Chapter 5 - SARAH'S LIEThe hidden door opened.
Sarah stood outside.
She was soaked from the rain.
Her yellow coat was torn at the shoulder.
There was blood along her temple.
Leo stared at her.
“You followed us.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No. I followed Marcus.”
Marcus kept his gun trained on her.
“Put it away.”
“Tell me where you got the key.”
Sarah looked at Leo.
“Your caseworker has been looking for this house for three years.”
Marcus sneered.
“Caseworker?”
Sarah didn't answer.
She stepped toward Leo.
“I'm sorry.”
Leo frowned.
“For what?”
“For not stopping him in the parking lot.”
Leo looked at his injured fingers.
Sarah's expression hardened.
“I saw what happened.”
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
Marcus laughed.
“You suspected nothing.”
Sarah ignored him.
“Leo, I need you to trust me.”
He took a step back.
“What about Mia?”
Sarah looked at the little girl.
“We get her out first.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
Sarah stared at him.
“You're out of time.”
Marcus raised the gun.
Sarah did not move.
“You won't shoot me.”
“Want to test that?”
“Go ahead.”
The room became silent.
Then Sarah said something that made Marcus lower the gun.
“I know about Blackridge.”
Marcus went completely still.
Leo saw it.
So did Mia.
Sarah continued.
“I know about the children.”
Marcus's voice turned quiet.
“You have no idea.”
“I know enough.”
Sarah pulled a flash drive from her pocket.
“I found records.”
Marcus stared at it.
“Where?”
“Your office.”
“You broke into my office?”
“I had help.”
Marcus looked at Leo.
“Who?”
Sarah said:
“Your wife.”
Leo frowned.
“Mom?”
Sarah looked down.
“That word is complicated.”
Mia whispered:
“Is Mommy alive?”
Sarah closed her eyes.
Marcus turned away.
Leo felt a terrible certainty forming inside him.
“She is,” Sarah said.
Leo's world shifted.
“My mother is alive?”
Marcus said nothing.
Sarah continued.
“She has been alive this entire time.”
Leo looked at Marcus.
“You lied.”
Marcus rubbed his face.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“From her.”
Sarah shook her head.
“No.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Don't.”
“Your mother was protecting you.”
He stepped closer.
“You don't know anything.”
“I know she left because she discovered what Blackridge was doing.”
Leo heard the word again.
Blackridge.
A strange memory flickered.
White walls.
A bright light.
A woman singing softly.
A number written on a door.
Seven.
Mia suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Leo.”
He turned.
She whispered:
“I remember.”
“What?”
“The basement.”
Leo stared at her.
“What about it?”
Mia pointed beneath the mattress.
“There isn't one basement.”
Sarah looked sharply toward the floor.
“What did she say?”
Leo repeated it.
Sarah's face went pale.
“There's another level.”
Marcus cursed.
Then the house shook.
A gunshot exploded upstairs.
Everyone ducked.
Someone shouted:
“SEARCH THE BASEMENT!”
Sarah grabbed Leo.
“Move!”
Marcus grabbed Mia.
They ran toward the stairs.
But before Leo reached them, the lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the basement.
Then a voice came over the hidden room's speaker.
Cold.
Calm.
Unmistakably close.
“Hello, Leo.”
The boy froze.
“You remember me?”
Sarah whispered:
“Don't answer.”
The voice continued.
“Because I remember you.”
A second voice followed.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Broken.
“Leo...”
Leo's knees almost gave way.
He knew that voice.
He had heard it in his dreams.
His mother.
Then the speaker crackled.
May you like
And the woman whispered:
“Don't trust Sarah.”
