CHAPTER 8 — THE FARMHOUSE WITH NO NAME
Daniel left the mansion before sunrise.
He took his daughter, Anna, and Rebecca with him.
Arthur wanted to come.
Daniel refused.
“You've lied to me for twenty-three years.”
Arthur stood at the front door.
“I know.”
“I don't know whether you're protecting us or protecting yourself.”
Arthur lowered his head.
“Maybe both.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Then stay here.”
Evelyn remained upstairs.
She hadn't spoken since the phone call.
Daniel didn't trust leaving her alone.
But he trusted taking her even less.
As the car disappeared down the driveway, Arthur watched from the window.
Evelyn appeared behind him.
“He knows.”
Arthur nodded.
“He knows almost everything.”
“Not everything.”
Arthur turned.
Evelyn's eyes were cold again.
“What are you planning?”
Arthur stared at her.
“Nothing.”
“You're lying.”
Arthur sighed.
“We have one chance.”
“For what?”
“To keep Daniel alive.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“You should have thought about that twenty-three years ago.”
Arthur looked at her.
“And you should have thought about it before you locked his daughter in the pantry.”
Evelyn's face hardened.
“I was trying to protect her.”
“You were trying to protect yourself.”
Silence.
Evelyn walked away.
Arthur remained by the window.
Then his phone vibrated.
One message.
HE IS GOING TO THE FARMHOUSE.
Arthur's fingers tightened.
He typed:
WHO TOLD HIM?
The reply came immediately.
SHE DID.
Arthur stared at the screen.
His face went pale.
He knew exactly who they meant.
Daniel's wife.
The road to the farmhouse was almost completely deserted.
Daniel drove through thick woods.
No houses.
No stores.
No traffic.
Only trees.
Anna sat in the passenger seat.
Rebecca sat beside Daniel's daughter in the back.
Daniel glanced at Anna.
“How far?”
“Twenty minutes.”
“You've been there recently?”
“Three days ago.”
“Why?”
“To make sure it was empty.”
“And?”
“It wasn't.”
Daniel tightened his hands around the steering wheel.
“Who was there?”
“I don't know.”
“You didn't see them?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know someone was living there?”
“The fireplace was warm.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Anything else?”
“Food.”
“What kind?”
“Fresh.”
“Recent?”
“Yes.”
Daniel frowned.
“Did you find any evidence?”
Anna nodded.
“A photograph.”
“Of whom?”
“Your wife.”
Daniel's heart tightened.
“Where?”
“In the bedroom.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“When was it taken?”
“Two months ago.”
Daniel nearly lost control of the car.
“What?”
Anna nodded.
“Two months ago.”
His wife had supposedly been dead for two years.
Yet there was evidence she had been alive only weeks earlier.
Daniel looked at his daughter through the rearview mirror.
She was asleep.
He lowered his voice.
“Why would they keep her alive?”
Anna stared ahead.
“Because she knows where the trust is.”
Daniel frowned.
“The Carter trust?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Anna looked at him.
“The original evidence.”
Daniel swallowed.
“What evidence?”
“The recording.”
“But Victor destroyed it.”
“He destroyed a copy.”
Daniel's eyes widened.
“There was another?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Anna smiled faintly.
“Your wife has it.”
Daniel felt a surge of hope.
Then fear.
“If she's alive…”
Anna nodded.
“She may be in danger.”
The car slowed.
The farmhouse appeared through the trees.
It was small.
Old.
Almost invisible beneath the overgrown branches.
Daniel parked.
Nobody moved.
Anna looked at the house.
“This is where they kept me.”
Daniel stared.
“You were here?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Seven years.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“Seven years?”
Anna nodded.
“From age eight until fifteen.”
Daniel's stomach tightened.
“You lived here alone?”
“No.”
“With whom?”
“Evelyn.”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“My mother lived here?”
“For the first two years.”
“And after?”
“Victor.”
Daniel stared.
“Victor lived here?”
“Yes.”
“And nobody found you?”
“No one was looking in the right place.”
Daniel looked at the farmhouse.
The windows were dark.
The door was locked.
He stepped out.
Anna followed.
Rebecca stayed with the child.
Daniel approached the front door.
The lock was new.
He looked at Anna.
“Someone changed it.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Recently.”
Daniel pulled out the key Anna had given him.
It fit.
The door opened.
The smell of old wood filled the air.
Daniel stepped inside.
Nothing moved.
He checked the rooms.
Kitchen.
Empty.
Living room.
Empty.
Bathroom.
Empty.
Then Anna pointed upstairs.
“My room.”
They climbed.
At the end of the hallway was a small bedroom.
Daniel opened it.
A child's bed.
A wooden desk.
Old books.
A faded stuffed rabbit.
Anna stood in the doorway.
“I used to sleep there.”
Daniel picked up the stuffed rabbit.
“You kept this?”
Anna shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who did?”
She didn't answer.
Daniel examined it.
Something was sewn into the back.
He cut the thread.
A small memory card fell out.
He stared.
“What's this?”
Anna's face changed.
“I've never seen it.”
Daniel inserted it into his phone.
A video appeared.
Date:
Two months ago.
He pressed play.
The screen showed his wife.
Alive.
Sitting in the farmhouse bedroom.
She looked thinner.
Exhausted.
But unmistakably alive.
Daniel stopped breathing.
“Daniel,” she said in the recording.
“If you're watching this, then Anna finally found you.”
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
His wife looked directly into the camera.
“I need you to listen carefully.”
She took a breath.
“Don't come looking for me.”
Daniel whispered,
“No.”
His wife continued.
“I know you will.”
A sad smile appeared.
“You always were stubborn.”
Daniel touched the screen.
His fingers trembled.
“I need you to protect our daughter.”
She paused.
“She isn't what you think.”
Daniel's heart stopped.
His wife continued.
“She is not merely the heir.”
Anna stepped closer.
The recording continued.
“She is the key.”
Daniel looked at Anna.
“The Carter trust cannot be opened by blood alone.”
His wife lowered her voice.
“Someone has to prove that Anna is alive.”
Daniel frowned.
“Why?”
“Because the trust was designed to expose everyone who participated in the conspiracy.”
The recording paused.
Then his wife looked frightened.
“If Samuel discovers that Anna is alive, he will kill her.”
Daniel stared.
“Then why did you bring her back?”
The video showed his wife looking toward the door.
She whispered,
“Because she is the only person who can identify him.”
A noise came from outside the room.
His wife froze.
She looked toward the camera.
“Someone's here.”
Daniel leaned closer.
His wife whispered:
“Daniel, there's something else.”
A pause.
“Your father wasn't killed because of money.”
Daniel's breathing stopped.
“He was killed because he discovered who Samuel really was.”
Daniel looked at Anna.
The video continued.
“Samuel Cross isn't his real name.”
The screen went black.
Daniel stared.
Then another file appeared.
PLAY ME LAST.
He pressed it.
His wife's voice returned.
But this time, she was crying.
“If you're seeing this, I'm probably gone.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“No.”
“I couldn't trust the police.”
“I couldn't trust the hospital.”
“I couldn't trust your family.”
She took a shaky breath.
“And I couldn't even trust myself.”
Daniel's eyes opened.
“What?”
His wife continued.
“Because Samuel told me something about you.”
Daniel froze.
“He said you were involved.”
Silence.
“He said your father didn't leave you the evidence.”
“He said your father left you the responsibility.”
Daniel frowned.
“What responsibility?”
The video stopped.
A new message appeared.
TURN AROUND.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
He slowly turned.
Someone stood in the doorway.
A man.
Older.
Silver-haired.
Holding a gun.
Anna froze.
Rebecca screamed from downstairs.
“Daniel!”
The man smiled.
“Hello.”
Daniel immediately stepped in front of Anna.
“Samuel?”
The man shook his head.
“No.”
He lowered the weapon slightly.
“My name is Samuel Cross.”
Daniel's heart pounded.
“You've been watching my daughter.”
Samuel nodded.
“Yes.”
“Where is my wife?”
Samuel smiled.
“Still alive.”
Daniel's eyes widened.
“Where?”
“That's not the question you should be asking.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Then what should I ask?”
Samuel looked at Anna.
“Ask her why your wife trusted her.”
Anna stepped forward.
“Because she knew the truth.”
Samuel smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
Daniel raised his voice.
“Where is my wife?”
Samuel sighed.
“You're going to see her.”
Daniel froze.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“Where?”
Samuel looked at his daughter.
“At the place where your father's story began.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“Where?”
Samuel smiled.
“The Carter cemetery.”
Then the farmhouse lights went out.
A gunshot exploded.
Daniel ducked.
Rebecca screamed.
Anna pulled Daniel's daughter behind the bed.
Daniel lunged toward Samuel.
But the old man was already gone.
The back door slammed.
Daniel ran after him.
He reached the porch.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Then his phone vibrated.
One message.
A photograph.
His wife.
Alive.
Standing in a dark room.
Beside her was a clock.
The time read:
11:30 P.M.
Under the photograph were six words:
COME ALONE OR SHE DIES TONIGHT.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Anna came up behind him.
“Don't go.”
Daniel turned.
“My wife is alive.”
“Yes.”
“I have to find her.”
Anna grabbed his arm.
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then don't walk into it.”
Daniel looked toward his daughter.
She was trembling.
Then she said something that made both adults freeze.
“Daddy.”
He crouched.
“What?”
She pointed at the photograph.
“That's not Mommy's room.”
Daniel stared.
“How do you know?”
His daughter whispered,
“Because I saw that room before.”
Daniel's heart stopped.
“When?”
“Last night.”
Anna looked at her.
“What did you see?”
The little girl swallowed.
“Mommy.”
“Was she alone?”
“No.”
“Who was with her?”
The child looked frightened.
“Grandpa.”
Daniel froze.
“Arthur?”
She nodded.
“He was talking to Mommy.”
“What did he say?”
She squeezed her father's hand.
“He said…”
A long pause.
“…we have to finish what we started.”
Daniel's face went pale.
Arthur had claimed he wanted to protect the family.
But if his daughter had seen him with Daniel's supposedly dead wife—
then Arthur had been lying again.
And this time, Daniel wasn't sure whether his grandfather was protecting the truth…
or controlling it.
At 11:17 that night, Daniel stood alone inside the Carter family cemetery.
Rain began falling.
Anna watched from a car in the distance.
Daniel had ordered her to stay away.
He knew it was dangerous.
He also knew he had no choice.
At 11:29, headlights appeared.
A black SUV stopped beside the cemetery gate.
A man stepped out.
Victor Hale.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
Victor looked at his watch.
“Eleven-thirty.”
Daniel stared at him.
“Where is my wife?”
Victor smiled.
“She's waiting.”
“Take me to her.”
Victor shook his head.
“First, you need to know something.”
“What?”
“Your father didn't die twenty-three years ago.”
Daniel frowned.
Victor stepped closer.
“He died twice.”
Daniel stared.
“What does that mean?”
Victor smiled.
“The first time was physical.”
“And the second?”
“Was when he realized his own son had betrayed him.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“My father had no reason to betray me.”
Victor looked directly into his eyes.
“You're still asking the wrong question.”
“What question?”
Victor pointed toward an old mausoleum.
“Ask yourself why your father left everything to Anna…”
He paused.
“…when he knew she wasn't his biological daughter.”
Daniel froze.
Victor smiled.
“Because Anna wasn't the only child he had.”
Daniel's heart stopped.
“What?”
Victor stepped backward.
“You have a brother.”
Daniel stared.
“My brother died.”
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
“He died as a baby.”
“That is what they told you.”
Daniel's blood ran cold.
“Where is he?”
Victor smiled.
“Inside the mausoleum.”
The doors opened slowly.
And from the darkness came a man's voice.
A voice Daniel had never heard—
yet somehow recognized.
“Hello, brother.”
May you like
Daniel stopped breathing.
Because the voice belonged to a man who sounded exactly like his father.
