Chapter 2 - Thirteen Months Dead The garage door began to rise.
Noah grabbed Lily's hand.
"Uncle Dan..."
"Upstairs."
"But—"
"Now."
Vanessa moved suddenly.
She grabbed the cane and swung.
I raised my arm.
Pain exploded through my forearm.
I caught the cane and ripped it from her hands.
"Are you insane?"
"You should've stayed at work!"
The words hit harder than the cane.
Why?
Why would my wife say that?
Why was she afraid I had come home?
I threw the cane aside.
"Noah, take Lily upstairs. Lock my bedroom door. Call 911."
Noah obeyed.
Vanessa ran for the front door.
I caught her sweater.
The fabric tore.
She stumbled outside and disappeared toward the alley.
I almost chased her.
Then Lily screamed.
"Daddy!"
I chose my daughter.
By the time police arrived, Vanessa was gone.
Detective Maya Ruiz sat across from me at the dining table.
She studied the death certificate.
"You said your sister disappeared thirteen months ago?"
"We thought she left."
"Why?"
"My wife said Claire needed space."
Ruiz looked at me.
"And you believed her?"
The question hurt.
Because the answer was yes.
Then Noah appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
He held a brass key.
"My mom told me she was going to die."
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
"What?"
"She said if something happened to her, I had to wait until I turned thirteen."
He held up the key.
"Then I was supposed to find this."
Detective Ruiz leaned forward.
"Find what?"
May you like
Noah looked at me.
"A place she told me never to tell anyone about."
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