The Road North
Chapter 09 - The Road North
They left through the rear loading area.
Marcus drove.
Rachel sat beside Noah.
Adrian kept looking through the back window.
Two black SUVs followed them onto the highway.
"Those yours?" Rachel asked.
"No," Adrian said.
Marcus accelerated.
For twenty minutes, the vehicles remained behind them.
Then Marcus suddenly exited.
The SUVs continued straight.
Adrian exhaled.
"Where are we going?"
"Somewhere Victor doesn't know."
They spent the night at a small roadside motel under false names.
Noah fell asleep almost immediately.
Rachel did not.
Neither did Adrian.
Around two in the morning, they sat outside the motel room.
"You really didn't know," Rachel said.
"No."
"I hated you for years."
"I understand."
"No, you don't."
Rachel looked toward Noah.
"Ethan would wake up screaming sometimes. He thought people were outside our apartment. He trusted nobody."
She swallowed.
"Eventually, he stopped trusting me."
Adrian looked down.
"What happened the night he disappeared?"
Rachel's voice cracked.
"He kissed Noah."
"He was a baby?"
"Nine months old."
Rachel nodded.
"Then Ethan told me he needed one night to fix everything."
She waited for the pain to settle before continuing.
"He never came home."
Adrian said quietly, "I'm sorry."
Rachel looked at him.
"Find him."
"I will."
"No."
She leaned closer.
"Promise me something else."
"What?"
"When we find Ethan, don't ask why he stayed away."
Adrian frowned.
"Why?"
"Because whatever happened to him..."
May you like
Rachel looked toward the dark parking lot.
"...I'm afraid the brother you remember may not be the man we're going to find."
