Daniel searched every room, calling Lily’s name until his voice broke.
Then he remembered the blue notebook.
He returned to Emily’s bedroom and searched through the remaining pages.
A hidden envelope had been sewn into the back cover.
Inside was a letter written by Emily shortly before she disappeared.
“Daniel, Michael was there the night I gave birth. He told everyone that you had abandoned me. He said you never wanted the baby.”
Daniel clenched the paper.
It was a lie.
He had never known Emily was pregnant.
The letter continued.
“Michael believed he could control our family by controlling the truth. When I discovered what he had done, I ran away with Lily. I thought I could protect her.”
Daniel reached the final paragraph.
“If something happens to me, remember this: the man you buried was not Michael.”
Daniel stopped breathing for a moment.
The funeral.
The closed coffin.
The accident report.
Everything he had accepted without question began to crumble.
Then his phone rang.
The caller ID showed an unknown number.
He answered.
A child’s voice whispered through the static.
“Daddy, please come get me.”
“Lily! Where are you?”
“I’m in the place where Mommy went to sleep.”
The call ended.
A message appeared on his screen with an address.
Daniel grabbed his keys.
He finally knew where to find his daughter.
