Chapter 6: The Last Witness
I dropped the phone.
Nobody spoke.
The words stayed in my mind.
Richard Carter isn’t the only person who came back from the dead.
I looked at Michael.
Then Emma.
Then Vanessa.
A terrible thought entered my mind.
What if this house had never been hiding one secret?
What if it had been hiding dozens?
“Who was that?”” Michael asked.
I looked at him.
“David Miller.””
His face changed.
“He’s alive?””
The question confused me.
“What do you mean?””
Michael stepped closer.
“David was supposed to be dead too.””
I felt the room shrink.
“How many people are there?””
Nobody answered.
Then the front door slammed downstairs.
My father.
We had forgotten about him.
“Mark,” Vanessa whispered.
We all froze.
Richard’s voice echoed through the house.
“Come downstairs.””
Nobody moved.
“Mark.””
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“I know you’re listening.””
Michael grabbed a lamp from the table.
“You need to get them out.””
I looked at him.
“And you?””
His eyes met mine.
“I need to finish what I started eight years ago.””
“No.””
He looked surprised.
“No?””
“You don’t get to disappear again.””
A sad smile crossed his face.
“I never disappeared.””
The words hurt.
“I was stolen.””
A crash came from downstairs.
Richard was moving.
We had seconds.
I grabbed Emma’s hand.
“Stay close to me.””
She nodded.
Lily appeared at the doorway.
“Daddy.””
I rushed to her.
“You stay with me.””
She looked terrified.
“Is Grandpa going to hurt us?””
I didn’t answer.
Because I didn’t know.
And that was the worst part.
We moved toward the back staircase.
But before we reached it, Richard appeared at the end of the hallway.
The gun was gone.
But somehow that made him more dangerous.
“Running?””
I stepped in front of everyone.
“This ends now.””
Richard looked at me.
“You sound like your mother.””
The mention of her made my anger explode.
“Don’t say her name.””
His expression changed.
“You finally understand.””
“No.””
I pointed at him.
“I finally see you.””
For the first time, my father looked hurt.
Only for a second.
Then the coldness returned.
“You always wanted me to be the villain.””
“I wanted you to be my father.””
Silence.
The words landed.
Richard looked away.
Then he said quietly:
“You have no idea what I sacrificed.””
Michael laughed.
“You sacrificed everyone.””
My father looked at him.
“You were always weak.””
Michael stepped forward.
“And you were always afraid.””
That hit him.
Richard’s face hardened.
“You don’t know fear.””
Michael’s voice lowered.
“I spent eight years in a room behind a wall.””
Nobody spoke.
“I know fear better than anyone.””
For a moment, even Richard looked away.
Then the lights went out.
Darkness.
A scream.
A struggle.
I grabbed Lily.
Someone crashed into the wall.
Then the lights returned.
Richard was gone.
And so was Emma.
“No.””
I ran toward the hallway.
The window at the end was open.
Cold air rushed inside.
Michael looked outside.
“He took her.””
My phone buzzed.
A message.
One photo.
Emma sitting in the backseat of a car.
And below it:
*Bring me the flash drive, or the girl disappears like everyone else.*
My hands shook.
Vanessa looked at me.
“What are we going to do?””
I stared at the message.
Then at Michael.
For eight years, he had been trapped.
For eight years, my father had controlled everyone around him.
But now he had made one mistake.
He took my daughter’s friend.
And he threatened my family.
I picked up the flash drive.
“We go after him.””
Michael nodded.
But before we left, he grabbed my shoulder.
“Mark.””
I looked at him.
“There’s something you need to know.””
“What?””
His eyes filled with regret.
“The person who helped your father fake his death…”
He hesitated.
I waited.
Then he said the name.
May you like
And my entire body went cold.
“Was Vanessa.””
