Chapter 1: The Message Hidden Under His Sleeve
The restaurant remained frozen.
The sound of the broken plate still echoed across the marble floor.
Ethan Carter stood completely still, staring at the frightened boy in front of him.
The boy’s name was Noah.
At least, that was the name he finally whispered after several seconds of silence.
“I didn’t want you to find me,” Noah said quietly.
Ethan looked confused.
“Why? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Noah’s eyes moved around the restaurant.
Not toward the people.
Toward the windows.
Toward the entrance.
Like he was expecting someone to appear.
“They told me you would come looking,” Noah whispered.
Ethan’s mother stepped closer.
“Who told you that?”
Noah immediately stepped back.
Fear crossed his face.
A fear that was too deep for a child his age.
“I shouldn’t have talked to you.”
Before anyone could ask another question, Noah grabbed Ethan’s wrist.
Three weeks earlier, Ethan had only seen a stranger saving his life.
A boy who appeared from nowhere.
A boy who pushed him away from a speeding SUV and disappeared before anyone could even thank him.
But now Ethan realized something.
Noah wasn’t just homeless.
He was hiding.
And someone was searching for him.
“What does that writing mean?” Ethan asked softly.
Noah looked down at his arm.
The words were still burned into everyone’s memory.
BRING HIM BACK TONIGHT.
Noah swallowed.
“They wanted my brother.”
The entire restaurant became silent.
“My little brother saw something he wasn’t supposed to see,” Noah continued.
“He recorded it.”
Ethan’s mother frowned.
“Recorded what?”
Noah’s hands began shaking.
“The people who made me disappear.”
A waiter slowly moved closer.
“Should we call the police?”
But Noah immediately grabbed Ethan’s arm tighter.
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“Don’t call them.”
Everyone looked surprised.
“Why?”
Noah looked toward the restaurant door.
Because standing outside, across the street, was a black SUV.
The same kind of vehicle that almost hit Ethan three weeks earlier.
May you like
Noah’s face went pale.
“They found me.”
