Chapter 4: The Hidden Room
The sound of breaking glass echoed through the diner.
Everyone panicked.
Chairs scraped across the floor.
Someone knocked over a table.
The smell of spilled coffee mixed with rain and fear.
I grabbed Maya’s hand.
“Stay with me.””
She nodded.
But her eyes were locked on Rick.
Not the broken window.
Not the stranger outside.
Rick.
Because she knew.
She had known from the beginning.
The man who was supposed to protect people was the one she feared most.
The emergency lights finally returned.
And the sight in front of me made my stomach turn.
The front window was cracked, but the man outside had disappeared.
On the floor near the entrance was a small black device.
A phone.
Maya stared at it.
Then signed:
That belongs to him.
“Who?””
She looked at Rick.
Nobody moved.
Rick suddenly rushed toward the phone.
I stepped in front of him.
“No.””
His expression hardened.
“Get out of my way.””
“Why?””
He said nothing.
I picked up the phone.
The screen was still glowing.
There was one message open.
A name at the top.
Daniel.
My fingers went cold.
I looked at my brother.
“You’ve been talking to him?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
That hurt more than if he had lied.
“Explain.””
Daniel ran a hand over his face.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“By working with the man who hurt Maya’s father?””
Rick laughed.
“You still don’t know anything.””
I turned.
“Then start talking.””
Rick looked around the diner.
At the customers.
At Maya.
At me.
Then he sighed.
“Your father wasn’t the only person who found out.””
I froze.
“My father?””
Rick nodded.
“Years ago, your father discovered what this company was doing.””
“What company?””
Daniel answered quietly.
“The one Rick worked for.””
My mind raced.
My father had died in an accident eight years ago.
That was what everyone told me.
But suddenly, every memory felt different.
The late-night phone calls.
The arguments he had with strangers.
The day he left home and never came back.
I looked at Daniel.
“You knew?””
He looked down.
“I found out after he disappeared.””
“After?””
My voice cracked.
“You let me believe he abandoned us.””
Daniel’s eyes filled with regret.
“I thought keeping you away from this would keep you alive.””
Before I could respond, Maya tugged my sleeve.
She was pointing toward the storage room.
Then she signed something.
Someone is inside.
Everyone looked at the door.
A slow sound came from behind it.
A knock.
Three times.
Nobody moved.
Rick whispered:
“That’s impossible.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
His face had lost all color.
“The room has been locked for years.””
Daniel walked closer.
“No.””
Rick looked at him.
“No?””
Daniel shook his head.
“Not since tonight.””
I stepped toward the door.
Maya grabbed my arm.
I looked at her.
She was terrified.
But she nodded.
She wanted me to open it.
I unlocked the door.
The hinges groaned as it slowly opened.
Inside was a small storage room filled with old boxes.
Dust covered everything.
Except one thing.
A fresh trail of footprints across the floor.
Someone had been inside.
Recently.
I followed the footprints.
They stopped beside an old wooden cabinet.
Behind it was a hidden compartment.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was a folder.
And on top of the folder was a photograph.
I picked it up.
The picture showed my father.
Standing beside Daniel.
Standing beside Rick.
And standing beside a fourth person.
A person whose face had been scratched away.
Under the photo was a handwritten note.
My blood froze when I read the first line.
“Ethan, if you are reading this, it means they failed to stop Maya.””
I looked at Maya.
She stared back at me.
Then I turned the page.
The next sentence made my entire world collapse.
“Your mother was never killed in the accident.””
I stopped breathing.
Because my mother had been gone for fifteen years.
May you like
And according to that note…
She was still alive.
