Chapter 10: The Girl In The Shadows
For several seconds after the call ended, nobody moved.
The forest outside the cabin was completely silent.
Too silent.
I stared at the phone screen, waiting for it to light up again.
Waiting for Olivia’s voice.
Waiting for proof that I hadn’t imagined it.
Detective Harris slowly reached for her radio.
“Trace that call.””
The officer beside her immediately began working.
I looked at the cabin walls again.
The drawings.
The letters.
The hidden evidence of a child who had been forgotten.
Except she wasn’t forgotten.
Someone had kept her hidden.
And that someone was the woman I was supposed to marry.
My phone rang again.
This time, I answered immediately.
“Olivia?””
There was breathing.
Then a whisper.
“Is Lily okay?””
My chest tightened.
“She’s safe.””
A small sob came through the phone.
“She’s lucky.””
I closed my eyes.
A child saying another child was lucky because she had escaped something broke something inside me.
“Olivia, where are you?””
“I can’t tell you.””
“Why?””
“Because she listens.””
I looked at Detective Harris.
“She?””
The little girl didn’t answer.
Then I heard a door close in the background.
Olivia whispered:
“I have to go.””
“Wait.””
The call ended.
Detective Harris looked at me.
“She’s alive.””
I nodded.
“But she’s scared.””
The detective looked around the cabin.
“She may have been here recently.””
I walked toward the wall where the drawings were hanging.
One picture caught my attention.
A family.
A man.
A woman.
A little girl.
But the woman had been crossed out.
Underneath it, Olivia had written:
“Someone who looks nice can still be scary.””
I felt sick.
Because Lily had learned the same lesson.
We returned to the station.
When I walked in, Vanessa was already there.
She stood up immediately.
“Daniel.””
I ignored her.
Detective Harris placed the cabin photos on the table.
Vanessa’s face changed.
“You found it.””
Nobody spoke.
But her reaction was enough.
“You knew we would find it,” I said.
She shook her head.
“No.””
“Then why are you not surprised?””
Her mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
I stared at her.
“Where is Olivia?””
Vanessa looked away.
“I don’t know.””
“You heard her voice?””
Her head snapped up.
“What?””
“You heard the phone call.””
She became silent.
That silence was a confession.
“Daniel, you need to understand something.””
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“I don’t need your explanations anymore.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to protect them.””
“Protect them?””
I pointed toward the evidence.
“You hid a child.””
“I saved her.””
The words stopped me.
Detective Harris looked at her.
“Explain.””
Vanessa swallowed.
“Olivia was in danger.””
“From who?”” I asked.
She didn’t answer.
“From who, Vanessa?””
Her hands trembled.
“My family.””
Everyone went quiet.
“What does that mean?””
She looked at the floor.
“My father was abusive.””
I froze.
Vanessa continued.
“I grew up watching him control everyone around him.””
I listened carefully.
Because for the first time, she wasn’t talking like someone defending herself.
She sounded afraid.
“I promised myself I would never become like him.””
Detective Harris leaned forward.
“But you did.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“I know.””
That answer shocked me.
She actually admitted it.
Then she looked at me.
“But Olivia wasn’t the only reason I changed.””
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?””
She looked toward the evidence.
“There is something you don’t know.””
I stared.
“What?””
Her voice dropped.
“Olivia’s disappearance wasn’t the beginning.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What was the beginning?””
May you like
Vanessa looked at me.
“The first child I failed.””
