Chapter 2 - The Name No One Said
Ethan stepped backward.
The woman caught the door before the wind slammed it shut.
"Where did you get that locket?"
Her voice was not angry. That made Ethan more nervous.
"It was my mom's."
The woman's face changed.
Behind her, Christmas music drifted through the enormous foyer. A man carried a tray of champagne past a staircase wrapped in red ribbon. Somewhere deeper in the house, children shouted over a board game.
The woman stared at Ethan as if none of it existed.
"What was your mother's name?"
Ethan tightened his hand around the locket.
"Sarah Reed."
A glass shattered behind the woman.
An older lady stood near the Christmas tree, one hand pressed to her mouth.
She was elegant, maybe in her late sixties, with white hair pinned neatly at the back of her head. The broken glass lay at her feet.
"What did you say?" she asked.
Ethan looked between them.
"My mom was Sarah Reed."
The older lady moved toward him.
"Sarah Caldwell?"
Ethan's heart kicked.
"She said that used to be her name."
The lady stopped so suddenly her hand caught the edge of a table.
"My daughter."
Those two words left the room silent.
A man in a navy sweater came out of the living room. Behind him followed a woman holding the hand of a little girl in a white dress.
"Mom? What happened?"
The older woman did not answer.
She looked past Ethan and saw Lily and Noah huddled outside the gate.
"Are those children with you?"
"My sister and brother."
"Bring them inside."
Ethan did not move.
The gray-haired housekeeper took a step toward the snow.
"I'll get them."
"No." Ethan blocked her. "Don't touch them."
Everyone stared at him.
He hated the way fear made his voice sound rude, but fear had kept them together for three months.
"We don't go anywhere unless we all go."
The older woman nodded immediately.
"Then all of you come in together. My name is Margaret Caldwell."
The name hit him like another gust of wind.
His mother's last instruction.
Ask for Margaret Caldwell.
Ethan ran back, helped Noah to his feet, and brought both children to the door. The housekeeper wrapped blankets around them while Margaret knelt in front of Noah.
"Sweetheart, when did you last eat?"
Noah proudly held up the dirty bread.
"We have dinner."
Margaret stared at it.
Her eyes filled.
The woman beside the man in the navy sweater whispered, "Oh my God."
Ethan's stomach tightened.
Pity usually came before questions.
Questions usually came before police.
Police usually called Hope House.
Margaret noticed him looking toward the door.
"No one is sending you anywhere tonight," she said.
Ethan wanted to believe her.
Then a security guard entered from the side hall with a phone in his hand.
"Mrs. Caldwell," he said quietly, "the county emergency line says three children matching their description were reported as runaways this morning."
Ethan went cold.
May you like
The guard continued.
"Hope House is sending someone to collect them."
