Chapter 6 - The Truth Garrick Buried
The figure standing at the top of the stairs whispered:
"Papa."
When Garrick Hale rushed upstairs, he found Samuel holding an old wooden box hidden beneath his mother's bed.
But inside the box was a small key marked with one word:
"Elena."
Garrick suddenly realized Eleanor had left a final secret behind.
For a moment, nobody breathed.
The person standing at the top of the stairs was not an intruder.
It was Samuel.
The small boy who had spent the entire night sleeping through the chaos.
The child Garrick had been protecting from every painful truth.
The boy who had unknowingly carried the final piece of Eleanor's mystery.
Garrick lowered his weapon immediately.
"Samuel."
The fear disappeared from his face.
Replaced by confusion.
"What are you doing awake?"
Samuel looked down at the blanket in his hands.
"I heard Mama."
The room went silent.
Garrick froze.
"What did you say?"
Samuel's eyes moved toward Eleanor's old room.
"I heard Mama calling."
Clara covered her mouth.
Thomas stepped closer.
Children did not understand secrets the way adults did.
They did not understand lies.
They only remembered voices.
Feelings.
Moments that adults wished they could erase.
Garrick slowly walked toward his son.
"Samuel, your mother has been gone for a long time."
The boy shook his head.
"No."
His voice became smaller.
"She came to my room."
Nobody moved.
"When?"
"Tonight."
My heart tightened.
Garrick looked at me.
Then at Elias.
Then at Margaret.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
Someone had entered the house.
Someone had used Eleanor's memory.
Someone wanted to make Samuel believe something.
But then Samuel lifted the wooden box.
"I found this."
Garrick stared.
"Where?"
"Under Mama's bed."
The words hit harder than expected.
Because nobody had known that box existed.
Not Garrick.
Not Elias.
Not Margaret.
Nobody.
Samuel walked downstairs slowly.
He placed the box on the table.
His small hands opened the old latch.
Inside were several items.
A dried flower.
A faded photograph.
A small key.
And a folded piece of paper.
Garrick picked up the paper first.
His hands trembled.
Because he recognized the handwriting.
"Eleanor."
He whispered her name.
I watched him unfold the paper.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
"What does it say?"
He did not answer.
"Please, Garrick."
His face changed.
Pain.
Regret.
Fear.
All at once.
Finally, he handed me the letter.
I hesitated.
But then I read.
"Garrick, if you are reading this, then I failed to protect you."
My chest tightened.
The words continued.
"I know you will search for answers. I know you will blame yourself. But you must understand something."
I looked at Garrick.
He could not look at me.
"The person who betrayed us was never the person you feared."
My fingers tightened around the paper.
"I trusted the wrong person because they had been part of my life for years."
The fire crackled.
Nobody spoke.
"Do not search for the enemy outside our home."
I looked up.
"Because the enemy was already inside."
The room felt colder.
Garrick took a step back.
"No."
The word came out quietly.
Like he was trying to convince himself.
"No."
Margaret looked away.
Elias closed his eyes.
They both knew something.
Something they still were not saying.
I turned toward them.
"You knew."
Neither answered.
"You both knew."
Elias finally spoke.
"We suspected."
Garrick looked at him.
"You suspected someone in my family killed my wife?"
Elias remained silent.
"Who?"
Nobody answered.
And that silence was the answer itself.
Garrick walked away from the table.
For ten years, he had lived with one question.
Who took Eleanor from him?
Now the answer was standing somewhere close.
Closer than he ever imagined.
"I want the truth."
His voice was different.
Not angry.
Determined.
"I want everything."
Margaret looked at him.
"Then you need to know what happened the night Eleanor died."
The room became still.
Garrick stared.
"Tell me."
Margaret took a deep breath.
"That night, Eleanor came to me."
Garrick's eyes narrowed.
"You said she came to you?"
"Yes."
"Not my father."
"No."
"Not me."
Margaret looked down.
"Not you."
The words hurt him.
But Margaret continued.
"She was afraid you were being watched."
"By who?"
Margaret looked toward the children.
Then lowered her voice.
"By someone who knew every move you made."
The answer was terrifying because it meant only one thing.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Someone who belonged.
"Eleanor gave me the evidence."
Margaret touched the old box.
"She told me if anything happened to her, I had to hide it."
Garrick looked at the box.
"You had it all this time?"
"No."
Margaret shook her head.
"I lost it."
Everyone froze.
"What do you mean?"
"Someone took it."
"When?"
"The night Eleanor died."
Elias stepped forward.
"That was the night you disappeared."
Margaret looked at him.
"Because I realized the person who took it was inside Garrick's house."
Garrick's expression hardened.
"And you left me alone?"
"I was trying to keep you alive."
The words echoed.
Then Margaret reached into her coat again.
This time, she removed a small envelope.
"I found this yesterday."
Garrick stared.
"Where?"
"Where Eleanor hid it."
She placed it beside the box.
On the front was one name.
Not Garrick.
Not Nola.
Not Elias.
A name that made Garrick stop breathing.
Thomas.
Everyone looked toward the oldest child.
Thomas froze.
"I don't understand."
Garrick slowly picked up the envelope.
His hands shook.
"This was meant for you."
Thomas looked frightened.
"For me?"
Before anyone could answer, the farmhouse lights went out.
The room fell into darkness.
The children screamed.
Garrick immediately moved toward them.
"Everyone stay together."
A sound came from the hallway.
A floorboard.
Then another.
Someone was walking through the farmhouse.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Not hiding anymore.
Elias pulled his weapon.
Margaret whispered:
"They came for the letter."
Garrick looked at the envelope.
Then toward the hallway.
A shadow appeared beneath the door.
Someone stopped outside.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then the door handle slowly turned.
The lock clicked.
May you like
And a familiar voice said:
"Garrick, you should have let the past stay buried."
