Chapter 11 - The Boy Behind the WallMatteo ordered every room searched.
Nothing.
No intruder.
No hidden microphone.
No child.
But the voice had come from inside the house.
The investigator checked the security system.
At 4:12 p.m., the cameras recorded a gap.
Twenty-three seconds.
Just enough time for someone to enter.
Or leave.
They replayed the hallway footage.
Nothing.
Then Liana noticed something.
The boy had spoken from the left wall.
She approached.
Tapped the wood.
Solid.
Again.
Different sound.
Hollow.
Matteo heard it too.
“Move the panel.”
His men removed the wall molding.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
Dust-covered.
Barely wide enough for a child.
Liana looked inside.
A small shoe print marked the floor.
Then another.
Fresh.
Her heart raced.
“He's here.”
Matteo grabbed a flashlight.
They entered.
The passage led behind the bedrooms.
At the end was another room.
No windows.
One chair.
One mattress.
A small table.
And drawings.
Dozens of them.
Children.
Houses.
Cars.
A woman holding babies.
Every drawing had the same three symbols.
Liana picked up a page.
The drawing showed two boys.
One had a crescent on his shoulder.
The other had three dots behind his ear.
“Samuel,” she whispered.
Matteo found a notebook.
Inside were dates.
December fourth.
December fifth.
January.
March.
June.
August.
The final entry was from three days ago.
HE STILL ASKS FOR HIS MOTHER.
Liana's knees weakened.
“He was alive.”
Matteo looked at her.
“Someone kept him here.”
Then footsteps sounded.
Slow.
Barefoot.
A little boy stepped from behind the doorway.
He was perhaps six years old.
Thin.
Pale.
His hair was dark.
His eyes were enormous.
He stared at Liana.
No one moved.
Then he whispered,
“Are you Liana?”
She couldn't speak.
“How do you know my name?”
The boy looked at Matteo.
“They told me.”
“Who?”
The boy's eyes filled with fear.
“The doctor.”
“Dr. Bell?”
He nodded.
“Where is he?”
The boy backed away.
“He said you would come.”
“Where is he?”
“He went to get my brother.”
Liana's blood froze.
“Nico?”
The boy nodded.
“He said the baby belongs to him.”
Matteo stepped forward.
“What's your name?”
The boy whispered,
“Samuel.”
Matteo's face collapsed.
He crouched down.
“Who is your mother?”
Samuel looked at Liana.
“You.”
Liana began crying.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“That can't be.”
Samuel pulled a tiny photograph from his pocket.
He gave it to her.
Liana looked.
It was her.
Nine months earlier.
Pregnant.
Standing outside St. Vincent Hospital.
Someone had photographed her without her knowledge.
On the back was a date.
December third.
Samuel whispered,
“They said you had two babies.”
Liana looked at Matteo.
“I only gave birth to Gabriel.”
Samuel shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed at the photograph.
“You had two.”
The investigator stepped forward.
“That means the medical records were wrong.”
Samuel nodded.
“Then what happened?”
The boy looked terrified.
“They took one before you woke up.”
Liana felt the air leave her lungs.
“Who?”
Samuel whispered one sentence.
“The woman who was supposed to be your nurse.”
A voice suddenly came from the corridor.
“Samuel.”
The boy screamed.
Matteo pulled Liana behind him.
A shadow appeared at the end of the passage.
Dr. Adrian Bell stepped into view.
He smiled.
“You really shouldn't have found this room.”
Matteo raised his gun.
Bell lifted his hands.
“Don't shoot.”
“Where is my son?”
Bell smiled.
May you like
“Which one?”
Then the lights went out.
