Chapter 2 - Arthur held his son so tightly that Ethan could barely breathe.“You're here,” he whispered. “You're really here.”
The boy buried his face against his father's chest.
“I knew you'd come.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
For three weeks, he had been told his son was dead.
Three weeks of funerals.
Three weeks of condolences.
Three weeks of staring at an empty bedroom.
He had watched a coffin lowered into the ground.
He had signed death certificates.
He had cried until he thought there was nothing left inside him.
And now his son was alive.
Standing in front of him.
Shivering.
Arthur looked at Isabella.
“What did you do?”
She immediately stepped backward.
“Arthur, calm down.”
“Don't tell me to calm down.”
Guests had begun gathering in the corridor.
Arthur's voice shook the walls.
“My son disappeared three weeks ago.”
Isabella raised both hands.
“You know what happened.”
“No.”
His voice became colder.
“I know what you told me happened.”
Isabella swallowed.
“The police found a body.”
“A body you identified as Ethan.”
“Yes.”
“Without me seeing it.”
“You were grieving.”
“You chose the funeral.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
Arthur laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“You were trying to protect yourself.”
Ethan clung to his father.
“He put me there because I heard them talking.”
Arthur froze.
“Who?”
Ethan looked toward Isabella.
“She and Mr. Cole.”
Isabella's eyes widened.
“Ethan is confused.”
Arthur turned toward security.
“Lock every exit.”
Several guards moved immediately.
“No one leaves.”
Isabella stared at him.
“You can't treat me like a criminal in my own home.”
Arthur stepped closer.
“My home.”
The words landed hard.
“You've been using my money,” he continued. “My accounts. My name.”
“That isn't fair.”
“My son was buried.”
Isabella's voice broke.
“I thought he was dead!”
Arthur's expression darkened.
“You helped me believe it.”
Before Isabella could answer, the waitress stepped forward.
“He was inside the wall.”
Arthur looked at her.
“How long?”
“I don't know.”
The boy whispered.
“I heard her say nobody would check because Daddy thought I was gone.”
Arthur's jaw tightened.
The room became painfully quiet.
Then Ethan suddenly grabbed his father's sleeve.
“Daddy…”
“What?”
“There was another boy.”
Everyone stopped.
Arthur stared at him.
“What did you say?”
Ethan pointed toward the wall.
“Another boy?”
“He was crying too.”
Isabella shook her head.
“That's impossible.”
The waitress looked at the cavity.
“What other boy?”
Ethan's voice became smaller.
“He was behind the room.”
Arthur turned toward the security team.
“Open every wall in this house.”
Isabella stepped forward.
“No.”
Arthur looked at her.
“No?”
“That wall is part of the original structure. You could damage the house.”
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
“You're worried about the wall?”
Isabella said nothing.
Arthur walked toward it.
“Break it.”
A guard brought a crowbar.
The guests backed away.
The first strike cracked the panel.
The second opened the plaster.
Then something metallic fell from inside.
Clang.
Everyone stared.
A small silver bracelet lay on the floor.
Arthur bent down and picked it up.
Engraved across the bracelet were two words:
EMILY VALE.
Arthur's face changed.
Isabella whispered,
“No…”
He looked at her.
“You told me Ethan was my only child.”
She took another step backward.
Arthur's voice dropped.
“Who is Emily?”
Isabella couldn't answer.
And from somewhere deep inside the wall came one faint sound.
Tap.
May you like
Tap.
Tap.
Related Stories
