Chapter 8 - The Yellow Backpack
Maren screamed Owen’s name until her throat hurt.
Callum ran toward the road while Elias searched behind the house. Mrs. Alvarez checked every room twice, calling beneath beds and inside cupboards as though Owen might be hiding.
Helena contacted the police.
Maren stood on the front step gripping the yellow backpack.
One strap had been cut.
Not torn.
Cut.
Inside were Owen’s pajamas, his toy dinosaur, two crayons, and the wooden boat Edmund had carved for him the previous summer.
His stuffed rabbit was gone.
Owen never went anywhere without it.
“They took him,” Maren said.
Callum returned from the road.
“Tire marks head east.”
“Who knew we were here?”
“Only us.”
“Then one of us told them.”
No one spoke.
Maren looked from Helena to Elias.
Mrs. Alvarez crossed herself.
Callum took out his phone and checked the vehicle security log.
“The car’s emergency location service activated twelve minutes ago.”
“Whose car?” Elias asked.
“Mine.”
He opened the tracking application.
A red signal moved along the coastal highway.
Maren grabbed his arm.
“Then we follow.”
“It could be a decoy.”
“I don’t care.”
“I do. Whoever took Owen expects us to react.”
“He is alone.”
Callum held her face between his hands.
“We will get him back.”
“You cannot promise that.”
“Yes, I can.”
“How?”
“Because they need him alive.”
The logic was cruel, but it steadied her.
The Blackwood Vault required a descendant.
Owen had value to them.
For now.
They took Helena’s car because Callum’s second vehicle might also be tracked.
Mrs. Alvarez remained at the house to coordinate with police.
The signal moved inland toward Bellweather’s abandoned maritime facility at Blackwood Point.
Callum drove.
Maren sat beside him, watching the red dot.
Helena and Elias argued in the back seat.
“You must tell us whether Patricia had other people watching you,” Helena said.
“I don’t know.”
“You always know less than you should.”
“I spent five years hiding.”
“And yet they found you yesterday.”
“Because I wanted them to.”
Maren turned.
“What?”
Elias looked at her.
“I leaked information that I was returning.”
“You used my wedding as bait?”
“I didn’t know the date.”
“You knew Owen might be targeted.”
“I thought Patricia would come for me.”
“She came for him.”
Elias looked away.
Callum’s knuckles whitened around the steering wheel.
“When Owen is safe, you stay away from my family.”
Elias laughed bitterly.
“He is my family.”
“You abandoned him.”
“To keep him alive.”
“That excuse belongs to cowards.”
Elias leaned forward.
“And what will you do when loving Maren costs you everything?”
“I already decided.”
“You say that now.”
“I said it in the kitchen.”
“A room full of witnesses makes courage easy.”
Callum’s eyes flashed in the mirror.
Maren stopped them.
“Both of you be quiet.”
They fell silent.
She watched the road.
Owen had asked whether the man at the gate wanted to take him.
She had promised no one would.
The red signal stopped.
Blackwood Point appeared beyond the trees.
The facility had been built on a cliff above a natural harbor. Rusted warehouses stood behind a chain-link fence. The Bellweather name remained visible on an old water tower, though several letters had fallen away.
A security barrier blocked the entrance.
No guard stood nearby.
Callum left the engine running.
“This is wrong.”
Maren opened her door.
He caught her wrist.
“Wait.”
A child’s stuffed rabbit sat in the middle of the road.
Owen’s rabbit.
One ear was folded beneath it.
Maren ran.
Callum shouted after her.
She reached the toy and picked it up.
A small digital recorder had been tied around its neck.
She pressed play.
Owen’s voice came through the speaker.
“Mom, I’m okay. The lady said you have to bring Grandpa’s black book. She said Dad knows where it is.”
The recording clicked.
Then Patricia’s voice replaced his.
“Callum, you have two hours. Bring the ledger to the Blackwood Vault. Come without police, or Owen will learn what happened to the last child who carried Adrian’s blood.”
The message ended.
Maren looked at Callum.
“You said you didn’t know where the ledger was.”
“I don’t.”
Elias stepped from the car.
“But Edmund does.”
Callum’s phone rang.
The screen showed his grandfather’s name.
He answered.
Edmund spoke before Callum could say anything.
“Do not go inside Blackwood Point.”
“They have Owen.”
“I know.”
“How?”
A long pause followed.
May you like
Then Edmund said the words that shattered the last remains of trust.
“Because I gave him to them.”
