Chapter 5 - Unit 17
What was inside the storage unit had been hidden for twenty-two years.
We drove to the storage facility after dark.
Elena came with us.
Logan insisted.
I didn't argue.
Unit 17 was at the back of the property.
The lock was new.
That was our first warning.
The second was the security camera pointed directly at the door.
Elena photographed everything.
Then she called the facility manager.
Ten minutes later, we had confirmation.
The unit had been rented under Carter Holdings.
Dad had paid six months in advance.
We obtained lawful access through the manager after Elena presented the ownership dispute documents.
The door rolled upward.
Dust filled the air.
Inside were shelves.
Boxes.
Old automotive parts.
A metal desk.
And three car frames.
I walked deeper.
Then stopped.
The frames were partially covered.
I pulled one tarp away.
A 1969 Charger.
Another.
A 1971 Challenger.
The third was a stripped 1970 Charger.
I stared at them.
“Why would my father keep these?”
Logan looked around.
“Because they're valuable.”
Elena pointed to a shelf.
“There.”
A stack of folders.
I opened one.
Each vehicle had a serial number.
Original title.
Acquisition history.
Restoration costs.
Then something strange.
Several pages were marked:
PROPERTY OF ETHAN CARTER
My uncle.
I sat down.
“Dad stole these too?”
“Possibly,” Elena said.
“Not exactly.”
I looked at her.
She pointed toward a handwritten note.
“Your uncle may have been storing them here before he disappeared.”
I found another folder.
Then another.
Then a photograph.
It showed Ethan standing beside a race car.
A young version of my father stood behind him.
They looked happy.
Before whatever destroyed them.
At the bottom was a ledger.
Cash payments.
Parts purchases.
Customer names.
Investors.
And ownership percentages.
My uncle had owned 50%.
My father had owned 50%.
At the very bottom, written in blue ink:
If David tries to transfer my shares, they pass to Willow Carter.
I stared.
The room seemed to tilt.
“That's the key.”
Elena nodded.
“To what?”
“The old storage records.”
We searched deeper.
A hidden compartment behind the desk contained a small steel box.
The key fit.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
My name was written on it.
I opened it with shaking hands.
The first page was a letter.
Willow,
If you're reading this, something happened that prevented me from giving this to you myself.
I had to stop.
Logan put a hand on the desk.
“Keep going.”
I did.
Your father will tell you I abandoned the family. He will tell you I was irresponsible. He will tell you the company was saved because of him.
Don't believe him.
The Carter name was built by two brothers.
Your father took control when he discovered I intended to leave the automotive business and divide my share between my daughter and you.
I froze.
“My daughter?”
Elena looked at me.
“Your mother?”
“No.”
I kept reading.
The letter explained that Ethan had a child.
A son.
A boy who had vanished from every family photograph.
My cousin.
I had a cousin.
Alive, perhaps.
Then the final page contained a name.
Lucas Reed.
My hands went numb.
Beneath it was an address in Arizona.
And one sentence:
He believes the Carter family forgot him.
I looked at Logan.
“We need to find him.”
Before anyone could answer, headlights appeared outside.
A black SUV stopped beside the unit.
Dad's assistant stepped out.
Two men followed.
Elena immediately closed the envelope.
The assistant called through the open door.
“Ms. Carter.”
I stepped forward.
“What are you doing here?”
He smiled.
“Your father wants the documents.”
“No.”
His smile vanished.
“You should be careful.”
Elena stepped between us.
“You are trespassing on disputed property.”
The men didn't move.
Then the assistant looked directly at me.
“Your father asked me to remind you that family matters are easier when handled privately.”
I looked at the two men.
Then at the evidence around me.
Then back at him.
“You mean quietly.”
He didn't answer.
I smiled.
For the first time, I wasn't afraid.
“Tell my father something.”
“What?”
“I found Unit 17.”
His face changed.
It was subtle.
But I saw it.
He knew what that meant.
He turned away.
“Good night, Ms. Carter.”
The SUV left.
Logan watched the taillights disappear.
“What was that about?”
Elena answered.
“They're scared.”
“Of what?”
She looked at me.
“The truth.”
I held the envelope tighter.
Then I noticed something beneath it.
A second document.
A birth certificate.
Lucas Reed.
Father: Ethan Carter.
Mother: unknown.
May you like
And under the child's date of birth was a handwritten note:
DO NOT LET DAVID FIND HIM.
