Chapter 9 - THE MEN AT THE DOOR
Manon had spent years believing courage meant not being afraid.
Now she understood how wrong she had been.
Courage was standing in a dark hallway with your heart pounding so hard you could barely breathe.
It was knowing that the people outside your door might be dangerous.
And still forcing yourself to think.
She backed away from the entrance.
The ledger was clutched against her chest.
The man knocked again.
“Mrs. Whitmore, we need to speak with you.”
Manon looked toward the kitchen.
The back door opened onto a narrow yard.
Beyond the fence was Mrs. Patterson's property.
An elderly widow who had lived next door for thirty years.
Manon had a key to her house.
Mrs. Patterson had one to hers.
They had always joked that it was their neighborhood emergency system.
Now it might save her life.
Manon slipped the ledger into a canvas grocery bag.
She moved quietly toward the kitchen.
The front doorknob rattled.
“Mrs. Whitmore?”
She froze.
Then another voice spoke.
A voice she recognized.
“Manon, open the door.”
Mayor Richard Hale.
Her stomach turned.
She moved closer to the hallway.
Through the frosted glass, she could make out his silhouette.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Expensively dressed.
The same man who had shaken her hand at the town's Fourth of July parade.
The same man who had praised her volunteer work at the library.
The same man whose signature appeared in the ledger.
“Manon,” Hale called, “we need to talk.”
She remained silent.
“I know you're frightened.”
Manon almost laughed.
Frightened?
Her son had been kidnapped.
Her childhood had been stolen.
Her biological mother had spent decades hidden away.
And the man responsible was standing on her porch, pretending to care.
Hale continued.
“The people you've been speaking with are dangerous. They've manipulated you.”
Manon quietly opened the kitchen drawer.
Inside was a small emergency flashlight and a canister of pepper spray.
She took both.
Hale's voice softened.
“I knew your adoptive parents. Evelyn was a wonderful woman.”
Manon's jaw tightened.
“Don't say her name.”
A pause.
Then Hale replied.
“So you are home.”
Manon stepped toward the door.
“What do you want?”
“To help you.”
“You signed the transfer orders.”
Silence.
Then:
“I see you've found the book.”
Manon's blood ran cold.
Hale continued.
“Manon, those documents are old. They don't tell the whole story.”
“Then explain why children were taken from their mothers.”
“It's complicated.”
“No. It isn't.”
She gripped the bag.
“You stole children.”
Hale's tone changed.
“Be careful what you accuse people of.”
Manon felt a strange calm settle over her.
For the first time, she was not speaking to the mayor of Briar Glen.
She was speaking to a frightened man who had finally lost control of a secret.
“Where's my son?”
“I don't have your son.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because the people who took him are using you.”
Manon glanced toward the kitchen window.
Mrs. Patterson's porch light was on.
Good.
She had a chance.
Hale continued.
“Give me the ledger, Manon. I'll make sure Noah comes home.”
She closed her eyes.
There it was.
The bargain.
The same bargain that had destroyed so many families.
Give us what we want.
And perhaps we'll return what belongs to you.
Manon opened her eyes.
“No.”
A long silence followed.
Then Hale spoke softly.
“Your mother said the same thing.”
Manon felt a chill.
“Anna?”
“Yes.”
“What did you do to her?”
Hale did not answer.
Instead, the front door shook.
Someone had tried the lock.
Manon moved quickly.
She slipped through the kitchen door, crossed the yard, and climbed over the low fence.
Her shoes landed in wet grass.
She hurried toward Mrs. Patterson's back entrance.
Behind her, she heard wood splinter.
The men had forced their way inside.
Manon knocked three times.
The door opened almost immediately.
Mrs. Patterson stood there wearing slippers and a faded pink robe.
“Manon?”
“Please. I need your car.”
The elderly woman took one look at her face.
Then she reached for her keys.
“Garage. Blue Toyota. Full tank.”
Manon nearly cried.
“Thank you.”
Mrs. Patterson caught her hand.
“Is Noah in trouble?”
Manon nodded.
The old woman's expression hardened.
“Then go get that boy.”
Manon squeezed her hand.
“I will.”
She hurried into the garage.
As she started the car, her phone vibrated.
A message from Laurent.
WHERE ARE YOU? HALE HAS DISAPPEARED FROM CITY HALL. DO NOT GO HOME.
Manon stared at it.
Too late.
She typed a reply.
HE WAS AT MY HOUSE. I'M GOING TO MILLER FARM. NOAH IS THERE.
Laurent responded immediately.
DO NOT APPROACH ALONE. WAIT FOR BACKUP.
Manon started the engine.
She knew he was right.
But she also knew that Noah had already been missing too long.
She sent another message.
FOLLOW ME. BUT DON'T LET HALE KNOW.
Then she drove.
Old Miller Farm stood seven miles outside town.
The property had been abandoned for nearly a decade.
Its red barn was visible from the highway.
Manon arrived at 4:48 p.m.
The sky had begun to darken.
She parked behind a row of trees and approached on foot.
The barn doors were partly open.
A dim light glowed inside.
She heard voices.
One belonged to Clara.
The other was a child.
Noah.
Manon's heart surged.
She stepped toward the entrance.
Then stopped.
A third voice spoke.
A man's voice.
Cold.
Familiar.
“Put the boy in the car.”
Manon froze.
Mayor Hale.
She moved closer.
Through a crack in the barn wall, she saw Noah standing beside Clara.
The boy was crying.
Hale stood near a black SUV.
Two men waited beside him.
Clara held Noah's hand.
“You promised you wouldn't hurt him,” she said.
Hale smiled.
“And I won't.”
He stepped closer.
“As long as his mother gives me what belongs to me.”
Manon felt rage rise inside her.
She reached for her phone.
Then Hale said something that made her blood turn cold.
“Clara, you should have told Manon the truth.”
Clara's face changed.
“What truth?”
Hale looked toward Noah.
“That the boy isn't the first child in this family we've had to recover.”
Manon stopped breathing.
Hale continued.
“Twenty-three years ago, we lost control of Manon and Elias.”
He smiled.
“But this time, we know exactly where the child is.”
Then he turned toward the barn entrance.
May you like
And looked directly at the place where Manon was hiding.
“Come out, Manon. I know you're there.”
