Chapter 2 - Behind the WallRyan grabbed a screwdriver from the kitchen drawer.
Caroline lunged toward him.
“Don't!”
Ryan pushed her hand away.
“Stay back.”
He removed the first screw.
Then the second.
Caroline began pleading.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“I can't.”
The third screw came loose.
Caroline suddenly ran.
Ryan heard the back door slam.
He almost followed her.
Then the girl cried again.
“Daddy…”
Nothing mattered more than getting her out.
Ryan ripped the grate away.
Behind it was not an ordinary ventilation duct.
Someone had removed part of the ductwork and constructed a narrow passage between the kitchen wall and an unused storage room.
Ryan grabbed his flashlight.
“I'm coming.”
Evan caught his sleeve.
“She's scared of the dark.”
Ryan looked at his son.
“How long have you known?”
Evan lowered his eyes.
“Six days.”
Ryan felt sick.
He squeezed through the opening.
The passage smelled of dust and damp wood.
Then his flashlight found a blanket.
A plastic water bottle.
Bread crusts.
And a little girl.
She looked about five.
Her brown hair was tangled around a pale face.
She wore an oversized yellow sweater.
Ryan crawled toward her.
“It's okay. You're safe.”
The girl stared at him.
Then tears filled her eyes.
“You came back.”
Ryan froze.
“Do you know me?”
She nodded.
“My mommy said you would.”
“What's your name?”
The girl reached beneath her blanket and removed a small photograph.
She handed it to Ryan.
His blood turned cold.
It was a photograph of Ryan from eight years earlier.
Standing beside a woman he hadn't seen in nearly seven years.
Her name was Natalie Hayes.
May you like
And on the back, written in Natalie’s handwriting, were six words:
Tell Ryan that Lily is his.
