Chapter 6 - THE TRUTH ABOUT NOAH
Emily stared at the photograph.
Her mind refused to accept what her eyes were seeing.
Noah.
Her little brother.
Standing inside the Kingston family mansion.
Standing beside Alexander’s father.
A man Emily had never heard about.
A man her brother somehow knew.
“No.”
The word escaped her lips.
Alexander looked at her.
“You’re sure?”
Emily stepped closer.
“That’s Noah.”
Her voice shook.
“He was nine years old in that picture.”
Alexander turned the photo over again.
The message remained.
Protect Emily Carter.
She is the last person who knows the truth.
“But I don’t know anything.”
Alexander looked at her.
“That’s what scares me.”
Emily felt anger rise.
“Are you saying my brother lied to me?”
“No.”
Alexander answered immediately.
“I'm saying someone made sure you never knew.”
Those words changed everything.
Emily remembered.
The strange phone calls Noah received.
The sudden move.
The questions he avoided.
The night he disappeared from her life.
Everyone had told her Noah needed space.
Everyone told her he was starting over.
But maybe that wasn’t true.
“What happened to my brother?”
Alexander didn’t answer.
And that scared her more.
“My father had a private research company.”
Emily looked at him.
“Research?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
Alexander hesitated.
“The kind that powerful people pay a lot of money to keep secret.”
A chill went through her.
“What does that have to do with Noah?”
Before Alexander could answer, his mother entered.
She had followed them.
She was holding an old envelope.
She handed it to Emily.
Emily looked confused.
“For me?”
The woman nodded.
Emily opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
The handwriting was familiar.
Her heart stopped.
“No…”
It was Noah’s handwriting.
Her hands began shaking.
Emily,
If you are reading this, it means they found you.
Do not trust anyone.
Not even the people who say they are protecting you.
Emily covered her mouth.
“Noah…”
She continued reading.
I tried to keep you away from this world.
I failed.
The Kingston family knows what happened.
Alexander knows only part of the truth.
But his father knew everything.
A sound came from outside.
A crash.
Everyone froze.
Alexander immediately moved in front of Emily.
The security team rushed toward the hallway.
Then the mansion lights shut off.
Again.
Darkness.
A voice came through the speakers.
“Alexander Kingston.”
The entire house stopped.
The voice continued.
“You spent ten years pretending your father died.”
Alexander’s face changed.
“Who are you?”
A laugh echoed.
“Ask Emily.”
Emily froze.
The voice continued.
“She deserves to know why her brother disappeared.”
Alexander looked at her.
Confusion.
Fear.
Suspicion.
Then the final words came.
“Because Noah Carter didn’t run away.”
A pause.
“He was taken.”
The lights returned.
The room was silent.
Emily looked at Alexander.
Alexander looked back at her.
And both realized the same thing.
The mystery they thought was about the Kingston family…
May you like
was actually about Emily.
TO BE CONTINUED...
