My Neighbor Asked Me to Watch Her Daughter for One Hour… She Didn’t Come Back Until Sunrise
Chapter 5
The abandoned barn smelled of hay, rust, and rain.
Daniel stared at Marcus.
“Say that again.”
Marcus looked toward the children.
“Evan Bennett is alive.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Everyone thinks he’s dead.”
“I know.”
“Claire thinks he’s dead?”
Marcus hesitated.
“No.”
That answer was worse.
Daniel stepped closer.
“You’re telling me Claire knew her husband was alive?”
“She suspected.”
“Suspected?”
“She saw him once.”
“When?”
“Last year.”
Daniel looked at Sophie.
“You said she took you to see Daddy.”
Sophie nodded.
“He was behind glass.”
“What does that mean?”
Marcus took a slow breath.
“Hawthorne operates a private research facility outside Springfield.”
Daniel felt his stomach tighten.
“Research?”
“Officially.”
“And unofficially?”
Marcus looked at him.
“People who become inconvenient disappear there.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“You’re saying they kidnapped Evan.”
“Yes.”
“Then why hasn’t Claire gone to the police?”
“Because the first officer she trusted disappeared too.”
Daniel sat on an overturned crate.
Everything felt impossible.
Then his phone vibrated.
Signal had returned.
Twenty-three missed calls.
Six from an unknown number.
One voicemail.
Daniel played it.
Claire’s voice came through.
“Daniel, if you’re hearing this, I need you to listen carefully.”
Her breathing was shaky.
“I didn’t tell you everything because I wasn’t sure who I could trust.”
A pause.
“You asked me once why I moved here.”
Daniel remembered.
She had said she wanted a quiet life.
Claire continued.
“The answer is Evan.”
Daniel looked at Marcus.
“He discovered that Hawthorne wasn’t just dumping waste. They were falsifying environmental reports and bribing officials to bury complaints.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“They covered it up.”
“Yes.”
Claire’s voice trembled.
“But Evan found proof.”
A pause.
“Then they took him.”
The recording crackled.
“If I don’t come back tonight, do not take Sophie to the police. Take her to the old St. Mary’s church in Springfield.”
Daniel glanced at Marcus.
“There’s someone there who can help you.”
The message ended.
Daniel immediately called Claire.
Straight to voicemail.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Then another message appeared.
I’M SORRY.
Daniel stared.
Marcus stepped closer.
“St. Mary’s.”
“You know it?”
“Yes.”
“Who’s there?”
Marcus shook his head.
“Father Thomas.”
Daniel frowned.
“A priest?”
“Not exactly.”
Before Daniel could ask, Sophie spoke.
“Daddy said Father Thomas saved him.”
Everyone turned.
“Your father said that?”
Sophie nodded.
“He told me when Mom wasn’t listening.”
Daniel crouched beside her.
“Do you remember anything else?”
Sophie looked frightened.
“He said not to trust the man with the silver watch.”
Marcus’s expression suddenly changed.
“What?”
“The silver watch,” Sophie repeated.
Marcus grabbed Daniel’s arm.
“We need to leave.”
“Why?”
Marcus looked toward the road.
“Because I know who that is.”
“Who?”
Marcus whispered:
“Richard Hawthorne.”
The billionaire CEO.
The man whose face appeared on charity banners throughout the county.
The man everyone called a generous employer.
The man who had once been photographed shaking hands with the governor.
Daniel stared at Marcus.
“You think Hawthorne himself is involved?”
“I know he is.”
A vehicle approached.
Daniel looked through a crack in the barn door.
A black sedan.
Not the SUV.
Marcus pulled his weapon.
“Get the girls behind the hay bales.”
Daniel moved quickly.
The sedan stopped.
The driver’s door opened.
A man stepped out wearing a dark suit.
He wasn’t Marcus.
He wasn’t security.
He was older.
Gray-haired.
Calm.
He walked toward the barn.
Then stopped.
Daniel saw something on his wrist.
A silver watch.
The man smiled.
“Daniel Carter?”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
The stranger looked directly toward the barn.
“Claire made a mistake trusting you.”
He lifted his phone.
“She should have known better.”
Then he said:
“Bring me Sophie, and nobody else has to get hurt.”
Sophie began trembling.
Daniel held her close.
Marcus whispered:
“That’s Richard Hawthorne.”
