CHAPTER 8 – The Woman Who Lied for Six Years
Noah refused to believe it.
"No..."
He replayed the final seconds again.
And again.
Every time, Aunt Emily's face appeared for only two seconds.
But it was unmistakably her.
She had been there...
The night Noah's father recorded his final message.
Then Noah remembered something.
Every foster home that tried to keep him had somehow rejected him within days.
Every place he'd stayed had mysteriously become "unsafe."
Every time...
Aunt Emily was the first person to arrive.
She had always known exactly where to find him.
It wasn't luck.
She had been watching him.
Outside the depot...
Headlights suddenly flooded the broken windows.
Three black SUVs.
Rex sprang to his feet, barking furiously.
Doors slammed.
Boots hit the pavement.
Someone shouted—
"Search every room!"
Noah's heart pounded.
How had they found them?
His phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
Against his instincts...
He answered.
A soft, familiar voice came through the speaker.
"Hello, sweetheart."
Noah's blood ran cold.
"Aunt Emily?"
She laughed gently, almost lovingly.
"I've been looking everywhere for you."
"Please... come home."
Noah whispered,
"Did you kill my dad?"
Silence.
Then she sighed.
"I never wanted you to find that video."
A tear rolled down Noah's cheek.
"So... it's true."
"No," she replied calmly.
"I didn't kill your father."
"I loved him."
Noah frowned.
"Then why are they hunting me?"
Another long silence.
When Aunt Emily finally spoke...
Her voice cracked for the first time.
"Because..."
"...you're not his son."
The phone disconnected.
At that exact moment...
Rex began barking at the depot's back wall.
Hidden beneath years of rust and dust was an old steel door.
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Scratched into the metal were seven words that made Noah's knees buckle:
"If Emily finds you... DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR."
