Chapter 15 – The Brother Hidden in the Shadows
Chapter 15 – The Brother Hidden in the Shadows
The recording ended.
Silence settled over the underground office.
Nathan stood frozen beside the desk.
His mother's voice echoed in his mind.
You were never our only son.
He slowly looked around the room.
"There has to be more."
Ryan nodded.
"Your parents didn't leave a message like that without leaving answers."
Nathan clenched his fists.
"They kept this from me my entire life."
Emily placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"They may have believed they were protecting you."
Nathan gave a bitter smile.
"That's what everyone keeps saying."
Charlie quietly stepped closer.
"My mommy used to say..."
"...grown-ups hide things because they're scared."
Nathan looked at the little boy.
"For once..."
"...I think she was right."
Ryan began searching every drawer in the office.
Most contained old financial records.
Fishing permits.
Insurance papers.
Nothing unusual.
Then he noticed one drawer that refused to open.
"It's locked."
Nathan examined the desk carefully.
"No keyhole."
Emily ran her fingers beneath the edge of the drawer.
"There."
She pressed a tiny brass button.
A soft click echoed through the room.
The drawer slid open.
Inside rested a small wooden box.
Nathan carefully lifted it out.
His father's initials were carved into the lid.
He slowly opened it.
Inside lay two items.
A faded photograph.
And a cassette tape.
Ryan picked up the photograph first.
It showed John Pierce standing beside two boys.
Nathan recognized himself immediately.
He couldn't have been older than six.
The second boy looked about the same age.
Dark blond hair.
Green eyes.
The same impossible shade as Lily's.
Nathan stared at the unfamiliar child.
"My brother."
Ryan turned the picture over.
Written across the back were seven words.
Nathan and Noah. Summer of 1996.
Nathan whispered the name.
"Noah."
It felt strangely familiar.
As though he had heard it long ago in a dream.
Emily held up the cassette tape.
"Do you still have anything that can play this?"
Nathan looked around the office.
An old tape recorder sat on a nearby bookshelf.
Covered in dust.
He plugged it into the wall.
To everyone's surprise...
It still worked.
Nathan inserted the tape.
He pressed Play.
Static filled the room.
Then John's voice emerged.
Older.
Tired.
"If you're listening to this..."
"...then Noah is still missing."
Nathan's knees weakened.
Ryan silently recorded every word on his phone.
John continued.
"Marcus never wanted my money."
"He never wanted my company."
"He wanted Noah."
Nathan looked at Ryan.
Everything they had believed was changing again.
John's voice grew heavier.
"When Noah disappeared..."
"...I made the hardest decision of my life."
"I erased him."
Nathan frowned.
"Erased him?"
The recording continued.
"I destroyed photographs."
"I changed records."
"I told everyone I had only one child."
Nathan couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"My own father erased his son."
Emily looked down.
"He must have had a reason."
The tape crackled again.
John took a deep breath.
"If Marcus ever learns Noah survived..."
"...he'll stop hunting Lily."
Nathan frowned.
Ryan slowly understood first.
"Because Noah is the real target."
Nathan looked at him.
Ryan nodded.
"Marcus followed Lily because he couldn't find Noah."
Charlie quietly spoke.
"So Lily was protecting him."
Nathan looked toward the little girl.
She had unknowingly carried the weight of someone else's secret.
Suddenly, Lily walked toward the wall of maps.
She stared at one particular map.
Then she pointed.
"I've seen this."
Nathan joined her.
"Where?"
"In Mommy's bedroom."
Ryan examined the map.
A small red circle marked a remote location deep in the Cascade Mountains.
Beside it were handwritten words.
Camp Alder.
Nathan frowned.
"I've never heard of it."
Charlie suddenly gasped.
"I have."
Everyone turned toward him.
"Sarah took me there once."
Nathan's heartbeat quickened.
"What did you see?"
Charlie thought for a moment.
"A cabin."
"A lake."
"And..."
He hesitated.
Nathan knelt beside him.
"And what?"
Charlie swallowed.
"A man."
Nathan held his breath.
"What man?"
"He had green eyes."
"He called Sarah..."
"...'little sister.'"
The room fell silent.
Ryan stared at Charlie.
"Little sister?"
Charlie nodded.
"That's what he said."
Nathan's pulse pounded.
"You're sure?"
Charlie nodded again.
"He hugged her."
"She cried."
Nathan slowly stood.
His mind raced.
If Charlie's memory was accurate...
There was only one explanation.
"Noah."
At that exact moment...
A detective hurried down the hidden staircase.
His face was pale.
"Captain Collins!"
Ryan turned immediately.
"What happened?"
"We just received a report from state police."
Ryan stepped forward.
"Go on."
"A cabin at Camp Alder burned to the ground early this morning."
Nathan felt his stomach tighten.
"Was anyone inside?"
The detective nodded slowly.
"One body."
Nathan closed his eyes.
"No."
The detective looked down at his notes.
"The victim hasn't been identified."
Ryan immediately asked,
"Any witnesses?"
The detective nodded.
"One."
Nathan looked up.
"Who?"
"A woman."
"She said she escaped before the fire spread."
Nathan's voice became barely audible.
"Did she give her name?"
The detective hesitated.
Then he answered.
"Sarah Carter."
Nathan exhaled in relief.
"She's alive."
The detective continued.
"But before paramedics could question her..."
"...she disappeared."
Ryan frowned.
"Disappeared?"
The detective nodded.
"She left one message."
Nathan stepped closer.
"What message?"
The detective handed him a folded piece of paper.
Nathan unfolded it.
The note contained only one sentence in Sarah's unmistakable handwriting.
Don't come looking for me.
Find Noah before Marcus does.
Nathan slowly lowered the note.
Ryan looked at him.
"What are you thinking?"
Nathan stared toward the snow-covered mountains beyond the boathouse windows.
For the first time in years...
He finally had a direction.
"I'm going to Camp Alder."
Before anyone could respond, every light inside the underground office suddenly went out.
A powerful explosion rocked the entire boathouse.
The ceiling shook violently.
Wood splintered overhead.
Charlie screamed.
Lily grabbed Nathan's hand.
Ryan drew his weapon.
Smoke poured down the staircase.
A distorted voice boomed through hidden speakers.
"Time's up, Doctor."
Marcus Kane laughed.
"You've been chasing ghosts."
"Now..."
"...I'm coming for your family."
The staircase collapsed with a deafening crash.
The only exit disappeared beneath burning timber.
Nathan looked around the underground office.
They were trapped.
May you like
And somewhere above them...
Marcus was waiting.
