Chapter 7 - The Room No One Was Supposed to Find
I stood outside the storage facility holding Aaron's key: "Don't open that." Reena's voice came from behind me. I turned and saw her trembling near the gate. Then she pointed toward the locked unit. "That's where Aaron hid the truth."
I looked at Reena.
"You knew about this place?"
She nodded.
"Only Aaron and I knew."
"Then why did you bring me here?"
"Because I'm done being afraid."
Detective Harper stood beside us.
The storage unit door was old and rusted.
The key Aaron had left behind fit the lock.
Inside were boxes.
Dozens of them.
Documents.
Photographs.
Hard drives.
Children's drawings.
Medical records.
And one wooden chair.
I stared at it.
Drew had described a chair.
The room.
The blue door.
The pieces were coming together.
Harper opened the first box.
Inside were financial records.
The children's trust had been drained slowly over several years.
Money had been transferred into companies that didn't appear to exist.
But the signatures were real.
Reena's.
I looked at her.
"Did you sign these?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Then someone forged them."
She nodded.
Aaron had known.
He had been gathering evidence.
Then I found another envelope.
It was addressed to me.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
My brother's handwriting.
If you're reading this, you finally found what I couldn't protect.
I continued.
I trusted Gordon.
That was my mistake.
But Gordon wasn't working alone.
I stopped.
The same sentence again.
Not alone.
Then I found another name.
Nathan Cole.
My stomach dropped.
Reena covered her mouth.
"No."
Harper took the paper.
He read it.
"These records suggest Nathan and Gordon worked together."
Reena began crying.
"I didn't know."
I believed her.
Or at least I wanted to.
Then another document fell from the envelope.
It was a photograph.
Aaron stood in front of the blue door.
Beside him was another person.
A woman.
I recognized her.
It was Reena's sister.
"Where is she?" I asked.
Reena looked confused.
"She died."
"When?"
"Two years before Aaron."
Harper took the photograph.
The date was different.
It had been taken after she supposedly died.
We stared at the image.
Someone had lied about her death.
Or someone had used her identity.
Then the storage facility lights went out.
Lily cried.
Drew grabbed my arm.
"Uncle."
I turned.
A noise came from inside the unit.
A box fell.
Then another.
Harper drew his flashlight.
"Everyone stay behind me."
We waited.
Nothing.
Then a small red light appeared in the darkness.
A recording device.
Someone had left it running.
Harper picked it up.
The audio began playing.
Aaron's voice.
"If you're hearing this, they know."
A pause.
"Don't trust Reena."
Reena froze.
I looked at her.
Aaron continued.
"But don't trust the person who tells you Reena is guilty either."
The recording crackled.
Then came a sentence that made my blood run cold.
"The person who has been watching the children isn't Gordon."
The audio stopped.
Harper checked the device.
The battery had been removed.
"Who is it?" I asked.
There was no answer.
Then Drew whispered:
"I know."
I turned toward him.
He was staring at the back wall.
"There."
A small handprint was visible on the dusty concrete.
Below it was a child's drawing.
A house.
A door.
And a man standing outside.
Drew whispered:
"That's him."
"Who?"
Drew pointed to the figure.
"The man who came when Dad was gone."
Then a voice came from the darkness behind us.
"Drew."
May you like
The boy screamed.
And the storage door slammed shut...
