My Grandfather Left Me a Diary in an Abandoned Basement — The Last Page Had My Name on It
CHAPTER 10
The old hospital had been abandoned since 2008.
Maya and Daniel entered through the rear entrance.
There were no guards.
No lights.
Nothing.
Too easy.
They found the basement.
Room 17.
Inside was a bed.
A chair.
And an empty photograph frame.
Maya’s heart sank.
“No.”
Daniel examined the room.
“Someone was here.”
A voice came from behind them.
“Yes.”
Maya turned.
Sheriff Morris stood in the doorway.
Gun in hand.
“Where is my mother?”
Morris looked at the diary.
“Still alive.”
“Where?”
“You don’t understand what your grandfather did.”
“He protected me.”
“He destroyed everyone.”
Maya stared at him.
“You killed my father.”
Morris didn’t deny it.
“He was going to expose Haven.”
“And my grandfather?”
“He tried to stop us.”
“What happened to him?”
Morris lowered the gun.
“Samuel disappeared because he made a deal.”
“What deal?”
“He gave us the evidence.”
Maya stared.
“Then why did he leave the diary?”
“Because he didn’t give us everything.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“What did he keep?”
Morris smiled.
“The truth.”
A gunshot came from the hallway.
Morris fell.
Maya screamed.
A man entered.
Thomas Hale.
He looked older than in the photographs.
But his eyes were cold.
“You’ve been very difficult to find.”
Maya stepped backward.
“Where is my mother?”
Hale smiled.
“Closer than you think.”
He pointed toward a hidden door.
Maya opened it.
Inside was a small room.
An elderly woman sat beside the window.
Maya stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
The woman turned.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Maya.”
For a moment, twenty-seven years of questions disappeared.
Maya ran to her.
Her mother held her tightly.
“I thought you were dead.”
“I had to let you believe it.”
“Why?”
Her mother looked toward Hale.
“Because he was watching.”
Hale stepped into the room.
“And now she’s found the diary.”
Maya held it tighter.
Hale’s expression changed.
“Your grandfather never told you the final part.”
“What?”
Hale smiled.
“He wasn’t trying to expose Haven.”
Maya stared.
“He was trying to finish it.”
