Chapter 6 - THE PHOTOGRAPH FROM TOMORROWMichael couldn't breathe.
The photograph showed Rachel alive.
Standing outside a motel.
Beside him.
But the date was three years ago.
The day after her funeral.
Emily stared.
“That can't be you.”
“I know.”
Michael turned the photograph over.
A handwritten sentence covered the back.
He doesn't remember.
Emily looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Michael's mind raced.
His memories after Rachel's funeral were fragmented.
He had spent weeks in a private clinic after suffering a nervous breakdown.
Everyone told him he'd collapsed from grief.
Everyone except Victoria.
Victoria had been the one who handled everything.
Bills.
Household staff.
Insurance.
Even Rachel's belongings.
Michael suddenly remembered waking one morning with a headache so severe he couldn't stand.
Victoria told him he had fallen down the stairs.
He had never questioned it.
Now he did.
They reached the end of the tunnel.
A rusted door opened into an alley.
Michael called the family driver.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Emily stared at her phone.
“He's not picking up.”
Michael looked at the time.
2:18 a.m.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message.
From Thomas.
DON'T GO HOME.
Michael frowned.
Thomas had no reason to text.
Then another message appeared.
THE CHILDREN ARE NOT SAFE.
Michael's blood froze.
He immediately called the security team.
One man answered.
“Mr. Hayes?”
“Where are my children?”
Silence.
“Where are my children?”
The guard swallowed.
“There's a problem.”
Michael's voice became dangerous.
“What problem?”
“The children are gone.”
Emily covered her mouth.
“Who took them?”
“I don't know.”
Michael looked toward the street.
A black SUV drove past.
He recognized it instantly.
Langford Security.
The vehicle stopped.
Three men stepped out.
Michael grabbed Emily's arm.
“Run.”
They sprinted.
The men followed.
A car horn blasted.
Michael ducked behind a parked truck.
One man shouted:
“Bring the children back!”
Michael looked at Emily.
“The children?”
Another man answered:
“They're already at the house.”
Michael's heart sank.
They weren't being hunted.
They were being lured.
He called the police.
Before anyone answered, his phone rang.
Victoria.
Michael hesitated.
Then answered.
Her voice was calm.
“You found the tunnel.”
“Where are my children?”
“Safe.”
“If you touch them…”
“I didn't touch them.”
“Then who did?”
Victoria laughed softly.
“Your problem, Michael, is that you still think I'm the one controlling this.”
Michael went silent.
Victoria continued:
“Rachel trusted you with everything.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means she knew exactly what kind of man you were.”
Michael's jaw clenched.
“Tell me where the children are.”
“Come home.”
“Why?”
“Because Lucas has something you need.”
The call ended.
Michael stared at the dark screen.
Emily whispered:
“What does Lucas have?”
Michael didn't answer.
Because the thought had already entered his mind.
The thing Rachel gave Lucas wasn't just a key.
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It was something Victoria had been hunting for three years.
And now Lucas knew where it was.
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