Chapter 15 - the man who was supposed to be dead)
Alexander Whitmore had died when Evan was a baby.
Heart attack.
Private funeral.
Closed coffin.
The family story was familiar now.
Too familiar.
Naomi called federal investigators.
By the time they traced the connection, the signal had bounced through six countries.
No location.
No identity confirmation.
Only the video.
Marcus studied old photographs.
"It looks like him."
Evan stared at the frozen frame.
"Could be fake."
"It could."
But none of them believed that.
Back in Connecticut, Evan continued therapy.
Seven steps.
Nine.
Twelve.
A month after the ballroom confrontation, he walked from one side of the rehabilitation room to the other using braces and a walker.
Nia waited at the end.
She held both hands out.
"Come with me."
Evan laughed.
"You need new material."
"You still came."
He reached her.
For the first time they stood almost eye to eye.
No wheelchair between them.
Nia hugged him.
Naomi cried.
Marcus looked away and pretended not to.
Even Evan's Aunt Caroline, usually composed, covered her mouth.
Richard remained in federal custody awaiting trial.
The government seized several Whitmore Medical Systems research sites.
Families of Lantern children came forward.
Hospitals opened investigations.
Evan testified privately.
Naomi received protection.
Nia returned to school.
Marcus agreed to testify against Richard and every executive he could identify.
The world considered the story nearly finished.
A corrupt billionaire.
A betrayed son.
A brave girl.
A miraculous recovery.
A missing mother.
That was how newspapers liked stories.
Clean lines.
Heroes.
Villains.
Endings.
Evan knew better.
One Friday evening he sat beside Nia on the porch of Caroline's house.
Autumn leaves moved across the lawn.
His wheelchair sat behind them.
He still needed it for long distances.
He no longer hated it.
The chair had not imprisoned him.
People had.
Nia handed him an envelope.
"This came for you."
"No stamp?"
"No address."
Inside was a photograph of Lily.
Recent.
She stood beside Claire near a lake.
Evan stared at his mother.
Alive.
Smiling.
His sister held her hand.
On the back someone had written.
THE FIRST THIRTY TWO WERE ONLY THE BEGINNING.
Evan looked at Nia.
"Claire's handwriting?"
"No."
He agreed.
The letters were sharp and mechanical.
A second photograph slipped out.
Evan picked it up.
It showed Nia leaving school.
Taken from across the street.
Nia's face went pale.
Someone had been watching her.
On the back was another message.
BRING THE LEDGER TO VERMONT.
COME ALONE.
Naomi contacted the investigators immediately.
They searched outside.
No one.
Security footage showed a dark sedan passing the house twice.
The license plate was stolen.
That night Evan could not sleep.
At 2:17 a.m., his phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A message.
He opened it.
A video loaded.
Claire stood in darkness.
Her hands appeared tied.
A bruise marked her cheek.
Someone behind the camera said, "Tell him."
Claire looked directly at Evan.
"No."
A man's voice answered.
"Tell your son where Lily is."
Claire shook her head.
The camera moved closer.
Evan recognized the gold ring on the man's hand.
Whitmore crest.
Alexander.
Claire whispered one sentence.
"Evan, whatever happens, do not come to Vermont."
The video ended.
Evan immediately called Naomi.
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
Then he noticed movement outside his bedroom window.
A figure stood near the trees.
Small.
A child.
Red hair.
Evan's heart stopped.
He grabbed his walker and moved toward the hallway.
"Nia."
She came running from the guest room.
"What happened?"
Evan pointed outside.
The figure was gone.
They rushed downstairs.
The front door was open.
Cold air moved through the house.
On the porch lay a pair of muddy red shoes.
Inside one shoe was a folded note.
Evan opened it.
The handwriting was childish.
MY NAME IS LILY.
MOM SAID YOU WOULD HELP ME.
Nia stared into the darkness.
"Where is she?"
Evan turned the note over.
There was one more sentence.
HE KNOWS I FOUND YOU.
A car engine started somewhere beyond the trees.
Evan stepped off the porch.
Nia caught his arm.
"Wait."
Headlights appeared at the far end of the road.
The black sedan accelerated toward them.
Then another sound came from inside the house.
Three slow knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Evan and Nia turned.
The sound came from beneath the floor.
Exactly like the night everything began.
Nia whispered, "Someone's inside."
The sedan stopped beyond the gate.
Its headlights went dark.
Evan gripped his walker.
The floorboards moved.
A hidden panel beneath the staircase opened.
A small red haired girl crawled out.
Lily.
Her clothes were wet.
Her face was terrified.
She looked at Evan.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Lily ran to him.
Evan dropped the walker and caught her.
She was real.
His sister was real.
Nia locked the front door.
"Who brought you here?"
Lily shook her head.
"Nobody."
"How did you find the tunnel?"
"Mom showed me."
Evan held her shoulders.
"Where is Mom?"
Lily started crying.
"They took her."
"Who?"
"The people from Lantern."
"Alexander?"
Lily looked confused.
"Grandfather?"
Evan froze.
"You know him?"
Lily nodded.
"He was helping us."
Nia stared.
"Helping?"
Lily wiped her face.
"Until yesterday."
"What happened yesterday?"
Lily looked toward the dark windows.
"He found out Mom lied to him."
"About what?"
Lily reached inside her jacket.
She removed a small black flash drive.
"About this."
Evan took it.
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
"Why did she give it to you?"
"She said if anything happened, I had to find my brother."
Outside, the sedan doors opened.
Several figures stepped onto the road.
Nia turned off the porch lights.
Evan looked at Lily.
"What did Mom say was on the drive?"
Lily swallowed.
"She said it explains why Richard chose you."
Evan frowned.
"For Lantern?"
Lily shook her head.
"No."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"She said Lantern existed before you were born."
Footsteps approached the gate.
Evan tightened his grip on the drive.
Lily continued.
"And she said Richard wasn't your real father."
The first knock sounded against the front door.
Then another.
Then another.
Evan stared at his sister.
Outside, a man's voice called his name.
But it was not Richard.
It was not Alexander.
May you like
And somehow Evan knew that whoever stood beyond the door had been waiting for this night much longer than he had been alive.
The handle began to turn.
