Chapter 20 - The Last KnockSix months later, the country was still dealing with the fallout.
The Morrow network had collapsed.
Hundreds were arrested.
Dozens disappeared.
Companies were seized.
The archive became evidence in thousands of cases.
Richard survived.
He received a reduced sentence for cooperating with investigators.
Daniel spent weeks in custody before charges were dropped after it was proven he had been working undercover against Thomas for years.
Claire rebuilt her life.
Sarah received treatment and finally began reconnecting with Ethan.
Adam started school.
For the first time, he had a bedroom.
A real one.
A window.
Books.
A desk.
A basketball hoop outside.
Things that sounded ordinary.
Things he had never been allowed to have.
Ethan sometimes stood in the hallway at night and listened.
No footsteps.
No alarms.
No whispered voices.
Just silence.
Normal silence.
Then, one night, Ethan woke.
Three taps came from his bedroom door.
He froze.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
He opened the door.
Claire stood there.
“Mom?”
She smiled.
“I love you.”
Ethan laughed nervously.
“I know.”
Claire hugged him.
Everything seemed normal.
Until Ethan noticed something on the floor.
An envelope.
White.
No stamp.
No name.
He picked it up.
His hands trembled.
Inside was a photograph.
Thomas Parker.
Standing beside a woman.
The woman was smiling.
Ethan had never seen her before.
On the back was a date.
TOMORROW.
Beneath it were three words.
HE WASN'T ALONE.
Ethan ran downstairs.
Daniel was already awake.
He saw the photograph.
His face went pale.
“Where did you get that?”
“It was outside my room.”
Sarah came into the kitchen.
“What happened?”
Daniel looked at her.
Then at Claire.
“We have to leave.”
Claire shook her head.
“Not again.”
Daniel pointed at the photograph.
“That woman is Helena Vale.”
Ethan frowned.
“Who?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Arthur Vale's daughter.”
“The woman who died?”
“No.”
He placed the photograph on the table.
“She was the real founder of the organization.”
Silence.
Ethan looked at the date again.
Tomorrow.
“What does she want?”
Daniel didn't answer.
His phone rang.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
“Hello, Ethan.”
Ethan recognized it.
Thomas.
Alive.
The voice continued:
“You thought the funeral was the beginning.”
A pause.
“It was the invitation.”
The call ended.
Everyone stood frozen.
Then Ethan heard something behind him.
Three knocks.
From the front door.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The family stared at one another.
Nobody moved.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Ethan slowly walked toward the door.
He reached for the handle.
His mother's hand stopped him.
“Don't.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Why?”
Claire stared at the door.
Because she knew that code better than anyone.
Three taps had once meant:
I love you.
Then:
I'm alive.
Then:
Run.
But now, after everything they had discovered, Claire finally understood the fourth meaning.
She whispered:
“They're here.”
The door unlocked by itself.
Slowly.
A woman's voice came from outside.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Hello, Ethan.”
The door opened.
Ethan saw a woman standing beneath the porch light.
She smiled.
And behind her were twelve black cars.
She looked at Ethan and said the one sentence that made him realize the entire nightmare had only been the first chapter of something much larger.
“Your family didn't survive the Morrow empire.”
May you like
She stepped forward.
“Your family created it.”
