Apartment 3B
Chapter 03 - Apartment 3B
The bus carried Noah south toward a neighborhood where glass towers disappeared and abandoned storefronts became more common.
Adrian's limousine followed several blocks behind.
He hated himself for it.
Following a child felt wrong.
But losing the only connection to Ethan felt impossible.
Noah eventually stepped off beside an aging brick apartment building.
One window on the third floor had been covered with plastic.
Adrian waited ten minutes before entering.
The hallway smelled of damp carpet and old cooking oil.
When he reached apartment 3B, he heard coughing behind the door.
Then Noah's voice.
"Mom, I made eleven dollars."
A woman's weak voice answered.
"You weren't supposed to stay downtown that long."
"There were more people after work."
Adrian raised his hand to knock.
Then stopped.
Inside, Noah continued.
"A man talked to me."
Silence.
"What man?"
"He had Dad's necklace."
A chair scraped violently across the floor.
The door opened.
A pale woman in her mid-thirties stood there.
Rachel Carter looked exhausted.
Her dark-blonde hair was pulled into a loose knot. She wore an oversized sweater despite the summer heat.
The moment she saw Adrian, fear crossed her face.
Not surprise.
Fear.
That was when Adrian understood.
She knew him.
"Rachel?"
She tried to close the door.
Adrian caught it with his hand.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"You need to leave."
"That necklace belonged to my brother."
Rachel's eyes filled instantly.
Noah appeared behind her.
"Mom?"
Rachel quickly wiped her face.
"Go to your room, sweetheart."
Noah didn't move.
Adrian lowered his voice.
"Was Ethan his father?"
Rachel stared at him for a long time.
Then whispered something Adrian had waited eighteen years to hear without knowing he was waiting for it.
"Ethan didn't die in that accident."
Adrian felt the hallway tilt beneath him.
Rachel continued.
"He survived."
Adrian could barely breathe.
"Where is he?"
Rachel's expression changed.
Pain replaced fear.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"He disappeared nine years ago."
Adrian stared at Noah.
The timeline made no sense.
If Ethan had survived eighteen years ago...
why had he never contacted his brother?
Rachel gripped the doorframe.
"There's something you need to understand, Adrian."
May you like
Her voice trembled.
"Ethan believed you were the reason he could never come home."
