Chapter 6 - THE EMPTY DRIVEWAY
Mark disappeared before we could reach him.
One moment he was beside me.
The next, the room was empty.
His phone lay on the floor.
His jacket was still on the chair.
The back door stood open.
I ran outside.
Rain hammered the driveway.
Mark's car was gone.
I called him.
Straight to voicemail.
Owen called the police.
Within twenty minutes, officers surrounded the property.
Detective Morales arrived.
She listened to everything.
Then she asked one question.
"Do you know who took him?"
"Elias."
"Proof?"
"Not yet."
She nodded.
"Then we'll get it."
We searched the roads.
Mark's car was found six miles away.
The driver's door was open.
His wallet was inside.
His phone was gone.
There were no signs of blood.
No broken glass.
No struggle.
That meant one thing.
Mark had either left voluntarily or someone had convinced him to leave.
I refused to believe the first.
Hours later, my phone rang.
Mark.
I answered immediately.
"Where are you?"
"Dad."
His voice was barely a whisper.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Where are you?"
"I don't know."
"Mark, listen to me."
A pause.
"He's listening."
My blood ran cold.
"Who?"
"Elias."
Then the line went dead.
A photograph arrived.
Mark sitting in a dark room.
His hands were visible.
No injuries.
But behind him was a wall covered with photographs.
The same photographs from my hidden room.
I stared at the image.
Owen zoomed in.
"There."
A reflection in a metal surface.
Someone was standing behind Mark.
Elias.
We traced the photograph to an abandoned warehouse.
Police surrounded it.
Inside, they found equipment.
Computers.
Cameras.
Hard drives.
But no Mark.
Then we found a room beneath the building.
There were dozens of rolls of film.
One had the same handwriting as the original.
BEDROOM.
Another was labeled:
MARK.
A third:
SARAH.
We developed them.
The photographs showed Sarah over several years.
She was alive.
Watching us.
But one photograph contained something new.
Sarah was standing beside a man.
Daniel.
The timestamp was three months ago.
On the back was a message:
HE DIDN'T TELL YOU EVERYTHING.
Daniel was questioned.
He finally admitted the truth.
Sarah had contacted him recently.
She had discovered that Elias was not working alone.
Someone higher in the organization had been financing him.
Someone with access to government records.
Someone with access to police databases.
Someone who could erase medical files.
Someone who could make a woman legally disappear.
The name was hidden in the archive.
We returned home.
The steel cabinet was still locked.
But now we knew what we were searching for.
Mark was still alive.
Sarah was still alive.
And the person behind everything was still watching.
At midnight, Detective Morales received a call.
They had located Mark.
He was at an old railway station.
Alive.
When I reached him, he ran toward me.
I hugged him so tightly he could barely breathe.
Then he whispered,
"Dad."
"What?"
"Mom was there."
I froze.
"Where?"
"She saved me."
I looked around.
Sarah was gone.
But Mark handed me a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Sarah standing in the snow.
May you like
On the back:
I'M SORRY. I'LL COME HOME WHEN IT'S SAFE.
