve hours.”
Nathan said:
“If you hurt my son—”
“We don't want your son.”
Nathan froze.
“We want what Emma died protecting.”
“She isn't dead.”
Silence.
Then the voice laughed.
“You still believe that?”
Nathan's heart pounded.
“What do you know about Emma?”
“She lasted longer than anyone expected.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“Where is she?”
“Find the ledger.”
The call ended.
Nathan turned toward Victoria.
“You told me she disappeared.”
“I told you what I believed.”
“You knew more than that.”
“Yes.”
Nathan looked at her with disgust.
“Why did you marry me?”
Victoria began crying harder.
“Because Emma asked me to.”
Nathan stopped.
“What?”
“Emma knew she was being watched.”
“So she told you to marry me?”
“No.”
Victoria shook her head.
“She told me to stay close to you.”
Nathan felt sick.
“You've been protecting me?”
“I tried.”
“For four years?”
“Yes.”
“By lying?”
“Yes.”
“By raising my children?”
“Yes.”
“By hurting them?”
Victoria froze.
Nathan's voice cracked.
“You became the thing Emma feared.”
She looked devastated.
“I never hurt Lily.”
Nathan pointed toward her.
“She said you did.”
“I frightened her.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted her to remember.”
Nathan stared.
“What?”
“Emma taught Lily something.”
“What did she teach her?”
Victoria whispered:
“A phrase.”
“Which phrase?”
Victoria looked toward the dark window.
“Three birds.”
Nathan frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means there was a third witness.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
The police interrupted.
They had found something.
A car abandoned twelve miles away.
Inside was Noah's backpack.
Nothing else.
Except a child's drawing.
A black car.
A lake.
And three birds in the sky.
Nathan stared at it.
The detective looked at him.
“Does this mean something?”
Nathan answered before Victoria could.
“It means Noah was in the same place Lily remembered.”
The detective frowned.
“What place?”
Nathan looked at Victoria.
She slowly whispered:
“Blackwater Lake.”
An hour later, search teams surrounded the lake.
The abandoned boathouse stood at the far end.
Nathan approached.
The door was open.
Inside was a chair.
Chains.
A child's blanket.
And a small audio recorder.
Nathan pressed play.
Noah's voice came through.
“Daddy…”
Nathan nearly collapsed.
“I found Mommy.”
Silence.
Then Noah whispered:
“She told me you're not my real dad.”
The recording ended.
Nathan turned toward Victoria.
She looked horrified.
“That’s impossible.”
Nathan's voice shook.
“What did he mean?”
Victoria didn't answer.
A detective found another object beneath the floorboards.
A birth certificate.
Nathan took it.
Read it.
And felt his blood turn to ice.
The mother's name was Emma Carter.
The father's name was blank.
And the child's name was Noah.
But the date of birth was two years before Nathan remembered becoming Noah's father.
Nathan slowly looked toward Victoria.
“How old is Noah?”
“Four.”
Nathan stared at the document.
The date made no sense.
Then he looked again.
There was a handwritten note at the bottom.
THE BOY IS THE KEY.
Behind him, Victoria whispered:
“I was afraid you'd find out.”
Nathan turned.
“Find out what?”
May you like
Victoria's lips trembled.
“Noah was there the night Emma disappeared.”
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