Chapter 2 - The Door She Told Me Never to Open
"Adrian..."
The voice came from the darkness.
My body reacted before my mind could.
I raised my weapon.
The little girl behind me gasped.
The footsteps stopped.
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
The apartment felt frozen in time.
Then the figure stepped into the dim hallway light.
And I almost dropped the gun.
"Marcus."
My former head of security stared back at me.
Marcus Vale had worked for me for nine years.
He was the man I trusted with everything.
My home.
My company.
My family.
When Noah disappeared, Marcus was the first person I called.
He searched the city with me.
He stayed awake for nights.
He stood beside me during every police interview.
He told me the same thing over and over.
"We're going to find him, Adrian."
But now he was standing inside the apartment where my son had been hidden.
The apartment I had never known existed.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
His eyes moved toward the little girl.
Then back to me.
"Put the gun down."
My grip tightened.
"Answer me."
Marcus looked older than he had eleven months ago.
The confident man who used to walk into dangerous situations without hesitation was gone.
His face showed something I had never seen before.
Fear.
"Adrian, you don't understand what you're walking into."
I laughed once.
But there was no humor in it.
"My son disappeared."
My voice cracked.
"I spent almost a year searching for him."
I pointed toward the photographs covering the wall.
"Someone was taking pictures of him. Someone was watching him."
I stepped closer.
"And you were here."
Marcus looked away.
That was enough.
A thousand questions hit me at once.
How long?
Why?
Who else knew?
How many people had lied to me?
"Tell me where Noah is."
Marcus stayed silent.
"Tell me!"
The apartment shook with my voice.
The little girl covered her ears.
Marcus looked at her.
And that was when I noticed something.
He wasn't afraid of me.
He was afraid for her.
"What is your name?" I asked the girl.
She hesitated.
"Lily."
"Lily, where is Noah?"
Her eyes moved toward Marcus.
She wanted permission.
That terrified me more than anything.
A seven-year-old girl was waiting for a grown man to decide whether she could speak.
Marcus closed his eyes.
Then he whispered:
"She shouldn't have brought you here."
I stepped forward.
"Why?"
"Because now they know."
The words landed heavily.
"Who are they?"
Marcus looked toward the window.
The blinds were slightly open.
He walked quickly and closed them.
That small movement told me everything.
He expected someone to be watching.
"You need to leave," he said.
I stared at him.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"My son is here."
Marcus shook his head.
"Not anymore."
The room went silent.
My heart stopped.
"What does that mean?"
Marcus looked at me.
And for the first time in nine years, I saw him break.
"Someone moved him."
I felt the air leave my lungs.
"Who?"
Marcus didn't answer.
Because the apartment suddenly became too quiet.
A sound came from outside.
A car door closing.
Then another.
Marcus froze.
His face changed.
"They found us."
The little girl started crying.
I grabbed Marcus by his jacket.
"Who found us?"
He looked at me.
"The people you've been trusting."
My hands slowly released him.
Because deep down, I already knew.
There were only a few people who knew enough about my search.
Only a few people who had access to my home.
Only a few people who could erase evidence before I found it.
Marcus moved toward the kitchen.
"We need to go."
"Not until you tell me everything."
"Adrian—"
"No."
I stepped between him and the door.
"You don't get to protect me anymore."
My voice lowered.
"You lost that right when you let me spend eleven months believing my son was gone."
Marcus looked like he wanted to argue.
But he didn't.
Instead, he reached into his jacket.
My body tensed.
But he pulled out a small envelope.
Old.
Folded.
Worn from being carried too long.
"I was going to give this to you when I had proof."
I took it.
My fingers shook.
"What's inside?"
"The reason Noah disappeared."
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
My son.
Standing beside a man.
I stared at the picture.
Because I recognized the man immediately.
It was me.
But it wasn't me.
The photograph showed Noah standing beside someone who looked exactly like me.
Same face.
Same height.
Same dark hair.
Someone who could have been my twin.
But I didn't have a twin.
I looked at Marcus.
"What is this?"
He swallowed.
"Your son was taken because someone wanted everyone to believe you were the problem."
I looked back at the photo.
My hands felt numb.
"Who is that man?"
Marcus didn't answer.
Instead, Lily spoke.
Her small voice came from behind me.
"I saw him."
I turned.
The little girl was crying.
"Where?"
She pointed at the photograph.
"At the house."
My stomach tightened.
"What house?"
She looked at me.
"Your house."
I felt a chill move through me.
"My house?"
She nodded.
"He came there before Noah disappeared."
Everything inside me stopped.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Lily looked down.
"Because he told me if I talked..."
Her voice broke.
"He said Noah would disappear forever."
Marcus walked toward her.
"Lily..."
But I stopped him.
"No."
I looked at the girl.
"Tell me everything."
She wiped her tears.
"That night, Noah was crying."
My chest tightened.
"He told me his dad would find him."
I closed my eyes.
Because that sounded exactly like my son.
"He said he knew you would come."
A tear escaped before I could stop it.
"But then the man came."
"Which man?"
She pointed again.
At the photograph.
"The one who looks like you."
The room felt smaller.
I looked at Marcus.
"You knew."
He didn't deny it.
"I suspected."
"You suspected someone was pretending to be me?"
Marcus looked away.
"Not pretending."
My blood ran cold.
"What does that mean?"
Before Marcus could answer, something crashed downstairs.
The apartment lights flickered.
Lily grabbed my hand.
"They're here."
Marcus moved instantly.
He grabbed a bag from beneath the kitchen counter.
"What is that?"
"Evidence."
"Evidence of what?"
He looked at me.
"That Noah wasn't the only child they took."
I stared at him.
"What?"
Marcus pulled open the bag.
Inside were dozens of files.
Names.
Photos.
Dates.
Children.
Missing children.
My breathing became heavier.
"This is bigger than Noah."
I looked through the files.
Each page showed another child.
Another family.
Another disappearance.
Then I saw something that made my hands freeze.
A document with my company logo.
My signature.
My name.
I looked at Marcus.
"I never signed this."
Marcus nodded.
"I know."
"Then who did?"
The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.
Slow.
Calm.
Someone wasn't rushing.
Someone knew exactly where they were going.
Marcus turned off the lights.
Everyone stopped breathing.
The doorknob began to move.
Once.
Twice.
Then the lock clicked.
Someone on the other side whispered:
May you like
"Adrian, I know you're in there."
And then the door opened.
