Chapter 6 - THE BROTHER WHO NEVER CAME HOME
Daniel Reed had been missing for eight years.
And now I was beginning to believe his disappearance was connected to Samantha's death.
I barely slept that night.
Ryan stayed beside me.
He didn't try to tell me everything would be okay.
He knew better.
Instead, he brought me water, listened when I talked about Samantha, and held my hand whenever the memories became too much.
At 6:12 the next morning, my phone rang.
Detective Mitchell.
“We found something.”
I sat upright.
“What?”
“A possible location connected to Daniel Reed.”
My heart raced.
“Is he alive?”
“We don't know yet.”
I closed my eyes.
Mitchell continued.
“His last known financial activity was traced to a property outside Milwaukee.”
Ryan leaned closer.
“Who owns it?”
The detective hesitated.
“A company associated with Marcus Vale.”
I felt cold.
Police obtained the necessary authorization to search the property.
By afternoon, they had entered an old rehabilitation facility that had closed years earlier.
Inside were abandoned offices, medical equipment, and boxes of records.
But no Daniel.
Then officers discovered a basement archive.
Hundreds of patient files.
Most identified by numbers instead of names.
One file stood out.
Patient 017.
Male.
Age twenty-two at admission.
Admitted eight years earlier.
The photograph showed Daniel Reed.
I covered my mouth when Mitchell sent me a copy.
He looked terrified.
But alive.
The file listed a transfer to another facility.
A location in northern Wisconsin.
And one phrase that made my skin crawl.
Long-term behavioral compliance program.
Ryan stared at the document.
“What does that mean?”
Mitchell's voice was grim.
“We're still determining what occurred there.”
I looked at Daniel's photograph.
He had tried to expose the truth about his sister.
And someone had taken him away.
I felt sick.
Then Mitchell continued.
“We also found a list of people authorized to visit Daniel.”
My heart pounded.
“Who?”
“Marcus Vale.”
I wasn't surprised.
“Anyone else?”
A pause.
Then:
“Derek Walsh.”
Ryan stepped backward.
His face drained of color.
“My brother visited him?”
“Yes.”
I stared at the wall.
The same man who'd poured beer over me.
Mocked my silence.
And grabbed my wrist.
Had allegedly been visiting the missing brother of the woman whose death destroyed my career.
Then Mitchell added one final detail.
“Derek's most recent visit was eleven days ago.”
I closed my eyes.
Daniel might still be alive.
And Derek might know exactly where he was.
May you like
But the most frightening part came when Mitchell read the last note in the file.
“Patient requests contact with Evelyn Carter. Request denied.”
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