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