Chapter 4 - THE BOATHOUSE
Adrian drove through the rain alone.
At least, he thought he was alone.
Natalie had hidden in the back seat.
He discovered her halfway to the lake.
“Are you insane?”
“My sister died because everyone told her to stay quiet.”
She stared at him.
“I’m done staying quiet.”
The Westwood boathouse had been abandoned for years.
Adrian parked outside.
No lights.
No cars.
Inside, the air smelled like wet wood and gasoline.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
Then Natalie spotted a red case sitting on a table.
“Adrian.”
He approached carefully.
Claire’s initials were stamped inside the lid.
C.W.
His hands shook.
Inside was her wedding ring.
He picked it up.
For three years, he had imagined finding it.
He never imagined it would hurt this much.
Beneath the ring was a small digital recorder.
Adrian pressed PLAY.
Madison’s voice filled the room.
“You’re not going to tell him.”
Then Claire.
“I already copied everything.”
A third voice appeared.
Caleb.
“Claire, please. We can fix this.”
Claire answered.
“You stole from sick children.”
Caleb sounded desperate.
“I didn’t know where all the money was going.”
Then Margaret’s voice.
“Enough.”
Adrian’s stomach twisted.
His mother had been there.
Claire said, “Adrian deserves to know.”
Margaret replied coldly.
“Adrian deserves peace.”
Then Madison spoke.
“If you tell him, you’ll destroy his family.”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“No. You already did that.”
A crash.
Someone shouted.
Then the recording stopped.
Natalie was shaking.
“That was the night before she died.”
Adrian nodded.
Suddenly headlights swept across the windows.
A vehicle approached fast.
“Down!”
A truck smashed through the boathouse doors.
Adrian grabbed Natalie and threw both of them behind a heavy workbench.
The truck plowed into the table.
Claire’s red box disappeared beneath the tires.
A masked driver reversed.
Adrian ran after him.
“STOP!”
The truck accelerated toward the road.
Adrian caught one detail.
A damaged left taillight.
And a Westwood estate security sticker.
Natalie stumbled outside.
“That was one of our vehicles.”
Adrian stared after it.
Someone from the mansion had tried to kill them.
His phone rang.
Rachel.
He answered.
“Rachel?”
Her voice was frantic.
“Mr. Westwood, Emma is gone.”
Adrian’s blood turned cold.
“What?”
“I turned around for ten seconds.”
She was sobbing.
“Someone took my daughter.”
Then Adrian heard Emma’s stuffed rabbit drop onto the floor through the phone.
And beside it was a note.
Rachel read it aloud.
“Bring the recorder back…”
May you like
Her voice broke.
“…or you’ll bury another innocent girl.”
