Chương 6
For the first time in years, Ethan felt connected to Daniel again.
Not through memories.
Through purpose.
Victor turned toward the door.
“This is over.”
Ethan watched him.
“Where are you going?”
Victor stopped.
“I have nothing left to discuss.”
“You broke into my house.”
Victor glanced back.
“And you have something that belongs to me.”
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
He held up the box.
“This belongs to Daniel.”
Victor’s face darkened.
“You have no idea what is inside.”
“Then why are you so scared?”
That question stayed in the air.
Victor did not answer.
Instead, he walked toward the exit.
Ethan expected him to leave.
But before reaching the door, Victor stopped.
“You should ask yourself why Daniel chose to contact you now.”
Ethan watched him carefully.
“What does that mean?”
Victor looked over his shoulder.
“It means he needs something from you.”
Then he walked away.
The sound of the door closing echoed through the house.
Nobody moved for several seconds.
Ethan listened to the fading footsteps outside.
He knew Victor was not finished.
People like him did not simply walk away.
But right now, there was something more important.
Daniel.
Margaret slowly sat down.
Her strength seemed to disappear all at once.
“I thought I would never see him again.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Why didn’t you tell me he was alive?”
She looked down.
“Because I did not know where he was.”
“But you knew he was alive.”
Margaret nodded.
“Daniel found a way to contact me once.”
“When?”
“Almost a year ago.”
Ethan felt hurt all over again.
“You talked to him?”
“Only once.”
“What did he say?”
Margaret’s eyes filled with tears.
“He said he was sorry.”
Ethan looked away.
“Sorry for what?”
“For leaving you.”
The words hit him harder than he expected.
For years, Ethan had imagined Daniel forgetting about him.
Moving on.
Choosing a different life.
But maybe Daniel had been fighting to survive.
“He asked about you,” Margaret continued.
“He wanted to know if you were okay.”
Ethan swallowed.
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him you were angry.”
She paused.
“And that you missed him.”
Ethan looked at the floor.
He hated that part of him still wanted to believe Daniel would come home.
Even after all these years.
Even after everything.
The child slowly approached him.
Ethan looked down.
The child held out a small folded piece of paper.
He carefully took it.
“Where did you get this?”
The child pointed toward the backpack.
Ethan unfolded it.
The handwriting was familiar.
Daniel’s handwriting.
His heart stopped.
The note was short.
But the first line was enough.
Ethan.
If you found this, then I know I made the right choice trusting you.
Ethan continued reading.
I need you to know that I never left because I wanted to.
I left because someone had to keep the truth hidden until it was safe.
Ethan’s hands trembled.
The next line made his breath catch.
Mom was never the enemy.
She was scared.
She made mistakes, but she was trying to protect someone who had no one else.
Ethan looked at Margaret.
She covered her face with her hands.
Daniel had understood her.
Even when Ethan could not.
The note continued.
The box contains everything needed to expose Victor.
But there is one thing you need to know.
Do not trust the location in this message.
Ethan stopped.
His eyes moved back to the phone.
The location Daniel sent.
A cold feeling spread through him.
The final words on the paper were written harder, as if Daniel had rushed.
Victor knows I am alive.
If he sends you somewhere, he wants you there.
The room became silent again.
Ethan slowly lowered the note.
The message was not from Daniel asking him to walk into a trap.
It was something else.
A test.
A warning.
A way to find out who he could trust.
Margaret looked at him.
“What does it say?”
Ethan handed her the paper.
She read it quickly.
Her face changed.
“Then who sent the message?”
Ethan looked at the phone.
That was the question.
A message claiming Daniel was alive had appeared.
But Daniel had warned him not to trust the location.
Someone wanted Ethan to move.
Someone wanted him away from the house.
Someone wanted the box.
A sound came from outside.
A car engine starting.
Ethan looked through the window.
Victor’s vehicle was still parked at the end of the driveway.
But Victor was not inside.
He was standing beside another car across the street.
Watching.
Ethan’s stomach tightened.
Victor had not left.
He had been waiting.
Margaret saw him too.
“He knows.”
Ethan nodded.
The child stepped closer.
Ethan placed himself between them and the window.
He understood something now.
The box was not just evidence.
It was leverage.
And whoever controlled it controlled the truth.
He looked at the flash drive inside the box.
Then at the phone.
Then at the person outside who had spent years trying to bury everything.
For the first time that day, Ethan knew exactly what he had to do.
He would find Daniel.
He would protect the child.
And he would finally uncover what his family had been forced to hide.
He would finally uncover what his family had been forced to hide.
Ethan waited until the house became quiet again.
The vehicle across the street remained still, its dark windows reflecting the afternoon sunlight.
Victor was waiting for a reaction.
He wanted them to panic.
He wanted them to make the first mistake.
Ethan looked at Margaret.
“We are not going to the location.”
She nodded slowly.
“I knew Daniel was smarter than that.”
Ethan picked up the flash drive from the box.
“But we still need to know where he is.”
Margaret looked toward the child.
The fear in her eyes returned.
“If Daniel is alive, then he is probably still running.”
Ethan looked at the small figure sitting quietly on the couch.
May you like
“No.”
Margaret looked at him.
