Chapter 13 - THE BOY WHO REMEMBERED THE TRUTH
Noah woke in a moving car.
He was not crying.
Daniel sat beside him.
The boy looked out the window.
“Where are we going?”
Daniel stared.
“You know?”
“No.”
Daniel smiled.
“You're very smart.”
Noah looked at him.
“Mommy says smart people don't take things that aren't theirs.”
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“You remember your mother.”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember me?”
Noah looked at him.
“You were in the car.”
Daniel froze.
“What car?”
“The car that made Daddy fall.”
Daniel stared at the boy.
Noah continued looking out the window.
“You were angry.”
Daniel's face became hard.
“You don't remember that.”
“Yes.”
“You were a baby.”
Noah looked at him.
“I remember.”
Daniel said nothing.
For three years, he had believed Noah's ability was theoretical.
He had studied the family history.
The medical reports.
The neurological scans.
He had believed the boy might possess an extraordinary memory.
But he had never expected this.
Noah remembered the accident.
He remembered Daniel.
He remembered the night everything changed.
Daniel looked away.
“You could have been useful.”
Noah frowned.
“I'm not a tool.”
Daniel laughed.
“You sound like your mother.”
Noah looked at him.
“Mommy is brave.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Your mother is weak.”
Noah shook his head.
“No.”
The boy looked directly at him.
“Mommy is brave.”
Daniel said nothing.
Meanwhile, Dominic had returned to the underground chamber.
Victor was alive.
Barely.
Dominic stood beside him.
“Where did Daniel take him?”
Victor opened his eyes.
“You don't understand Daniel.”
“Then explain.”
“He won't hurt Noah immediately.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“Immediately?”
“He needs the boy.”
“For what?”
Victor struggled to breathe.
“Daniel has been searching for a way to erase his own past.”
Dominic stared.
“What does that mean?”
“Your father knew Daniel's secrets.”
“And Noah?”
“Your son remembers.”
Dominic understood.
Noah was dangerous to Daniel because Noah could identify him.
Not just from the accident.
From everything.
Dominic looked toward the tunnel.
“How do we find him?”
Victor reached beneath his shirt.
He pulled out a small key.
“Daniel has a second facility.”
“Where?”
“Under the Hart family estate.”
Evelyn stopped.
“My family home?”
Victor nodded.
“It was never just a home.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Do you know where it is?”
She nodded slowly.
“Connecticut.”
Marcus looked at him.
“We can be there in two hours.”
Dominic turned toward Victor.
“You're coming.”
Victor laughed weakly.
“I was shot.”
“You're still alive.”
“Barely.”
“Then stay alive.”
Victor stared at him.
“Why do you care?”
Dominic looked at him.
“I don't.”
Victor smiled faintly.
“Liar.”
Dominic turned away.
Evelyn approached.
“Dominic.”
He looked at her.
“I know you want to save Noah.”
“Yes.”
“But Lucas is sick.”
“I know.”
“And Eli may be the only one who can help him.”
“I know.”
She looked at him.
“We can't let Daniel use Noah.”
“We won't.”
“And we can't lose Lucas.”
“We won't.”
“And Eli…”
Dominic reached for her hand.
“We will not sacrifice one child to save another.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Then what do we do?”
Dominic's eyes hardened.
“We find another way.”
The plane took off.
Victor remained in the medical cabin.
The three boys were not together.
That fact haunted Dominic.
Lucas slept.
Eli sat beside him.
Noah was somewhere with Daniel.
Evelyn sat beside Dominic.
She looked exhausted.
Dominic touched her hand.
“You should sleep.”
“I can't.”
“Neither can I.”
She looked at him.
“What happens if we don't find him?”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“We will.”
“You don't know that.”
“I know.”
“Dominic.”
He looked at her.
“I have lost too much.”
His voice was quiet.
“I lost you once.”
Evelyn looked down.
“I lost you too.”
“I lost three years with my children.”
She squeezed his hand.
“I know.”
“I am not losing Noah.”
They reached Connecticut before dawn.
The Hart estate stood behind iron gates.
It was enormous.
Old.
Beautiful.
And empty.
Evelyn stared at the house.
“I haven't been here since I was sixteen.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because my father told me never to come back.”
They entered through the front door.
The house was untouched.
Dust covered the furniture.
Photographs lined the walls.
Evelyn saw one of herself as a child.
Beside her stood Daniel.
She stared.
“He loved me.”
Dominic said nothing.
“Once.”
“People can love you and still hurt you.”
She looked at him.
“You know that?”
Dominic smiled without humor.
“I know it better than anyone.”
They found the hidden entrance beneath the library.
A staircase led downward.
The walls were covered with photographs.
Dominic saw himself.
Evelyn.
Victor.
The boys.
Every photograph had a date.
Some had been taken before the accident.
Some after.
Dominic stopped.
There was a photograph of him sleeping in the hospital.
Taken from inside the room.
Another showed Evelyn holding the twins.
Another showed Lucas.
Dominic's blood went cold.
Daniel had watched them for years.
At the end of the corridor was a room.
Inside were dozens of monitors.
One showed a live feed.
Noah sat in a chair.
Daniel stood beside him.
Dominic moved closer.
“Noah.”
The boy looked at the camera.
Then smiled.
“Daddy.”
Daniel turned.
He saw Dominic on the monitor.
His face changed.
Dominic spoke into the microphone.
“Let him go.”
Daniel smiled.
“You found us.”
Dominic's voice was cold.
“You should have known I would.”
Daniel looked at Noah.
“Your father is angry.”
Noah stared at the screen.
“Daddy is coming.”
Daniel laughed.
“Not this time.”
Dominic leaned closer.
“You took the wrong child.”
Daniel's smile faded.
“What?”
“You wanted Noah because you thought he remembered everything.”
Daniel stared.
Dominic continued.
“But you forgot something.”
“What?”
Dominic looked at Evelyn.
Then at the screen.
“Noah is not the only one who remembers.”
Evelyn stepped forward.
“I remember you.”
Daniel went still.
She continued.
“I remember the night my father died.”
Daniel's face changed.
“I remember the man who drove the car.”
Dominic stared at her.
Evelyn's voice shook.
“You were there.”
Daniel looked away.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“I was sixteen.”
A memory returned.
Rain.
A car.
Her father arguing with a man.
A crash.
A face.
Daniel.
She opened her eyes.
“You killed my father.”
Daniel's face became cold.
“He was going to expose me.”
“You killed him.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn's voice broke.
“And then you made me believe he died in an accident.”
Daniel smiled.
“You were a child.”
“I was your daughter.”
“And you were weak.”
Evelyn stepped toward the screen.
“No.”
Her voice became stronger.
“I was afraid.”
She looked at Dominic.
“But I am not afraid anymore.”
Dominic smiled.
Daniel's expression changed.
He realized too late.
The cameras were not only transmitting his image.
They were transmitting his location.
Marcus had traced the signal.
The doors behind Daniel opened.
Dominic's men entered.
Daniel turned.
Noah smiled.
“Daddy came.”
Dominic moved forward.
Daniel grabbed Noah.
He held a knife to the boy's throat.
Everyone froze.
“Stop.”
Dominic raised his hand.
Daniel backed away.
“You think you win?”
Dominic looked at him.
“No.”
Daniel smiled.
“You still don't know what Noah remembers.”
Dominic's expression hardened.
“What?”
Daniel leaned closer to Noah.
“Tell your father.”
Noah looked at Dominic.
Then Daniel.
Then he said:
“Grandpa Victor was not the one who took Lucas.”
Dominic froze.
Daniel smiled.
Noah continued.
“Mommy's father took him first.”
Evelyn gasped.
Daniel's smile disappeared.
Noah looked at Dominic.
“And he told the doctor to say the baby was dead.”
Dominic stared at Daniel.
The truth finally emerged.
Daniel had been behind everything.
The stolen baby.
The false death.
The accident.
May you like
The years of lies.
And now, he had nowhere left to run.
