Chapter 2: The Name She Couldn't Explain
“Don't let her put me back.””
The little boy's words were so quiet that Gavin almost missed them.
But Kendra heard.
Her face hardened.
“Gavin, he's confused. He's been through something, and you don't understand what you're dealing with.””
Gavin didn't take his eyes off her.
“Then help me understand.””
The boy moved behind Gavin's leg.
Ava noticed immediately and stepped closer to him.
“It's okay,” she whispered.
“Daddy won't let anyone lock you up.””
Gavin looked down at his daughter.
“How long have you been visiting him?””
Ava thought about it.
“Since last Tuesday.””
“Last Tuesday?””
She nodded.
“I heard him knocking when I was looking for my unicorn backpack.””
Gavin's stomach tightened.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
Ava looked at her mother.
“Mommy said I wasn't supposed to.””
Kendra folded her arms.
“Children imagine things. Ava found him wandering around the storage room, and I was trying to keep everything calm.””
Gavin stared at her.
“You just told me not to let him out.””
“I was afraid he'd run.””
“Run where? Through the front door?””
Kendra didn't answer.
Gavin crouched beside the boy again.
“What's your name?””
The child looked uncertain.
His eyes moved toward Kendra.
Gavin noticed.
“It's okay. You can tell me.””
The boy swallowed.
“Eli.””
“Eli what?””
“Just Eli.””
Gavin nodded slowly.
“Okay, Eli. Are you hurt?””
The boy shook his head.
“Are you hungry?””
A tiny nod.
Gavin's expression softened.
“Would you like something to eat?””
Eli looked toward Kendra again.
“Can I?””
The question hit Gavin harder than the sight of the locked door.
A six-year-old child was asking permission to eat inside his house.
“Of course you can,” Gavin said.
He stood and turned toward the kitchen.
“Kendra, I'm taking him to the table.””
“You can't just do that.””
Gavin's eyes narrowed.
“Watch me.””
He guided Eli toward the kitchen while Ava followed.
Behind them, Kendra remained in the hallway.
For several seconds, she didn't move.
Then she pulled out her phone.
The kitchen smelled of cinnamon and the coffee Gavin had brewed before leaving that morning.
He opened the refrigerator and took out milk, eggs, and a container of leftover chicken.
Ava climbed into her chair.
Eli remained standing near the doorway.
Gavin noticed.
“There's a chair for you, buddy.””
Eli looked at the wooden seat.
“Am I allowed?””
Gavin put down the plate.
“You don't have to ask me that.””
The boy slowly sat.
Ava pushed her picture book aside.
“Do you like pancakes?”” she asked.
Eli nodded.
“I like the ones with chocolate chips.””
Ava's face brightened.
“Daddy makes the best ones.””
Gavin managed a small smile.
“That's a pretty generous review.””
For the first time, Eli almost smiled too.
Gavin prepared a plate and placed it in front of him.
Eli picked up the fork.
Then stopped.
He looked at Gavin.
“Can I eat all of it?””
Gavin felt his throat tighten.
“Yes.””
Eli began eating.
Not quickly at first.
He seemed to be waiting for someone to tell him to stop.
Then, when nobody did, he took another bite.
Gavin sat across from him.
“Eli, can you tell me how you got here?””
The fork stopped halfway to the boy's mouth.
Kendra entered the kitchen.
“He doesn't need to answer questions right now.””
Gavin looked up.
“I think he does.””
“Gavin, please. This isn't how you handle something like this.””
“Then tell me how you handle it.””
Kendra placed her phone on the counter.
“I found him.””
“When?””
“Some time ago.””
“Where?””
She hesitated.
“Near the old neighborhood.””
Gavin frowned.
“Which neighborhood?””
Kendra opened her mouth, then closed it.
Eli lowered his fork.
“Mommy said I wasn't supposed to say.””
Silence.
Gavin slowly turned toward the boy.
“Who said that?””
Eli pointed at Kendra.
Kendra's expression changed.
“Eli, don't.””
The child shrank into his chair.
Gavin stood.
“Don't talk to him like that.””
“I'm his guardian,” Kendra snapped.
The words landed heavily.
Gavin stared at her.
“His guardian?””
Kendra looked away.
“I mean... I've been looking after him.””
“Since when?””
“Gavin, can we please talk privately?””
“No.””
He pointed toward the boy.
“You locked him in a storage room. He was sitting between boxes with a bottle of water. My daughter has been secretly reading to him because you told her not to tell me.””
His voice rose.
“I want an explanation now.””
Kendra's cheeks flushed.
“You don't know what he is capable of.””
Gavin looked at Eli.
The child was holding his fork with both hands.
He didn't look dangerous.
He looked terrified.
“What exactly is he capable of?”” Gavin asked.
Kendra's jaw tightened.
“Destroying everything.””
Gavin stared at her.
“What does that mean?””
She quickly shook her head.
“Nothing. I didn't mean—”
Ava suddenly spoke.
“Mommy said Eli makes people leave.””
Kendra spun around.
“Ava!””
The little girl flinched.
Gavin moved between them.
“Don't shout at her.””
Ava's eyes filled with tears.
“I heard you talking on the phone,” she whispered.
“You said Daddy couldn't find out because then everything would be different.””
Gavin felt the floor shift beneath him.
He looked at his wife.
“Who were you talking to?””
Kendra picked up her phone.
“I'm not discussing this in front of the children.””
Gavin gave a humorless laugh.
“Funny. You had no problem locking a child in front of them.””
He took out his own phone.
“I'm calling for help. Eli needs to be examined, and someone needs to explain why he was kept here.””
Kendra stepped forward.
“Don't.””
Gavin unlocked his phone.
“Move.””
“You'll ruin us.””
He looked at her.
“You should have thought about that before you locked him away.””
A few minutes later, Gavin was sitting beside Eli in the living room.
Ava had brought her favorite blanket and placed it around the boy's shoulders.
Kendra stood near the staircase, watching them.
Gavin had called for assistance and was waiting for a response. He had also taken photographs of the storage room and the outside latch.
He didn't know who Eli was.
He didn't know why the boy had a birthmark resembling his own.
But he knew one thing.
The child wasn't going back into that room.
Eli leaned toward him.
“Are you really my daddy?””
Gavin's heart ached.
He carefully chose his words.
“I don't know yet, buddy. But I'm going to find out.””
Eli nodded.
Then he reached into the pocket of his trousers.
He pulled out a small, folded piece of paper.
It was worn at the edges, as if it had been opened and closed many times.
“I kept this,” he whispered.
Gavin unfolded it.
There was a photograph inside.
A younger Gavin stood beside a woman in a blue dress, holding a newborn baby.
Gavin recognized the woman immediately.
His first wife.
Rachel.
His hands began to shake.
Rachel had died six years earlier.
And the baby in the photograph had disappeared from the hospital records after a complicated emergency.
Gavin looked at Eli.
Then at the photograph.
“Where did you get this?””
Eli pointed toward Kendra.
“She said I wasn't supposed to show you.””
Gavin turned.
Kendra was standing perfectly still.
But the phone in her hand had begun to ring.
May you like
The name flashing across the screen made Gavin's blood run cold.
*RACHEL'S MOTHER.*
