Chapter 2 - MaraMara knew something was wrong before Lucas came through the front door.
She was standing in the kitchen when she heard footsteps outside.
Too fast.
Then the door opened.
Lucas rushed inside.
“Mom?”
Mara turned.
Her smile disappeared.
Behind him stood a man she had spent twenty years trying to forget.
Evan Reed.
Older.
Broader.
A thin scar crossed his left eyebrow.
But his eyes were the same.
The same eyes that had watched her beneath summer stars.
The same eyes that had once made her believe she was safe.
Mara dropped the glass in her hand.
It shattered.
Evan didn't move.
Neither did she.
Then Lucas said the one sentence Mara had prayed she would never hear.
“Mom, he knows the ball.”
Mara’s face went white.
“Lucas.”
The boy looked confused.
“What?”
Mara walked toward him.
Slowly.
“You brought him here?”
“He said you know him.”
Evan stepped forward.
“Mara.”
She lifted a trembling hand.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
“You disappeared.”
“So did you.”
“I searched for you.”
“You stopped.”
“I never stopped.”
Her laugh was bitter.
“Twenty years, Evan.”
“I thought you left me.”
“I thought you abandoned me.”
“I came back.”
“After three days.”
Evan's expression tightened.
“I came back because I realized I was wrong.”
Mara looked away.
“Too late.”
Lucas looked between them.
“Are you my dad?”
Neither answered.
That silence was answer enough.
The boy’s expression changed.
His eyes filled with tears.
Evan knelt.
“Lucas…”
“Are you?”
Evan swallowed.
“I think I am.”
Lucas stared.
Then he looked at his mother.
“You lied to me?”
Mara's eyes filled.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
She didn't answer.
A sharp knock sounded at the door.
Everyone froze.
Another knock.
Harder.
Evan instinctively moved Lucas behind him.
Mara whispered:
“They found us.”
Evan looked at her.
“Who?”
She stared at the door.
“The men who made me disappear.”
The knock came again.
“Mrs. Bennett?”
A man's voice.
Calm.
Professional.
“Open the door.”
Evan moved toward the window.
“No police?”
Mara shook her head.
“They aren't police.”
Evan looked through the curtains.
Two men stood outside.
Dark coats.
No badges.
One carried a thin black folder.
The other kept his hand near his waistband.
Lucas whispered:
“Mom…”
Mara grabbed his hand.
“We're leaving.”
Evan looked at the hallway.
“Back door?”
“Kitchen.”
They moved.
Three steps.
Then the front door exploded inward.
Lucas screamed.
Evan grabbed him and pulled him behind the counter.
Mara ran.
A gunshot cracked.
The kitchen window shattered.
Glass rained down.
Mara screamed.
Evan tackled her to the floor.
Another shot struck the refrigerator.
Then silence.
Footsteps entered the house.
“Find them.”
Evan stared at Mara.
She whispered:
“Basement.”
They ran.
The basement was dark and cold.
Lucas was shaking.
Evan held a finger to his lips.
Above them, boots crossed the floor.
A cabinet slammed.
Someone shouted.
“They have the boy!”
Evan's eyes hardened.
He turned to Mara.
“You knew this would happen.”
“I knew it might.”
“Who are they?”
She stared at the darkness.
“The Helix Group.”
Evan froze.
That name meant nothing to him.
Mara reached inside her jacket.
Pulled out a tiny silver key.
“I took something from them twenty years ago.”
“What?”
“A file.”
“A file about what?”
She looked at Lucas.
“About you.”
Evan’s chest tightened.
“What do you mean?”
Mara whispered:
“They weren't trying to find me.”
A floorboard creaked overhead.
She closed her fist around the key.
“They were trying to find our son.”
The basement door handle slowly turned.
Lucas covered his mouth.
Evan stepped forward.
The door opened.
A man's face appeared.
He smiled.
May you like
“Found them.”
Then the lights went out.
