Chapter 3 - THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHMarcus shoved the photograph into his jacket.
Leo could not stop staring at him.
“Who is she?”
Marcus started the car.
“Forget it.”
“Is that my sister?”
“No.”
“Who is she?”
Marcus slammed his hand against the dashboard.
“I said forget it!”
The sedan pulled onto the highway.
Leo's injured fingers throbbed with every bump.
He tried not to cry.
Marcus turned onto a narrow country road.
They drove past abandoned warehouses, dark fields, and rows of trees twisted by wind.
Leo knew this road.
He had seen it once before.
From the basement window.
Except Marcus had told him they were nowhere near their house.
Leo looked ahead.
“You're taking me home.”
Marcus did not answer.
“You're taking me to the house.”
Still nothing.
Leo lowered his voice.
“Mia is there.”
Marcus finally spoke.
“She might be.”
Leo stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Marcus's grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“It means we have a problem.”
The house appeared between the trees.
No porch light.
No kitchen light.
No upstairs windows glowing.
Nothing.
It looked abandoned.
Marcus stopped fifty yards from the driveway.
He turned off the engine.
“Stay inside.”
Leo watched him walk toward the house.
Marcus unlocked the front door.
He disappeared.
Leo waited.
One minute.
Two.
Then a scream came from inside.
A little girl's scream.
“MARCUS!”
Leo threw open the car door.
He ran.
“Leo!” Marcus shouted.
The front door slammed shut.
Leo reached it.
Locked.
He pounded.
“Mia!”
Silence.
Then footsteps behind him.
Marcus.
His face was covered in blood.
Leo screamed and stumbled backward.
“Where's Mia?”
Marcus stared at him.
“She's gone.”
“No!”
Leo grabbed Marcus's jacket.
“You promised!”
Marcus pushed him away.
“She was taken.”
“By who?”
Marcus looked toward the woods.
“The people who are after you.”
Leo shook his head.
“I don't understand.”
“You don't need to.”
Then Leo saw something on the floor.
A tiny pink bracelet.
Mia's bracelet.
He snatched it up.
“No.”
Marcus looked away.
Leo started crying.
“You said she was safe.”
Marcus crouched.
His expression changed.
“Listen to me.”
Leo backed away.
“If you want your sister back, you have to do exactly what I say.”
“What?”
“You're going to tell Sarah you lied.”
Leo's tears stopped.
“What?”
“You're going to tell her the basement message was nothing.”
“Why?”
“Because Sarah has already started digging.”
Leo stared at him.
“You're scared of her.”
Marcus smiled.
“No.”
“You are.”
Marcus grabbed his jaw.
“I'm scared of what happens if she finds what's underneath the basement.”
Leo looked toward the house.
“What’s underneath it?”
Marcus froze.
Leo realized he had said too much.
A car door slammed somewhere behind them.
Both men turned.
No vehicle.
Only darkness.
Then a phone rang.
Marcus checked his pocket.
His face drained of color.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke through the speaker.
“Bring the boy to the old mill.”
Marcus swallowed.
“And the girl?”
A pause.
“You'll get Mia when Leo remembers.”
Leo felt cold all over.
“Remembers what?”
The caller laughed.
“Exactly.”
The phone went dead.
Marcus stared into the darkness.
Then he whispered:
“Get in the car.”
Leo did not move.
“I'm not going anywhere without Mia.”
Marcus looked at him.
For the first time, there was fear in his eyes.
“Leo...”
“What?”
“I don't think Mia was the one they came for.”
A sound came from the basement window.
Three taps.
Leo stared.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
His heart stopped.
He knew that pattern.
Mia used it when they were hiding together.
Leo ran toward the basement.
Marcus shouted.
“DON'T!”
May you like
But Leo had already found the door.
And it was unlocked.
