I Was Dared to Dance With the Quiet Girl—Then She Whispered Something Unforgettable

Chapter 4

That sentence destroyed the story I had told myself for three years.

My father hadn’t abandoned us.

He had been trying to return.

But if that was true, why hadn’t he?

Emily didn’t have the answer.

Not yet.

She said the notebook contained only fragments.

Dates.

Names.

Numbers.

Addresses.

One phrase appeared repeatedly.

“Blue House.”

“What is the Blue House?”

“I don’t know.”

She opened the notebook to a page near the middle.

Written in my father’s handwriting was a sentence:

If anything happens to me, tell Ethan to look where the river bends twice.

My throat tightened.

“That’s my dad’s handwriting.”

“I know.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Because I was afraid.”

“Of what?”

She closed the notebook.

“The same people who scared your father.”

That afternoon, Emily and I drove to the old river district.

The river bent around an abandoned industrial area on the edge of town.

We found the place after sunset.

There were three warehouses.

One had collapsed.

Another had been converted into storage units.

The third had been abandoned for years.

The door was locked.

Emily looked at me.

“What now?”

I pulled a small metal key from my wallet.

She stared.

“Where did you get that?”

“My father gave it to me.”

“When?”

“The night before he disappeared.”

I had forgotten about it.

Until that moment.

I tried the key.

The lock opened.

Inside, dust covered everything.

We searched for nearly an hour.

Then Emily found a blue metal cabinet beneath a torn tarp.

There was another lock.

My key opened that too.

Inside was a cardboard box.

My name was written across the top.

Ethan.

My hands trembled.

I opened it.

There were newspaper clippings.

Photographs.

Bank records.

And a letter.

The handwriting was unmistakable.

My father had written it.

I unfolded the paper.

Ethan,

If you’re reading this, I failed to come home.

I’m sorry.

But I need you to know something.

I never left you.

I was taken.

I looked at Emily.

Neither of us spoke.

I continued reading.

The people responsible are closer to you than you think.

Then came the sentence that made my blood run cold.

Trust no one whose name appears in the photograph.