THE SEVENTH CHILD WAS NEVER REPORTED MISSING
Chapter 4
Dr. Ward refused to explain further.
She only gave them an address.
An old property at the edge of Red Creek.
“Don’t go there alone,” she warned.
Ethan looked at the paper.
“What is this place?”
“Where the program really operated.”
Sarah frowned.
“The medical center?”
“No.”
Dr. Ward shook her head.
“The medical center was only where parents were told to bring their children.”
The actual facility was somewhere else.
The property belonged to a man named Daniel Reed.
A respected local businessman.
He owned farmland, several rental properties, and an equipment company.
Ethan knew the name.
“Reed is one of the wealthiest men in the county.”
Dr. Ward nodded.
“And one of the most dangerous.”
“Why?”
She looked at them.
“Because everyone trusts him.”
The property sat five miles outside town.
A large farmhouse stood in the middle of several acres.
No vehicles.
No lights.
No signs of activity.
Sarah checked the records.
“Reed hasn’t lived here for years.”
Ethan looked at the building.
“Then why does someone maintain it?”
The grass had recently been cut.
The windows were clean.
There were fresh tire tracks near the rear entrance.
They approached carefully.
Inside, the house appeared abandoned.
Dust covered the furniture.
But the basement was different.
Someone had recently been there.
Ethan found electrical equipment.
Sarah found children’s drawings.
Seven drawings.
Each one showed the same thing.
A house.
A black door.
And seven small figures standing beneath it.
Sarah’s voice dropped.
“These were made by the children.”
Ethan picked up one drawing.
On the back was a date.
Three years earlier.
Then Sarah noticed something.
The basement floor had scratches.
Long, parallel scratches.
Like something heavy had been dragged across it.
They followed them to the wall.
Ethan tapped the concrete.
Hollow.
Sarah looked at him.
“There’s something behind it.”
They searched for an opening.
Eventually, Ethan found a hidden switch.
The wall moved.
A narrow staircase appeared.
Darkness waited below.
Sarah took a breath.
“Still want to investigate?”
Ethan turned on his flashlight.
“We came here for answers.”
They descended.
