Chapter 2 - THE CHILD BEFORE THE SECRET At the hospital, Detective Mara Ellis told me not to question Perrin.
“He's four,” she said. “The more you ask, the easier it becomes for him to accidentally fill in the blanks.”
I understood.
But understanding didn't make it easier.
Perrin sat on the emergency-room bed with his stuffed dog beneath one arm while Dr. Maya Chen examined his knees, wrists, back, and head.
No fracture.
No concussion.
No serious dehydration.
Bruises.
Scrapes.
Fear.
The empty water bottle found inside the hidden room bothered me most.
Someone had expected him to stay there long enough to need water.
Police photographed everything.
The broken panel.
The room.
The bottle.
His clothing.
The scratches on his knees.
Rhea's fingerprints would prove little.
She lived in the house.
But her behavior mattered.
Her words mattered.
And Perrin's memory mattered.
I watched through the observation window while a forensic interviewer spoke gently to my son.
“Tell me about the little room.”
“Rhea put me.”
“How?”
Perrin used a doll to demonstrate being pushed through an opening.
“What did she say?”
“Disappear.”
“Anything else?”
“Daddy never find.”
Then the interviewer asked about his mother.
Perrin went quiet.
“Mom.”
My heartbeat changed.
“Tell me about Mom.”
“I saw her.”
“Where?”
“House.”
“Which house?”
He shrugged.
“Not Daddy house.”
“Who was there?”
“Rhea.”
“Anyone else?”
Perrin whispered:
“Lady sleeping.”
“Was that Mom?”
He nodded.
“How did you know?”
“She has song.”
Then he hummed three notes.
My knees weakened.
Serena used to sing that melody while rocking Perrin to sleep.
A lullaby her mother had taught her.
Something I had never told Rhea.
Could she have learned it?
Possibly.
Could Perrin remember it?
Possibly.
But then he said something that changed everything.
“Mom opened eyes.”
The interviewer stayed calm.
“What happened?”
“Rhea said no Mommy.”
“Then?”
“Door close.”
I looked at Detective Ellis.
She looked back at me.
“When was Serena declared dead?”
“Three years ago.”
“Did you see her body?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“The vehicle burned.”
“Who handled the identification?”
“Authorities.”
“Who informed you?”
I opened my mouth.
Then stopped.
Rhea had been the first person to call me after the crash.
She had been Serena's closest friend.
She had sat beside me at the funeral.
She had held Perrin while I could barely stand.
And now she was wearing my engagement ring.
Detective Ellis noticed my expression.
“What?”
“Rhea told me first.”
The detective's eyes hardened.
“We're going to pull the original case.”
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
One message.
DO NOT LET PERRIN TELL THEM ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE.
I showed Detective Ellis.
She stared at the screen.
Then at me.
“Who knows he mentioned another house?”
I didn't answer.
Because there was only one possibility.
May you like
Someone had been listening.
And whoever it was knew Perrin was alive.
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