Chapter 6 - THE ROOM BEHIND THE PORTRAITThe FBI agents moved instantly.
Weapons drawn.
Flashlights cutting through the darkness.
Ethan pulled the little girl behind him.
“Stay with me.”
Another shot.
This one came from the second floor.
Brooks shouted into his radio.
“Lock down the property!”
They rushed upstairs.
The hallway was empty.
A portrait hung crooked on the wall.
Ethan recognized the painting.
His grandfather.
Brooks touched the frame.
“There's something behind this.”
They removed it.
A hidden door appeared.
Inside was a small room.
No windows.
No furniture.
Only photographs.
Hundreds.
Women.
Children.
Employees.
Doctors.
Lawyers.
Politicians.
At the center was Rebecca.
And beneath her photograph:
ELIMINATED.
Ethan stared.
Then he saw another photograph.
Maria.
Beside her was a word.
NEXT.
His heart stopped.
“She was never supposed to survive.”
Brooks looked at him.
“Who?”
Ethan pointed.
“Maria.”
Then the phone rang.
It was Maria.
Ethan answered.
Her voice trembled.
“Ethan.”
“Where are you?”
“I don't know.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Who has you?”
She whispered:
“Your grandmother.”
Ethan rushed outside.
His grandmother was standing beside a black Cadillac.
She looked elegant.
Calm.
Almost maternal.
“Hello, Ethan.”
He stared.
“You're alive.”
She smiled.
“Of course.”
“Where is Maria?”
“She is safe.”
“Let her go.”
“You always were impatient.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“You killed Rebecca.”
The old woman sighed.
“She was going to destroy the family.”
“She was innocent.”
“No one is innocent when money is involved.”
Ethan clenched his fists.
“What did you do with the children?”
Her smile disappeared.
“Your father was supposed to continue the work.”
“What work?”
“Building a legacy.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You murdered people for a legacy?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
She looked toward the mansion.
“We murdered people to protect a secret.”
“What secret?”
She smiled.
“The child you believe is your son isn't your son.”
Ethan froze.
The world seemed to stop.
His grandmother leaned closer.
“Your wife knows.”
Victoria stood behind him.
Her face was completely white.
Ethan slowly turned toward her.
“Victoria?”
She began crying.
“I was going to tell you.”
He couldn't speak.
His grandmother smiled.
“Now you know why she was afraid.”
Ethan looked toward the nursery.
His son was sleeping upstairs.
Or at least, he believed he was.
Then his grandmother whispered:
“The baby you saved today…”
May you like
She paused.
“Was never supposed to survive.”
Related Stories
