Chapter 2 - THE ROOM BELOW THE HOUSE
Noah shoved the letter into his pocket.
“Hide.”
Lily stared at him.
“Where?”
The passage offered almost nothing.
Concrete walls.
Steel door.
Stairs.
Then Noah noticed a recessed space beneath the staircase.
He pulled Lily into it and crouched behind several rusted pipes.
“Don’t make a sound.”
Footsteps came closer.
Vanessa reached the bottom.
Noah could see her shoes through the gaps between the pipes.
She wasn’t alone.
Another pair appeared beside hers.
Black leather.
A man.
“Where are they?” the man asked.
Noah recognized the voice.
Dr. Mercer.
The family doctor.
Vanessa sounded furious.
“They came down here.”
“Did they open the door?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“I would know.”
Mercer exhaled.
“This is exactly what I warned Richard about.”
Noah’s stomach tightened.
Richard.
His father.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“You think I wanted this?”
“You wanted the house.”
“I wanted what was promised.”
“And now two children know Evelyn survived.”
Lily’s fingers dug into Noah’s arm.
Evelyn.
Their mother.
Noah covered Lily’s mouth before she could gasp.
Mercer continued.
“If Richard finds out—”
“He already knows.”
Silence.
Noah almost forgot to breathe.
Mercer spoke again.
“What did you say?”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“Stop pretending Richard is some grieving widower you’re protecting.”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
“He knows she survived the fire.”
“Not everything.”
“He knows enough.”
Noah felt something inside him break.
For years he had defended his father.
When Lily cried because Richard missed another birthday, Noah told her Dad was working.
When Richard stopped answering calls, Noah said he was grieving.
When Vanessa moved into their mother’s bedroom, Noah convinced himself his father was simply trying to survive.
But their mother’s letter had said not to trust him.
Now Vanessa was saying he knew.
Noah wanted to burst from hiding and demand answers.
Instead, he stayed still.
Because Lily needed him alive.
Mercer unlocked the steel door.
A green light flashed.
Electronic lock.
The door opened.
Noah heard a mechanical hum from inside.
Then Mercer said something that made every hair on Noah’s arms rise.
“Evelyn?”
No answer.
“Your children are here.”
A chain rattled.
Lily began crying silently.
Vanessa whispered, “Don’t play games.”
Then a woman spoke.
Weak.
Hoarse.
But unmistakable.
“Where are they?”
Noah closed his eyes.
He hadn’t heard that voice in three years.
He remembered bedtime stories.
Birthday songs.
Her shouting his name from the garden when dinner was ready.
His mother.
Alive.
“Where are my children?” Evelyn demanded.
Mercer said, “Safe.”
“You’re lying.”
Vanessa entered the room.
“We don’t have time for this.”
Evelyn laughed.
It was a broken sound.
“You’re scared.”
“I’m not scared of you.”
“No.”
Evelyn paused.
“You’re scared of Noah.”
Vanessa slammed something against the wall.
Lily flinched.
“You wrote to them,” Vanessa snapped.
“Yes.”
“How?”
No response.
“How did you get those letters upstairs?”
Evelyn laughed again.
“You’ve lived in my house for three years and still don’t understand it.”
Vanessa went silent.
Then Evelyn said, “The walls belong to the children.”
Noah looked at Lily.
Lily’s eyes widened.
The knocking.
Their mother hadn’t been randomly making noise.
She had been communicating.
Mercer stepped out.
“We need to find them before Richard gets back.”
“When is he coming?”
“Tonight.”
Noah’s heart jumped.
His father was coming home.
Vanessa cursed.
“He wasn’t supposed to return until Thursday.”
“Plans changed.”
“Why?”
Mercer hesitated.
“Someone accessed the trust.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You told me the accounts were sealed.”
“They were.”
“So who accessed them?”
Mercer lowered his voice.
“Someone using Evelyn Whitmore’s credentials.”
Silence filled the corridor.
Noah’s mind raced.
His mother was imprisoned.
She couldn’t access anything.
Unless someone else was helping her.
Mercer and Vanessa went upstairs.
Noah waited until their footsteps disappeared.
Then he counted to thirty.
He crawled from beneath the stairs.
Lily rushed to the steel door.
“Mom!”
“Lily?”
Evelyn’s voice cracked.
“Mommy!”
Lily pressed both hands against the door.
Noah looked through the small window.
The room was dim.
A hospital bed stood against one wall.
Medical equipment surrounded it.
And sitting on the edge of the bed was a woman Noah almost didn’t recognize.
Her hair had been cut short.
Her face was thin.
A scar ran along the side of her neck.
One wrist was secured to the bed frame.
But her eyes were the same.
Green.
Like Lily’s.
Like his.
“Noah.”
His mother stood.
He pressed his palm against the glass.
“Mom.”
Evelyn touched the other side.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Then Noah remembered the letter.
“Why can’t I trust Dad?”
Evelyn’s face changed.
“Noah, listen to me.”
“Did he know you were alive?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Yes.”
The answer hit harder than he expected.
Lily began sobbing.
Noah clenched his jaw.
“Why?”
“Because the fire wasn’t an accident.”
Noah stared at her.
May you like
Evelyn moved closer to the glass.
“Your father helped start it.”
