Chapter 8 – The Lie About Charlie
Chapter 8 – The Lie About Charlie
Nathan stepped in front of Charlie without hesitation.
The little boy hid behind him, clutching the stuffed rabbit with trembling hands.
Ryan raised his service weapon.
"Police."
"Don't move."
The man at the top of the staircase smiled as if neither gun concerned him.
He slowly lifted both hands.
"Easy."
"I'm not here to fight."
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
"Then leave."
The stranger chuckled.
"I've spent six years searching for that boy."
"I'm not walking away now."
Charlie buried his face against Nathan's back.
"He's lying."
Nathan gently reached behind him.
"It's okay."
"I've got you."
The man took another step down the staircase.
"My name is Daniel Cross."
"I work for Marcus Kane."
Ryan's finger tightened on the trigger.
"So you admit it."
Daniel nodded.
"I do."
"But Marcus lied to me."
Nathan frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Daniel sighed.
"He told me Charlie was his son."
"He promised me a fortune if I brought the boy back."
Daniel looked directly at Charlie.
"Then I learned the truth."
Nathan remained silent.
"What truth?"
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"Marcus isn't Charlie's father."
"He never was."
Ryan exchanged a quick glance with Nathan.
The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to shift.
Daniel reached into his coat very slowly.
Nathan immediately aimed his pistol higher.
"Don't."
Daniel stopped.
"It's not a weapon."
"It's proof."
He carefully removed an old envelope.
Ryan stepped forward and took it before Daniel could move any closer.
Inside were several documents.
Hospital records.
Birth certificates.
DNA reports.
Ryan flipped through the pages.
His expression changed.
"Nathan..."
"You need to see this."
Nathan took the top document.
His eyes immediately found Charlie's name.
Then he saw the section labeled Father.
The space was blank.
Below it, in bold letters, another line stood out.
Identity Sealed by Court Order.
Nathan frowned.
"A sealed identity?"
Ryan nodded slowly.
"That only happens in extraordinary circumstances."
Daniel folded his arms.
"Marcus has been trying to uncover that name for years."
"He believes whoever Charlie's father is..."
"...controls something worth millions."
Charlie quietly tugged on Nathan's sleeve.
"Can I tell you something?"
Nathan knelt beside him.
"You can tell me anything."
Charlie glanced nervously toward Daniel.
"My mommy wasn't really my mommy."
Nathan looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
Charlie lowered his voice.
"She said she was only keeping me safe."
Nathan's heart skipped a beat.
"Did she tell you her name?"
Charlie nodded.
"Grace."
Nathan searched his memory.
The name meant nothing to him.
Ryan wrote it down.
"Grace."
"Anything else?"
Charlie closed his eyes.
"She always said..."
"'If Sarah doesn't come back, find Nathan Pierce.'"
Nathan looked at Ryan.
Sarah had known Charlie long before tonight.
Suddenly, Rosa called from upstairs.
"Nathan!"
"You need to see this!"
Nathan and Ryan rushed back into the study.
Rosa stood beside the grandfather clock.
"There was another compartment."
Nathan frowned.
"I thought we searched everything."
"So did I."
She pressed against the back wall.
A narrow drawer slowly slid open.
Inside rested a small velvet box.
Nathan carefully lifted it out.
The box was surprisingly heavy.
He opened it.
Inside lay three silver pendants.
One engraved A.
One engraved B.
One engraved C.
Nathan stared at them in disbelief.
"But Owen and Ethan already have these."
Ryan looked closer.
"No."
"Look carefully."
Nathan compared the pendants.
The ones in the velvet box were slightly larger.
Each one contained a tiny keyhole.
Charlie instinctively touched the pendant around his neck.
"It looks the same."
Nathan slowly removed the pendant from the box marked C.
A nearly invisible inscription circled the edge.
Three become one.
Ryan whispered, "They're connected."
Nathan turned the pendant over.
A small notch rested on one side.
He aligned it with the pendant Charlie was wearing.
The two pieces snapped together with a soft click.
A hidden compartment opened.
Folded tightly inside was a tiny strip of paper.
Nathan carefully unfolded it.
Only a single address appeared.
Saint Matthew's Church
Locker 19
Ryan looked at Nathan.
"We're finally getting somewhere."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"You're walking straight into Marcus's trap."
Nathan stared at him.
"What do you know?"
Daniel hesitated.
Then he answered.
"Marcus doesn't want Charlie."
"He wants whatever is hidden inside Locker 19."
Nathan folded the paper.
"Then we'll get there first."
Several miles away, inside an abandoned chapel, Sarah Carter slowly opened her eyes.
She lay on an old wooden pew.
An elderly priest adjusted the bandage around her side.
"You've lost too much blood."
Sarah struggled to sit upright.
"I have to leave."
The priest gently stopped her.
"You can barely stand."
Sarah looked toward the stained-glass window.
"My children need me."
The priest lowered his voice.
"They're alive."
Sarah looked at him in surprise.
"How do you know?"
He handed her a small battery-powered radio.
The local news station was reporting on the mysterious rescue of three children during the blizzard.
Sarah closed her eyes in relief.
"Thank God."
The priest reached beneath the altar.
He removed an old brass key attached to a leather cord.
"I've been waiting twenty years to give this to the right person."
Sarah stared at the key.
"What is it?"
"The second key."
Her heartbeat quickened.
"There are two?"
The priest nodded.
"Your father-in-law entrusted them to us."
Sarah's expression changed.
"He knew this day would come."
Before the priest could answer, the chapel doors suddenly burst open.
A masked man stepped inside holding a shotgun.
Snow swirled behind him.
His cold eyes locked onto Sarah.
"There you are."
The priest stepped in front of her.
"You'll have to go through me."
The stranger smiled.
"I was planning to."
He slowly raised the shotgun.
May you like
At that same moment, Nathan started his SUV and headed toward Saint Matthew's Church...
Completely unaware that Sarah was fighting for her life less than ten miles away.
