Chapter 6: The Woman Who Knew Daniel
Wood splintered across the living room.
Grace woke screaming.
Ethan grabbed her.
The men outside rushed into the apartment.
Breaker moved faster.
He shoved a heavy chair into the doorway as the first intruder stepped inside.
The man went down hard.
Two bikers appeared from the hallway.
The apartment erupted into chaos.
Maya pulled Grace behind the couch.
“Mom!””
“Stay down!””
Ethan crouched over his sister.
Another man entered through the broken doorway.
He wore a police jacket.
But there was no badge.
No name.
Nothing.
He raised a weapon.
Breaker slammed into him before he could fire.
The two men crashed against the wall.
A gun skidded across the floor.
Maya stared at it.
Her entire body shook.
This wasn't a misunderstanding.
Someone had sent armed men into her home.
The fake officer crawled toward the weapon.
Maya kicked it away.
The man looked up at her.
For one terrifying second, their eyes met.
Then he smiled.
“You really don't know, do you?””
Breaker grabbed him by the collar.
“Know what?””
The man laughed.
“Ask her.””
Breaker frowned.
“Who?””
The man looked directly at Maya.
“Ask Maya about the night Daniel disappeared.””
Maya froze.
“I don't know what you're talking about.””
The man smiled wider.
“You don't remember the woman?””
“What woman?””
“The one who came to your house.””
Maya's mind raced.
No.
There had never been another woman.
Not that she remembered.
The intruder whispered, “The woman with the red scarf.””
Maya's face went white.
A memory surfaced.
A woman standing outside her apartment.
Rain pouring behind her.
A red scarf.
Daniel arguing with her in the hallway.
Maya had opened the bedroom door.
Daniel had immediately slammed it shut.
He had told her to stay inside.
She had heard the woman crying.
Then screaming.
Then silence.
Maya had forgotten.
Or perhaps she had forced herself to forget.
The intruder laughed.
“Now you remember.””
Breaker grabbed his jaw.
“Who was she?””
The man said nothing.
One of the bikers shouted from the front room.
“Breaker! More vehicles!””
Breaker looked toward the broken door.
“Get the kids out.””
Maya grabbed Grace.
Ethan grabbed a jacket.
They ran through the kitchen.
A back window had been shattered.
One biker pushed a small table beneath it.
“Go!””
Maya lifted Grace through first.
Ethan followed.
She climbed after them.
They landed behind the building.
Three motorcycles were waiting.
The engines roared.
Breaker came through seconds later.
His face was bleeding above one eyebrow.
“Get on.””
Maya put Grace on the motorcycle behind one biker.
Ethan climbed onto another.
Breaker grabbed Maya's arm.
“You're with me.””
She hesitated.
“Where are we going?””
“Somewhere they won't expect.””
“Where?””
Breaker looked at her.
“The blue house.””
Maya's heart stopped.
“But Daniel told me not to go there.””
“I know.””
“Then why are we going?””
Breaker started the motorcycle.
“Because Daniel knew I'd understand the message differently.””
They disappeared into the darkness.
For nearly an hour, they drove without speaking.
The roads became narrower.
The town disappeared behind them.
Finally, they reached an old country lane.
Maya recognized the trees.
The stone fence.
The crooked mailbox.
Her chest tightened.
Then she saw it.
The blue house.
It looked exactly as she remembered.
Small porch.
White shutters.
Faded paint.
A dead oak tree beside the driveway.
Maya climbed off the motorcycle.
“This house was sold.””
Breaker removed his helmet.
“Twenty years ago.””
“So why is it still here?””
“Because the sale was fake.””
Maya stared at him.
“What?””
Breaker pointed toward the front window.
“Your mother never sold this property.””
Maya's stomach dropped.
“Then who owns it?””
Breaker didn't answer.
The front door opened.
A woman stepped onto the porch.
She was in her late fifties.
Long dark hair streaked with silver.
A red scarf wrapped around her neck.
Maya couldn't breathe.
The woman looked directly at her.
Then she whispered one word.
“Mae.””
Maya's knees nearly gave out.
“Who are you?””
The woman stepped down from the porch.
“My name is Rebecca.””
Breaker moved in front of Maya.
Rebecca shook her head.
“I knew you'd bring her here.””
Breaker frowned.
“You knew we'd come?””
Rebecca smiled sadly.
“Daniel told me.””
Maya's heart pounded.
“When?””
Rebecca looked at her.
“The day before he died.””
Maya stepped forward.
“You knew my husband?””
Rebecca's eyes filled with tears.
“I was the woman in the red scarf.””
The world seemed to stop.
Maya remembered the hallway.
Daniel shouting.
The locked bedroom.
That terrible night.
Rebecca continued.
“I wasn't there to hurt him.””
“Then why was he fighting with you?””
“Because I wanted him to disappear.””
Maya stared.
“Why?””
Rebecca looked at Grace and Ethan.
“Because someone was hunting him.””
She stepped closer.
“And I knew exactly who.””
Breaker remained silent.
Rebecca reached into her coat.
Maya tensed.
But Rebecca pulled out a small envelope.
She handed it to Maya.
“Your husband asked me to keep this until you came.””
Maya looked at the envelope.
Her name was written across the front.
In Daniel's handwriting.
She opened it.
Inside was a single photograph.
Maya recognized the restaurant immediately.
Harlan's Roadhouse.
But the picture had been taken months before the Thanksgiving dinner.
Daniel stood outside with a man Maya had never seen before.
Beside that man stood the restaurant owner.
And in the background, barely visible through the window, was Breaker.
Maya slowly looked up.
“Breaker.””
He said nothing.
Her voice hardened.
“You knew about Harlan's before Thanksgiving.””
Breaker nodded.
“How long?””
“Six months.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because we didn't know who was compromised.””
Maya looked back at the photograph.
Rebecca spoke quietly.
“There's something else.””
Maya turned.
“What?””
Rebecca pointed at the man standing beside Daniel.
“That man is the reason your apartment burned.””
Maya stared.
“Who is he?””
Rebecca's face went pale.
“He is the only person Daniel was truly afraid of.””
May you like
She paused.
“And he has been looking for your children since the day they were born.””
