CHAPTER 4
The Men Waiting at My Mother’s House
“Mom?”
Silence.
“Mom!”
I pulled the phone away and stared at the screen.
Call Ended.
My hands started shaking.
I called back immediately.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Again.
Straight to voicemail.
A cold knot formed in my stomach.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
“Nolan?” Priya whispered.
I looked up.
Everyone was staring at me.
“My mother…” My voice cracked. “She said they found her.”
The old woman's face went completely white.
“No…”
Raj cursed under his breath.
Meena suddenly looked terrified.
“It's happening again.”
I turned to her.
“What is happening?”
No one answered.
“Tell me!”
Raj took a deep breath.
“We need to leave. Now.”
“Not until someone explains what's going on!”
“Nolan,” he said firmly, “if those people found your mother, then we don't have much time.”
“What people?”
He looked at the old woman.
She nodded slowly.
Then he turned back to me.
“The men who took your father.”
Everything inside me stopped.
“What?”
“They've been looking for something for twenty-seven years.”
I thought about the letter.
The secret belongs to both of you.
The key is hidden inside your mother's house.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed.
A text message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
There was only one sentence.
Don't go home if you want your mother alive.
I froze.
“Who is it?” Priya asked.
I turned the phone around.
Everyone read the message.
The old woman covered her mouth.
Raj swore again.
Meena looked like she was about to faint.
“How did they get your number?” Priya whispered.
I had no answer.
A second message arrived.
This time, it included a photograph.
I opened it.
My blood turned to ice.
It was my mother's house.
Taken only minutes ago.
A black SUV was parked outside.
Two men in dark coats stood near the front door.
The timestamp showed three minutes ago.
Someone was watching.
Watching my mother.
Watching me.
“Nolan…” Priya said softly.
I couldn't breathe.
Then another message appeared.
Come alone. Bring the letter.
I looked up.
“How do they know about the letter?”
Nobody answered.
A terrible realization suddenly hit me.
I slowly turned toward the Anand family.
The old woman looked terrified.
Raj looked angry.
Meena looked… guilty.
Very guilty.
I stared at her.
“You knew.”
Her face lost all color.
“Nolan…”
“You knew they were still looking for us.”
“No…”
“You knew!”
The entire airport seemed to spin.
“What aren't you telling me?”
Tears filled Meena's eyes.
“I was trying to protect my daughter.”
“From what?”
She looked at Priya.
Then at me.
And finally she whispered:
“From your father.”
Silence.
I felt my heart stop.
“What?”
“Mom!” Priya cried.
But Meena was already crying.
“You don't understand. Daniel wasn't running from those men…”
She took a shaky breath.
“They were running from him.”
The words hit me like a punch.
“No.”
“It's true.”
“My father wasn't dangerous.”
“You don't know who your father was!”
“Neither do you!”
The airport fell silent again.
Then, unexpectedly, the old woman slammed her hand against the wheelchair.
“Enough!”
Everyone jumped.
She looked furious.
“Stop lying to him.”
Meena's eyes widened.
“Mother…”
“You've lied long enough.”
The old woman looked at me.
“Your father was a good man.”
“Then why did he disappear?”
She lowered her eyes.
“Because he made one terrible mistake.”
I swallowed hard.
“What mistake?”
The old woman hesitated.
Then she whispered:
“He fell in love with the wrong woman.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Nobody answered.
Then Raj slowly looked at me.
“Nolan… your mother wasn't the woman your father was supposed to marry.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
The old woman closed her eyes.
“Before your father met your mother… he was engaged.”
I looked at Priya.
Then back at her grandmother.
“No…”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Who was he engaged to?”
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then the old woman raised her trembling hand.
And pointed directly at Priya's mother.
“Her.”
The world stopped.
I looked at Meena.
She looked broken.
Tears streamed down her face.
“No…” I whispered.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “I was engaged to your father.”
I couldn't process the words.
The woman standing in front of me—
The mother of the stranger who had asked me to pretend to be her husband—
Had once been engaged to my father.
This couldn't be real.
But it got worse.
Much worse.
Because the old woman wasn't finished.
She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said:
“And the reason Daniel disappeared…”
She turned toward Meena.
“…is because she betrayed him.”
Suddenly, someone shouted from across the terminal.
“THERE HE IS!”
I turned.
Three men in black jackets were pushing through the crowd.
Coming straight toward us.
One of them pointed directly at me.
My blood ran cold.
The old woman grabbed my hand.
Her voice trembled.
“Run, Nolan.”
I stared at the approaching men.
“Who are they?”
The answer came from Meena.
And it changed everything.
May you like
“They work for your father.”
TO BE CONTINUED… 🔥🔥🔥
