Chapter 3 - THE THIRTEENTH BIRTHDAY
Noah had turned thirteen four days earlier.
Claire had hidden the key inside a birthday card entrusted to an attorney. The card showed a lighthouse in a storm. Inside, she had written: When the light fails, trust what I taught you to see.
Daniel drove Noah to Claire's old apartment while Ruiz followed. He had paid the rent since her disappearance, unable to empty the rooms. Vanessa had mocked him for it.
The apartment smelled of dust and Claire's cedar perfume. Noah walked directly to the radiator in her bedroom, removed a narrow strip of molding, and revealed a brass lock.
Behind the panel waited a burner phone and an envelope.
Noah unfolded the note with shaking hands.
If you are reading this, something went wrong. Do not trust any message from me after June 14. Trust Uncle Daniel only if he is willing to admit when he was wrong.
Daniel read the last sentence twice.
“She knew you wouldn't believe her,” Noah said.
There was no accusation in his voice. That made it worse.
The burner phone held invoice numbers, dates, and three sets of initials: V.C. M.H. E.P.
At the bottom was an address: WESTBROOK STORAGE, UNIT 218.
The screen lit up.
A photograph showed Daniel and Noah standing in the bedroom—taken through the window seconds earlier.
May you like
Below it were five words.
LEAVE UNIT 218 BURIED.
