Mara stood beside Noah and Eli on the front porch.

"I've arranged permission for us to enter," she said.

Noah nodded.

Eli held his hand.

The front door opened with a long creak.

Dust covered the furniture.

Sunlight entered through dirty windows.

Noah walked slowly through the hallway.

Memories came back in pieces.

His mother singing while cooking.

Eli learning to walk.

Christmas mornings.

His father's voice.

Arguments.

Then silence.

Noah stopped outside the old bedroom.

The closet door was still there.

He opened it.

Nothing.

He searched the shelves.

Nothing.

Then Eli pointed upward.

"Behind there."

Noah looked.

A loose wooden panel sat near the back wall.

He removed it.

Behind it was a small metal box.

Not blue.

Black.

Noah frowned.

"That's not it."

Mara crouched beside him.

"Maybe there's another."

They searched.

Finally, Noah found a narrow compartment beneath the floorboard.

Inside was a blue box.

Exactly as Eli remembered.

Noah lifted it carefully.

There was no lock.

Inside were documents.

Photographs.

A flash drive.

And a second envelope.

Noah opened the documents first.

The first page was a trust agreement.

The second was a property deed.

The third made his stomach drop.

It was a legal complaint.

His mother's name appeared at the top.

Victor Hale's name appeared underneath.

Noah read slowly.

Claire had accused Victor of stealing company funds.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Mara looked over his shoulder.

"This is serious."

Noah found another document.

A settlement agreement.

It had never been completed.

Then he found something even stranger.

A photograph.

His mother stood beside Victor.

But behind them was another man.

Noah recognized him immediately.

Richard.

His father.

"What is he doing there?"

Mara stared at the photograph.

"I don't know."

Noah turned it over.

There was a date.

Three weeks before Claire died.

His father had been in town.

He had never told them.

Noah's hands tightened.

"Why would he come back?"

The flash drive contained one file.

Mara's laptop opened it.

A video appeared.

Claire sat at the kitchen table.

She looked tired.

But alive.

Noah couldn't move.

His mother looked directly into the camera.

"If you're watching this, then I wasn't able to explain everything myself."

Noah's throat tightened.

Claire continued.

"First, I need to say something to my sons."

She smiled sadly.

"Noah, you are my brave boy."

Noah looked away.

He couldn't watch.

"Please don't blame yourself for what happened."

The words struck him.

"Everything that happened after I became sick was because I was trying to protect you."

The video paused briefly.

Then Claire continued.

"Richard came back."

Noah looked at the screen.

"He says he wants to help."

Claire shook her head.

"I don't know whether I believe him."

Noah whispered,

"Mom..."

The video continued.

"Victor knows about the trust."

Claire explained that Victor believed he could manipulate the legal documents and gain control of the property.

"But he needs someone with parental rights."

Noah understood.

"Richard."

Mara nodded.

The next part was worse.

Claire said she had discovered that Richard had signed an agreement with Victor.

If Claire died, Richard would attempt to gain custody.

The property would then become vulnerable.

Noah stared at the screen.

His father hadn't disappeared because he didn't care.

He had disappeared because he had chosen something else.

Money.

Then Claire said something unexpected.

"I have another guardian."

Noah leaned closer.

"A woman named Evelyn Carter."

Noah frowned.

"Who?"

Mara looked surprised.

"Your aunt?"

"I don't have an aunt."

Mara paused.

"That's what your mother wanted you to believe."

The video ended.

Noah sat silently.

Eli climbed onto the chair beside him.

"Who's Evelyn?"

"I don't know."

Mara picked up the documents.

"We need to find her."

They searched the box again.

At the bottom was an old photograph.

Three women stood outside a hospital.

Claire was one.

Another woman was Mara.

The third was a woman Noah had never seen.

On the back was written:

Evelyn — the one person I trust.

There was an address.

A town several hours away.

But before they could leave, someone knocked on the front door.

Mara froze.

Noah looked toward the hallway.

The knock came again.

Then a man's voice.

"Noah?"

Noah's blood ran cold.

He knew that voice.

His father.

Richard stood outside.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then Eli whispered,

"Dad?"

Noah stepped in front of him.

The door opened.

Richard looked older than Noah remembered.

Gray hair.

Tired face.

A dark coat.

He stared at his sons.

His eyes became wet.

"Noah."

Noah's expression hardened.

"What do you want?"

Richard looked at Mara.

Then at the blue box.

His face changed.

"You found it."

Mara stepped forward.

"How did you know it existed?"