Chapter 9 - THE MAN WHO KNEW NOAH
The Kingston basement had been abandoned for years.
Nobody used it.
Nobody entered it.
At least, that was what Alexander believed.
The security team surrounded the stairs.
Alexander walked down first.
Emily followed.
“Absolutely not.”
He stopped.
“Emily.”
“I’m involved.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“You said yourself.”
A pause.
“You need to know if you can trust me.”
Alexander stared.
She was right.
And he hated that.
“Stay behind me.”
Emily nodded.
“That’s the closest thing to permission I’m getting, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Fine.”
They continued downward.
The air became colder.
The lights flickered.
At the bottom was a small room.
And inside…
A man sat in a chair.
Waiting.
Alexander immediately recognized him.
His face changed.
“No.”
Emily looked between them.
“You know him?”
Alexander didn’t answer.
The man smiled.
“Hello, Alexander.”
His voice was calm.
Almost friendly.
But everyone in the room reacted like they were facing a ghost.
“Who is he?” Emily asked.
Alexander’s jaw tightened.
“My father’s assistant.”
The man smiled wider.
“Former assistant.”
Emily felt confused.
“But you said everyone from your father’s company disappeared.”
Alexander looked at him.
“I thought you were dead.”
The man laughed.
“That was the idea.”
He looked at Emily.
“So this is her.”
Emily stepped back.
“Her?”
The man studied her.
“Your brother was right.”
Alexander moved forward.
“What did you do to Noah?”
The man’s smile disappeared.
“Me?”
He leaned back.
“You still don’t understand.”
The room went silent.
“Your father didn’t die because he discovered a secret.”
Alexander stared.
“He died because he tried to stop it.”
The man looked at Emily.
“And Noah was the only person who knew where your father hid the evidence.”
Emily’s heart raced.
“What evidence?”
The man smiled.
“The evidence that can destroy everyone responsible.”
Alexander’s voice turned cold.
“Where is Noah?”
The man looked at Emily.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
He pointed at her.
“Whether she remembers.”
Emily froze.
“What do you mean?”
The man leaned forward.
“Your brother didn’t disappear.”
A pause.
“He erased you from the truth.”
Alexander looked confused.
Emily felt sick.
“What truth?”
The man smiled.
“The night you were fourteen…”
The lights suddenly shut off.
A gunshot exploded.
Everyone dropped.
When emergency lights returned, the man was gone.
Only one thing remained.
A photograph.
Emily picked it up.
It was a picture of her at fourteen.
Standing beside Noah.
And beside them…
was Alexander Kingston’s father.
On the back of the photo were six words.
YOU WERE THERE THAT NIGHT.
Emily stared at the message.
Her hands began shaking.
Because suddenly she realized something terrifying.
The biggest mystery was not where Noah had gone.
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The biggest mystery was what Emily had forgotten.
TO BE CONTINUED...
