<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I looked down at her.
\n\u201cSweetheart, go back where?\u201d
\nShe pressed herself against Nathan\u2019s leg.
\n\u201cTo the house with the locked door.\u201d
\nMy son closed his eyes.
\nAnd in that moment, I knew whatever had been happening for the past eight weekends was far worse than two teenage boys sneaking out to parties.
\nI grabbed my phone.
\n\u201cI\u2019m calling Denise.\u201d
\n\u201cNo!\u201d Nathan shouted.
\nThe force of his voice startled me.
\n\u201cMom, please. Just give me five minutes.\u201d
\n\u201cYour best friend\u2019s mother has been sitting in my kitchen all night, terrified that her son is dead! You don\u2019t get to ask for five minutes!\u201d
\nNathan\u2019s face crumpled.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I\u2019m afraid of.\u201d
\nI stopped breathing.
\n\u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d
\nHe looked toward the front window.
\nThen he reached behind him and locked the door.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, somebody followed us.\u201d
\nMy heart began pounding.
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know his real name.\u201d
\n\u201cHis real name?\u201d
\nNathan pulled the curtain aside just enough to look outside.
\nA black pickup truck rolled slowly past our house.
\nHe immediately dropped the curtain.
\n\u201cTurn off the porch light,\u201d he whispered.
\nI had never seen my son look so frightened.
\nNot when he broke his arm at ten.
\nNot when his father walked out on us three years earlier.
\nNot even when we buried his grandfather.
\nThis was different.
\nThis was terror.
\nI switched off the light.
\nThen I took Lily\u2019s hand and guided her into the kitchen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She flinched when I touched her shoulder.
\nI noticed a fading bruise on her wrist.
\nMy stomach twisted.
\n\u201cLily, honey, are you hurt?\u201d
\nShe shook her head.
\nBut Nathan answered for her.
\n\u201cShe hasn\u2019t eaten since yesterday morning.\u201d
\nI opened the refrigerator and pulled out milk, bread, and leftover chicken.
\nThe little girl stared at the food as though she hadn\u2019t seen a proper meal in days.
\nWhile she ate, Nathan sat across from me.
\nHis hands were shaking.
\n\u201cEight weeks ago,\u201d he began, \u201cCole and I found her behind the old Riverside laundromat.\u201d
\nI frowned.
\n\u201cThe laundromat on Mercer Street?\u201d
\nHe nodded.
\n\u201cThe one that\u2019s been closed for years.\u201d
\nI remembered it. A boarded-up building beside an abandoned auto repair shop.
\n\u201cWhat were you doing there?\u201d
\n\u201cTaking a shortcut home from basketball practice. We heard someone crying.\u201d
\nHe looked at Lily.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was hiding behind a dumpster. She had a backpack, a bottle of water, and a photograph of her mother.\u201d PART 2 \u2014 THE SECRET BEHIND THE EIGHT MISSING WEEKENDS There was blood on my son\u2019s shirt. Not a little. Not the kind you get from a scraped knee or … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-story","category-read-story","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=222"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":233,"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222\/revisions\/233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storylexausa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u201cWhere was her mother?\u201d
\nNathan\u2019s jaw tightened.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019ve been trying to find out.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cFor two months?\u201d
\n\u201cMom, we tried to get help.\u201d
\n\u201cFrom whom?\u201d
\n\u201cThe first night, we took her to a police station.\u201d
\nMy eyes widened.
\n\u201cYou did WHAT?\u201d
\n\u201cWe told the officer we found a little girl alone. He asked her name, and when she told him, his whole expression changed.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d
\nNathan leaned closer.
\n\u201cHe went into another room and made a phone call. Then he came back and told us to wait because someone was coming to collect her.\u201d
\nI glanced at Lily.
\nShe had stopped eating.
\nHer eyes were fixed on Nathan.
\n\u201cWhat happened next?\u201d I asked.
\n\u201cLily heard him say a name.\u201d
\nThe little girl\u2019s spoon slipped from her hand.
\nNathan lowered his voice.
\n\u201cShe started screaming. She said the man coming for her was the same man who had taken her mother away.\u201d
\nA chill traveled down my spine.
\n\u201cSo you left?\u201d
\n\u201cWe ran out through the side entrance before anyone came.\u201d
\n\u201cNathan, you should have told me!\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\nHis eyes filled with tears.
\n\u201cBut the next day, someone came to Cole\u2019s house.\u201d
\nI froze.
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\n\u201cA man in a dark suit. He told Denise he was looking for two boys who had found a missing child.\u201d
\nMy mouth went dry.
\nDenise had never mentioned that.
\n\u201cShe told him Cole wasn\u2019t home,\u201d Nathan continued. \u201cBut he already knew our names.\u201d
\n\u201cHow?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d
\nI looked toward the window.
\nThe black pickup had disappeared.
\n\u201cWhere have you been keeping Lily?\u201d
\nNathan hesitated.
\n\u201cAt first, in Cole\u2019s grandfather\u2019s old cabin outside town. It\u2019s been empty since he died. Cole still had a key.\u201d
\n\u201cEvery weekend?\u201d
\n\u201cMostly. During the week, we took turns bringing her food and checking on her after school. We told you we had late practices or group projects.\u201d
\nI pressed a hand over my mouth.
\nEight weekends.
\nEight weekends of lies.
\nEight weekends of my son carrying a secret that no sixteen-year-old should ever have been forced to carry.
\n\u201cAnd the blood?\u201d I whispered.
\nNathan looked down at his shirt.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s Cole\u2019s.\u201d
\nThe room seemed to tilt.
\nI gripped the table.
\n\u201cWhere is he?\u201d
\nNathan\u2019s lips trembled.
\n\u201cTonight, somebody found the cabin.\u201d
\nLily pushed her plate away.
\n\u201cBad man,\u201d she whispered.
\nNathan nodded.
\n\u201cWe heard a car outside around midnight. Cole looked through the window and saw two men getting out.\u201d
\n\u201cDid they have weapons?\u201d
\n\u201cOne had a gun.\u201d
\nI felt the blood drain from my face.
\n\u201cMom, Cole told me to take Lily and run through the back door. He said he\u2019d distract them.\u201d
\n\u201cNo\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cWe almost made it to the trees when one of the men saw us.\u201d
\nNathan began breathing faster.
\n\u201cHe chased us. Cole came running out of the cabin and tackled him.\u201d
\nI covered my mouth.
\n\u201cThere was a struggle. The gun went off.\u201d
\nSilence.
\nEven the refrigerator seemed unbearably loud.
\n\u201cNathan\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cHe fell, Mom.\u201d
\nMy eyes filled.
\n\u201cCole?\u201d
\nNathan nodded.
\n\u201cI tried to go back, but he yelled at me to take Lily and run.\u201d
\n\u201cDid you see where he was shot?\u201d
\n\u201cHis shoulder, I think. There was blood everywhere.\u201d
\nI couldn\u2019t speak.
\n\u201cThen the other man came out of the cabin, and Cole shouted, \u2018GO!’\u201d
\nNathan wiped his face with his sleeve.
\n\u201cI left him there.\u201d
\nHe began sobbing.
\n\u201cI left my best friend there.\u201d
\nI stood, went around the table, and pulled my son into my arms.
\nFor a moment, he was no longer sixteen.
\nHe was the little boy who used to crawl into my bed during thunderstorms.
\nThe boy who cried when his goldfish died.
\nThe boy who had somehow convinced himself he needed to protect everyone without asking an adult for help.
\n\u201cOh, sweetheart,\u201d I whispered. \u201cYou should never have had to do this alone.\u201d
\n\u201cI thought I could fix it.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cI thought if we found her mother, everything would be okay.\u201d
\nI pulled away.
\n\u201cFound her mother?\u201d
\nNathan looked at Lily.
\nThen he reached into his pocket and took out a folded piece of paper.
\nIt was a photograph.
\nA woman in her thirties stood beside a smiling little girl.
\nLily.
\nThe woman had long brown hair and a small scar above her eyebrow.
\nI stared at the picture.
\nSomething about her face bothered me.
\nI had seen her before.
\nBut where?
\n\u201cMom,\u201d Nathan said, \u201clook at the back.\u201d
\nI turned the photograph over.
\nThere was a handwritten message.
\nIf anything happens to me, find Laura Bennett. She will know what to do.<\/strong>
\nMy hands went numb.
\nLaura Bennett.
\nMy name.
\nI read it again.
\nAnd again.
\n\u201cWhere did you get this?\u201d
\n\u201cLily had it in her backpack.\u201d
\nI looked at the little girl.
\nShe was watching me carefully.
\n\u201cLily,\u201d I whispered, \u201cwho gave you this photograph?\u201d
\n\u201cMy mommy.\u201d
\n\u201cDid she tell you who I was?\u201d
\nLily nodded.
\n\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d
\nThe child slid off her chair and walked toward me.
\nThen she said something that made my entire world stop.
\n\u201cShe said you were the only person who could save us.\u201d
\nI couldn\u2019t breathe.
\n\u201cWhy would she say that?\u201d
\nLily looked at Nathan.
\nThen back at me.
\n\u201cBecause she said you used to be her best friend.\u201d
\nI stared at the photograph again.
\nThe brown hair.
\nThe scar above her eyebrow.
\nThe familiar smile.
\nAnd suddenly, a memory surfaced from seventeen years earlier.
\nA hospital hallway.
\nA frightened young woman.
\nA newborn baby crying.
\nAnd a promise I had made that I had spent nearly two decades trying to forget.
\n\u201cOh my God,\u201d I whispered.
\nNathan grabbed my arm.
\n\u201cMom? Do you know her?\u201d
\nI looked at the photograph.
\nMy voice barely worked.
\n\u201cHer name is Rebecca.\u201d
\nNathan frowned.
\n\u201cRebecca who?\u201d
\nI closed my eyes.
\n\u201cRebecca Collins.\u201d
\nMy son stared at me.
\n\u201cHow do you know her?\u201d
\nBefore I could answer, Lily tugged on my sleeve.
\n\u201cMiss Laura?\u201d
\nI looked down.
\nShe held out a small silver necklace.
\nA heart-shaped pendant.
\nI recognized it immediately.
\nBecause I had given that necklace to Rebecca the night she disappeared seventeen years ago.
\n\u201cMommy told me to give you this,\u201d Lily whispered.
\nMy hands trembled as I opened the pendant.
\nInside was a tiny folded note.
\nOnly six words.
\nHE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR DAUGHTER.<\/strong>
\nI stared at the message.
\nMy daughter.
\nThe baby I had been told died seventeen years earlier.
\nNathan noticed my expression.
\n\u201cMom\u2026 what daughter?\u201d
\nBefore I could answer, my phone rang.
\nIt was Denise.
\nI answered with shaking hands.
\n\u201cDenise, listen to me. Nathan is home, but Cole\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cLaura!\u201d she screamed.
\nI froze.
\n\u201cDenise, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d
\nHer voice broke.
\n\u201cTwo police officers just came to my house.\u201d
\nI closed my eyes.
\n\u201cDid they find Cole?\u201d
\nThere was a long silence.
\nThen she whispered, \u201cThey said they found him near the old Riverside cabin.\u201d
\nI clutched the kitchen counter.
\n\u201cIs he alive?\u201d
\nDenise began crying.
\n\u201cThey won\u2019t tell me. They said I have to come identify someone.\u201d
\nNathan heard her.
\nHe covered his mouth.
\nAnd then Denise said something that made me turn toward the front window.
\n\u201cLaura, one of the officers asked me something strange.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cHe wanted to know whether Nathan had brought a little girl to your house.\u201d
\nI felt Lily grab my hand.
\n\u201cDenise, don\u2019t tell them anything yet.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause I think the people looking for her might be involved in what happened to Cole.\u201d
\nDenise gasped.
\nThen her voice dropped to a whisper.
\n\u201cLaura\u2026 there\u2019s something else.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cThe officer standing in my living room\u2026\u201d
\nShe paused.
\nI could hear her breathing.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s wearing a silver ring with a black stone.\u201d
\nI looked at Nathan.
\nHis face turned white.
\n\u201cMom,\u201d he whispered, \u201cthat\u2019s the man from the cabin.\u201d
\nAnd just as he said those words, three sharp knocks sounded at my front door.
\nA man\u2019s voice called from outside.
\n\u201cMrs. Bennett? Police. We need to speak with you about your son.\u201d
\nLily suddenly squeezed my hand so hard it hurt.
\nThen she whispered the words that changed everything.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the man who took my mommy.\u201d\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\nClick Here to continuous Read\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b Full Ending Story
![\"\ud83d\udc49\"](\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f449.svg\")
:PART 3 \u2014 THE MAN AT THE DOOR KNEW MY DEAD DAUGHTER\u2019S NAME<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"