Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE LIEPeter had stopped sleeping.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Drew crawling across the pavement.
He saw Lily holding onto her brother’s shirt.
He saw the basement.
The locked door.
The names on the wall.
And now…
he saw Thomas.
His own brother.
Standing inside that nightmare.
The next morning, Detective Harper arrived at Peter’s house.
She found him sitting on the porch.
The same porch where Drew had collapsed.
The same place where everything began.
“You look like you haven’t moved.”
Peter stared at the street.
“I haven’t.”
Harper sat beside him.
“Peter.”
He looked at her.
“I don’t know who I can trust anymore.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Harper said:
“Good.”
Peter frowned.
“What?”
“Because people who trust everyone are the easiest people to manipulate.”
Peter looked at her.
“You think Thomas did it?”
Harper shook her head.
“I think Thomas knows more than he told us.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No.”
She looked toward the road.
“It’s a warning.”
They returned to Reena’s house.
The police had finished collecting evidence.
But Harper had received new information.
A hidden storage unit.
Registered under Reena’s name.
Peter felt his stomach turn.
“How many secrets does one person have?”
Harper looked at him.
“Sometimes the people who appear the most normal are the ones who spend the most time hiding.”
Inside the storage unit, they found boxes.
Dozens of them.
Old documents.
Photographs.
Medical records.
Peter opened the first box.
And froze.
Inside were pictures of children.
Not Drew.
Not Lily.
Other children.
Different years.
Different ages.
Different families.
Detective Harper picked up a folder.
“What is this?”
Peter looked over.
The folder contained adoption records.
But something was wrong.
The names had been crossed out.
Replaced.
Changed.
Harper’s face became serious.
“She changed their identities.”
Peter whispered:
“Why?”
Then they found the journal.
Reena’s handwriting.
A diary.
Years of notes.
Rules.
Punishments.
Control.
Peter opened it.
The first page had a sentence:
“Children are not born obedient. They must be trained.”
Peter felt sick.
Harper continued reading.
“She believes she is correcting them.”
Peter shook his head.
“No.”
He closed the journal.
“She knows exactly what she’s doing.”
Then Peter found something else.
A letter.
Addressed to Aaron.
His hands shook.
“No…”
Harper looked at him.
“What?”
Peter opened it.
Inside was Reena’s handwriting.
Aaron,
If you continue asking questions, you will destroy this family.
Peter’s face changed.
Harper leaned closer.
“What else?”
Peter kept reading.
You think you are protecting them.
But you are the danger.
Peter looked up.
“She threatened him.”
Suddenly…
a sound came from outside.
A car door.
Peter and Harper looked at each other.
Someone was there.
They rushed outside.
A black SUV was speeding away.
Peter ran toward the road.
“Stop!”
But the vehicle disappeared.
Back at the station, Harper checked the license plate.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
Peter looked at her.
She turned the screen around.
The vehicle belonged to…
Thomas Calder.
Peter went silent.
Again.
His own brother.
That night, Peter went to Thomas’s old office.
He found him there.
Sitting alone.
No anger.
No excuses.
Just exhaustion.
“You were at the storage unit.”
Thomas didn’t answer.
Peter stepped closer.
“Why?”
Thomas looked up.
“Because I was trying to destroy something.”
Peter froze.
“What?”
“Reena’s files.”
Peter stared.
“Why?”
Thomas looked away.
“Because Aaron asked me.”
Peter’s anger exploded.
“You keep saying Aaron asked you!”
He slammed his hand on the desk.
“But you never tell me the truth!”
Thomas looked at him.
“The truth is Aaron knew he was in danger.”
Peter stopped.
“What?”
Thomas whispered:
“He knew Reena would come after him.”
Peter’s voice lowered.
“Then why didn’t he leave?”
Thomas looked broken.
“Because Drew and Lily were still inside.”
Silence.
“He thought if he ran…”
Thomas swallowed.
“She would punish them harder.”
Peter closed his eyes.
Because that sounded exactly like Aaron.
His brother had always protected people.
Even when it destroyed him.
Thomas reached into a drawer.
He pulled out a small envelope.
“I kept this because I was afraid.”
Peter stared.
“What is it?”
Thomas handed it over.
“Aaron’s final message.”
Peter opened it.
Only one sentence.
Written in Aaron’s handwriting:
“Peter, if anything happens to me, protect my children from the person closest to them.”
Peter looked at Thomas.
“Who?”
Thomas whispered:
“I think you already know.”
Peter’s phone suddenly rang.
Detective Harper.
He answered.
“Peter…”
Her voice was urgent.
“We found Reena.”
Peter stood.
“Where?”
A pause.
“She escaped custody.”
Peter froze.
“What?”
Harper continued:
“And she took someone with her.”
Peter’s blood ran cold.
“Who?”
The answer came quietly.
“Drew.”
Peter dropped the phone.
May you like
Because the nightmare wasn’t over.
It had just started again.
