Chapter 11 - The Vanishing Boy
When Ethan returned to the main mansion an hour later, the house was eerily silent.
He walked upstairs to the children’s wing, intending to secure Noah in his room until the child psychologist and private transport team arrived at dawn.
He opened the door to Noah’s room.
The bed was empty. The sheets were pulled back, and the closet doors hung wide open. Several items of clothing were missing from the drawers, along with Noah’s backpack.
Ethan’s pulse spiked. “Noah?”
He rushed down the hall to Lily’s room. The door was unlocked.
Ethan threw the door open, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Lily was sound asleep in her canopy bed, her plush rabbit tucked securely under her arm, undisturbed.
Ethan let out a breath of relief, but as his eyes scanned the room, he noticed something resting on the small play table near the window.
He walked over and picked up a piece of drawing paper.
On the paper, drawn in dark black crayon, was a crude sketch of the mansion balcony, the pool, and three figures standing on the stone paving. Two of the figures had red crosses drawn over their faces—one representing Grandmother, and one representing Ethan.
Beside the drawing lay the silver rose charm from Lily’s ribbon, placed neatly in the center of the table.
Ethan turned and ran down the stairs, calling out his son’s name into the dark, empty corridors of the estate.
May you like
“NOAH!”
There was no answer. Only the quiet hum of the air conditioner and the distant rumble of thunder outside.
