Chapter 4 - The Man Who Was Buried
Ethan pushed Lily and Mia toward the rear hallway.
"Go."
"Not without you."
"Lily, move."
The stair creaked.
Thomas Cole appeared at the top.
Older. Thinner. White hair where Ethan remembered black.
But alive.
Ethan looked like he'd been punched.
"I went to your funeral."
Thomas smiled without warmth.
"Closed casket. Convenient thing."
Lily pulled Mia behind her.
"Where's Claire?"
Thomas's eyes flicked to the girl.
"She made another mistake."
Ethan stepped forward.
"What did you do to her?"
"What I should have done twenty-two years ago."
The house shook as floodwater slammed debris against the foundation.
Thomas held up one hand.
"You can still walk away. Take your wife. Forget you saw the girl."
Ethan laughed once, broken and sharp.
"I spent twenty-two years forgetting for you."
Thomas's expression hardened.
"You survived because you listened."
Lily noticed his jacket pocket sagging under the weight of something rectangular.
A metal box key hung from a chain.
Mia whispered, "Mom said Grandpa wants the blue book."
Thomas snapped his head toward her.
That was enough.
Ethan lunged.
They hit the wall together.
Lily grabbed Mia and ran toward the back staircase.
Behind them came a grunt, then breaking plaster.
"Lily!" Ethan shouted. "Basement! Claire is in the basement!"
Lily stopped.
Water had already covered the first three cellar steps.
"Mia, stay behind me."
They descended.
A flashlight beam revealed shelves, rusted tools, and a new steel door bolted into an old foundation wall.
Fresh welding scars framed it.
From behind the metal came three weak knocks.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Mia screamed, "Mom!"
Lily reached for the latch.
Locked.
Then Ethan stumbled into the basement, blood at his lip.
"Thomas ran."
He saw the door and the chain key missing from Thomas's jacket.
"He took the key."
Mia dropped her rabbit.
Something inside its torn seam flashed silver.
Lily picked it up.
Hidden in the stuffing was a tiny key.
May you like
And a folded note in Claire's handwriting.
FOR ETHAN - IF HE FINALLY COMES BACK.
