The clicking behind the concrete wall continued for several seconds.
Mara stood perfectly still, the second brass key clenched in her palm. Daniel had moved closer to the wall, his eyes fixed on a narrow seam that had appeared between two slabs of concrete. Evelyn remained several steps behind them, shaking her head as though refusing to accept what was happening.
Then the wall shifted.
A section slid inward with a grinding sound.
Cold air spilled through the opening.
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“You knew there was another room.”
Evelyn swallowed. “I knew there was supposed to be one.”
“That isn't the same answer.”
“No.”
Mara stepped toward the opening. Beyond it was a smaller chamber, barely large enough for three people to stand comfortably. A single metal chair sat beneath a hanging lamp. Along the far wall were shelves filled with boxes, medical supplies, and old files.
There was also a hospital bed.
Mara stopped.
Daniel stared at it.
The memory came back so suddenly that he grabbed the doorway.
White light.
A ceiling.
A man's face leaning over him.
The smell of disinfectant.
A woman's voice saying, “If he wakes, call me.”
Then darkness.
Daniel squeezed his eyes shut.
Mara caught his arm. “Daniel?”
“I was here.”
Evelyn whispered, “I know.”
He opened his eyes.
“You knew?”
“I found this room six years ago.”
“After I disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because when I found it, you were already gone.”
Daniel stared at the bed.
“Where did they take me?”
Evelyn looked toward the shelves.
“I don't know.”
Mara entered the room first. On one shelf sat a stack of medical files. Most had no names. One carried a date six years earlier. She pulled it free.
Inside was a photograph of Daniel.
Not the photograph from the river.
This one showed him lying unconscious on the same bed.
His hair was shorter. A bandage covered part of his forehead. Electrodes were attached to his chest.
Mara's hand trembled.
Daniel took the photograph.
On the back, someone had written a single sentence.
Patient responds to Adrian's name.
Daniel stared at it.
“Why would I respond to Adrian?”
Evelyn answered quietly.
“Because Adrian was the one who brought you here.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What?”
“He told me you were injured.”
“Then why did you say he died?”
“He did.”
Daniel shook his head. “That isn't what I asked.”
Evelyn looked toward the bed.
“Adrian brought you here alive. He told me he had found you near the river. You were unconscious, but you were breathing.”
Mara's voice tightened. “And then?”
“Then someone came.”
“Who?”
“Victor.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
Evelyn continued, “Victor said the police were already looking for you. He said if they found you alive, they would arrest you for Adrian's death.”
“But Adrian wasn't dead yet.”
“No.”
Mara stared at her mother.
“So when did he die?”
Evelyn's eyes lowered.
“I don't know.”
Daniel stepped toward her.
“You said the police found his body.”
“They did.”
“After Victor came?”
“Yes.”
“Then Victor knew.”
Evelyn nodded.
“What happened to Adrian?”
“I never saw him alive again.”
Daniel looked at the medical photograph.
“And me?”
Evelyn's voice broke.
“Victor told me you had died.”
Mara looked sharply at her.
“But Daniel came home.”
“Yes.”
“Who came home?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“I don't know.”
The room fell silent.
Daniel turned toward the shelves.
“Then let's find out.”
He began opening boxes.
The first contained photographs of the property.
The second held financial records.
The third contained medical notes.
Mara helped him search.
Then she found an envelope.
No name.
Only a date.
Six years earlier.
She opened it.
Inside was a handwritten statement.
I was instructed to treat the patient as Daniel Vale. The person who delivered him insisted that no police notification was necessary.
Mara read it aloud.
Daniel took the paper.
“Who wrote this?”
“There is a signature.”
He looked at it.
“Dr. Samuel Hart.”
Evelyn's face changed.
“You know him?”
“He was my father's physician.”
Mara stared.
“You never told me that.”
“I didn't know he was involved.”
Daniel looked at the date.
“Where is he now?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“He disappeared.”
Mara looked toward the boxes.
“Of course he did.”
Daniel ignored the bitterness in her voice.
He opened another folder.
Inside was a list of payments.
Several went to Dr. Hart.
One went to Victor.
The last payment had been made two months after the river incident.
Then there was another name.
Evelyn.
Mara stared at the page.
Her mother had received money.
She turned slowly.
“Mom.”
Evelyn knew immediately.
“I can explain.”
“You took money?”
“No.”
“Your name is here.”
“I never accepted it.”
Daniel looked at the document.
“Then why is your name on the payment?”
“Because Victor used my name.”
“Why?”
“To make me look involved.”
Mara felt anger rising.
“You could have told me.”
“I was afraid you would not believe me.”
“You lied about everything.”
“Yes.”
The honesty stopped Mara.
Evelyn looked exhausted.
“I lied because every time I tried to tell the truth, someone disappeared.”
Daniel closed the folder.
“Who was the last person?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“Dr. Hart.”
A sound came from the tunnel.
Footsteps.
All three turned.
Someone was coming.
Daniel extinguished the lamp.
They waited in darkness.
A figure entered the chamber.
The person carried a flashlight.
Daniel moved silently behind the doorway.
The beam crossed the hospital bed.
Then the shelves.
Then the photograph.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Victor?”
The figure froze.
The flashlight dropped.
A woman's face appeared in the dim light.
Mara gasped.
She knew her.
Not personally.
From the old photograph.
The woman who had stood near the river.
Evelyn whispered her name.
“Claire.”
The woman stared at her.
“You shouldn't have come back.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You were there.”
Claire's face tightened.
“Yes.”
“At the river.”
“Yes.”
“With Adrian.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Claire looked at Evelyn.
“Ask her.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Don't.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“You've spent six years hiding behind the same lie.”
Mara stepped between them.
“What lie?”
Claire looked at her.
“That Daniel died that night.”
Mara's heart stopped.
Claire pointed toward the man beside her.
“He didn't.”
Daniel's voice was quiet.
“I know.”
Claire looked directly into his eyes.
“But you're not the man who left that river.”
Click Here to continue read next: PART6: Claire Told Them What Happened Beside the River, but Her Confession Raised a More Terrifying Question About Who Had Returned Home
The Smile in the Photograph Made Her Mother Stop Breathing Before Anyone Could Explain Why
Part 5 of 16
