Chapter 4: The Boy in the Second Room
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Officer Ramirez stared at Elena.
I stared at the opening beneath the floor.
And my sister stared at the garage hallway as if she were calculating how much time she had left.
“What do you mean, your father's son?”” I demanded.
Elena shook her head.
“Not here.””
“I'm done listening to you tell me where we can talk.””
“Daniel, please. There are things you don't know about our father.””
“Our father has been dead for six years.””
“I know.””
“Then start talking.””
Officer Ramirez stepped between us.
“Sir, I need you to stay calm. We have another potentially confined person in this residence.””
I pointed at Elena.
“She knows exactly who that person is.””
Ramirez turned toward her.
“Ma'am, I need you to explain the second room.””
Elena's eyes moved toward the floor.
“I didn't put anyone in there.””
“Then who did?””
She said nothing.
Officer Bennett appeared from the garage.
“There's a second access point behind the storage cabinets. It's secured from the outside. We can hear movement.””
My heart began racing again.
“Is it a child?””
“We don't know.””
I grabbed Bennett's sleeve.
“My son said there was another boy.””
He nodded.
“We're checking.””
A firefighter emerged from the floor opening, carrying Leo.
The moment I saw my son outside that dark space, my knees nearly gave way.
He looked impossibly small.
His left arm was held against his chest, and his bare feet were covered in dust.
But he was breathing.
He was alive.
I moved toward him.
“Leo.””
His eyes found mine.
“Dad.””
I wrapped my arms around him carefully.
He smelled of dust, sweat, and the faint detergent Elena used in her house.
For fourteen months, I had imagined holding him.
I had imagined his weight, his warmth, the sound of his breathing against my shoulder.
I had never imagined feeling his ribs beneath his sweatshirt.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered.
Leo began crying.
“Dad, I thought you forgot me.””
I pulled back enough to look at him.
“Never. Do you hear me? Never.””
He touched my face.
“You look older.””
A broken laugh escaped me.
“So do you, buddy.””
Behind us, Officer Ramirez spoke into her radio.
“Request additional medical personnel. We have one recovered juvenile and potentially another individual in a separate secured compartment.””
Leo suddenly gripped my shirt.
“Don't let Aunt Elena take me.””
I held him tighter.
“She won't.””
Elena made a sound behind us.
“Daniel, I never wanted—”
“Stop.””
She looked at Leo.
“Sweetheart, I need you to tell them the truth.””
My son buried his face against my chest.
I looked at her.
“You don't get to call him sweetheart.””
Her expression collapsed.
Officer Ramirez moved toward her.
“Ma'am, you're going to sit down.””
“I have rights.””
“And so does the child you've apparently kept in a concealed room.””
Elena sat on the sofa.
She didn't resist.
For the first time, my sister looked like someone who had lost control of a situation.
Then Maya approached.
She had been standing behind Officer Bennett, clutching her rabbit.
“Leo?””
My son lifted his head.
His eyes widened.
“Maya?””
She ran toward us.
I lowered myself so they could hug.
Maya wrapped both arms around his neck.
“I told Daddy you were here!””
Leo started crying harder.
“I heard you.””
“You did?””
He nodded.
“Sometimes.””
Maya looked confused.
“Why didn't you answer me?””
Leo looked toward Elena.
“She said if I made noise, you wouldn't be allowed to visit anymore.””
My blood went cold.
Officer Ramirez heard him.
“Leo, who said that?””
He didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Across the room, Elena was staring at her hands.
A firefighter approached.
“Officer, we've got access to the second compartment.””
Ramirez stood.
“What's inside?””
“It's a separate room. Smaller than the first. There's a mattress, food containers, a portable light, and a locked cabinet.””
“Anyone inside?””
“Not at the moment.””
I looked at Elena.
“Where is the other boy?””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“You just said he was your responsibility.””
“I didn't say that.””
“You said our father had another son.””
Elena's eyes filled.
Then she whispered, “His name is Caleb.””
The name meant nothing to me.
“Who is Caleb?””
She looked toward the garage.
“Your father's son.””
I almost laughed.
“Dad had another child?””
“He never told you?””
“No.””
Elena swallowed.
“He was born before you and me.””
I stared at her.
Our father had been married once before our mother. His first wife had died young, and he rarely discussed those years.
But another son?
That was something else entirely.
“What happened to him?””
Elena looked toward Leo.
“He disappeared.””
The room became silent.
“Disappeared when?””
“Fourteen months ago.””
I felt my stomach turn.
The same time Leo vanished.
Officer Ramirez stepped closer.
“Ma'am, are you telling us two children disappeared during the same period, and both are connected to this house?””
Elena nodded faintly.
“Caleb was already here when Leo arrived.””
I looked down at my son.
“Did you see him?””
Leo nodded.
“He helped me.””
“How?””
“He gave me his blanket when mine got wet.””
My throat tightened.
“Where is he now?””
Leo hesitated.
Then he looked at Elena.
“She said he was going home.””
Elena's face went white.
Officer Bennett's radio crackled again.
“Ramirez, there's something else.””
“What?””
“We found fresh footprints leading from the second compartment to the outside garage door.””
Ramirez looked toward Elena.
“When did someone last leave this house?””
Elena shook her head.
“I don't know.””
Bennett continued.
“And there's a vehicle missing from the garage.””
I looked at my sister.
“Whose vehicle?””
She didn't answer.
Then Maya spoke.
“Aunt Elena drove it last night.””
Everyone turned toward her.
Maya pointed at the garage.
“She said she was taking a boy to his new home.””
Elena covered her mouth.
And suddenly, I understood.
May you like
We hadn't discovered the end of the nightmare.
We had discovered that someone might still be inside it.
