Chapter 7 - The Voice Behind the DoorSamuel returned home before dawn.
He didn't wake Avery.
He went straight to Rachel's archive.
Adrian's claim was impossible.
But too many impossible things had become real.
The forged signature.
The hidden room.
The secret files.
The second vehicle.
The mysterious caller.
And now Adrian.
Samuel opened the folder marked Avery again.
A photograph fell out.
It showed Rachel holding Avery as a newborn.
Behind them stood a woman Samuel knew.
Nora picked it up.
“That isn't Madeline.”
“No.”
“Who is she?”
Samuel stared.
Then he remembered.
“Evelyn Hart.”
Rachel's former nanny.
The woman who vanished after Rachel's funeral.
They found Evelyn in a retirement community outside Savannah.
She refused to speak at first.
Then Samuel showed her the photograph.
She began crying.
“Rachel knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That Jordan was watching her.”
“Watching her?”
“Everywhere.”
Evelyn looked around nervously.
“He installed cameras.”
Samuel's blood froze.
“In the house?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Months.”
“Why?”
“Because he didn't trust her.”
Nora asked, “Did Rachel know?”
Evelyn nodded.
“She discovered them.”
“Why didn't she tell police?”
“She did.”
Samuel stared.
“What?”
“Rachel reported it.”
“When?”
“Two days before she died.”
Samuel felt sick.
“Where is the report?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Gone.”
“Who removed it?”
She looked at him.
“Madeline.”
Back in Charleston, Samuel accessed the old security system records through a technician.
Most footage had been erased.
One file survived.
Recorded at 10:58 p.m. on March 17.
The night before Rachel's death.
Rachel was sitting in the kitchen.
Avery was asleep upstairs.
Jordan entered.
He placed a folder on the table.
Rachel stood.
“You know I found them.”
Jordan answered.
“I know.”
“The cameras.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect myself.”
“From me?”
“From what you'll do.”
Rachel shook her head.
“I won't let you use Avery.”
Jordan's face hardened.
“You don't have a choice.”
Rachel reached into her bag.
The blue elastic appeared.
She removed the tiny data chip.
“I copied everything.”
Jordan moved toward her.
“You wouldn't.”
“I already did.”
“Give it to me.”
“No.”
Jordan grabbed her wrist.
Rachel screamed.
Then another voice came from the doorway.
Madeline.
“You two make this much harder than it needs to be.”
Samuel stopped the footage.
Nora looked pale.
“Madeline was there.”
Daniel nodded.
“She was.”
The footage resumed.
Madeline entered.
She placed a document on the table.
Rachel looked at it.
“What is this?”
“Your new life.”
Rachel read it.
“No.”
“You sign it, and Avery goes to Jordan.”
“No.”
“You disappear.”
“No.”
Madeline leaned closer.
“You have until midnight.”
Rachel stared at her.
“What happens at midnight?”
Madeline smiled.
“Something unfortunate.”
The video froze.
Samuel replayed the final ten seconds.
There was another person in the doorway.
A man.
Half-hidden.
He wore a dark coat.
The face was impossible to see.
Samuel zoomed in.
Nora whispered:
“Adrian?”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“That coat…”
Samuel looked at him.
“What?”
“I've seen it before.”
“Where?”
Daniel pointed at the screen.
“On the traffic camera.”
The mysterious figure wasn't Adrian.
It was the person who had been waiting near Rachel's car.
That night, Avery woke again.
Samuel found her standing at the top of the stairs.
“Grandpa?”
“Yes?”
She pointed downstairs.
“Someone is there.”
Samuel listened.
Nothing.
Then the doorbell rang.
Three times.
Samuel picked up the monitor.
“Who is it?”
A man's face appeared on the screen.
Samuel knew him.
It was Elias Mercer.
He opened the door.
Elias stood there soaked from the rain.
“Samuel.”
“What happened?”
Elias looked toward Avery.
His face softened.
Then he whispered:
“I've been hiding because Jordan knows I helped Rachel.”
Samuel grabbed his arm.
“What did you help her do?”
Elias swallowed.
“Escape.”
“From where?”
“The crash site.”
Samuel stared.
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you disappear?”
Elias's voice cracked.
“Because Rachel wasn't the only person in the car.”
Silence.
Samuel looked at Avery.
“What are you saying?”
May you like
Elias looked at the little girl.
“Rachel wasn't alone that night.”
Related Stories
