Chapter 2: The Secret Behind the Curtain
Victor carried Michael to the only mattress inside the shack.
The mattress was little more than a torn piece of foam covered by a stained blanket.
As soon as he laid the boy down, Michael started coughing again.
A harsh, painful cough.
The kind that came from deep inside the lungs.
Emma rushed to his side.
"It's okay," she whispered, gently wiping sweat from his forehead. "Just rest."
Victor knelt beside them and pressed the back of his hand against Michael's neck.
The fever was even worse than he thought.
"How long has he been sick?" Victor asked.
Emma hesitated.
"A few weeks."
Victor stared at her.
"A few weeks?"
She lowered her eyes.
"We couldn't afford a doctor."
For a moment, Victor couldn't find words.
A few weeks.
The boy had been seriously ill for weeks.
No medicine.
No treatment.
No adult helping them.
Nothing.
The rain pounded harder against the roof.
Victor stood and looked around the shack once more.
The more he observed, the more disturbing details he noticed.
The children's clothes were washed and folded carefully despite their condition.
The floor had been cleaned recently.
The younger children looked frightened but not neglected.
Someone had been trying very hard to care for them.
Someone far too young for that responsibility.
Emma.
A nine-year-old girl had somehow become the parent of four children.
"Where are your mother and father?" Victor asked again.
This time, Emma didn't answer.
Michael slowly opened his eyes.
His voice was barely audible.
"Emma..."
She immediately took his hand.
"It's okay."
"No..." Michael whispered. "Don't tell him."
Victor felt a strange uneasiness settle into his stomach.
Don't tell him what?
The youngest child suddenly started crying.
Emma hurried over and opened one of the formula cans.
She carefully measured every scoop as if each grain were precious gold.
Victor watched silently.
Then something caught his attention.
Near the back of the room stood an old wooden cabinet.
Its doors were slightly open.
Inside were dozens of envelopes.
Organized neatly.
Stacked by date.
That seemed unusual.
Very unusual.
Victor walked over.
"Emma, what are these?"
The girl's face immediately changed.
Panic flashed across her eyes.
"Please don't."
Victor pulled out one envelope.
Then another.
And another.
Every single one carried the same stamp.
FINAL NOTICE.
OVERDUE.
EVICTION WARNING.
His jaw tightened.
There were at least twenty of them.
Some were nearly six months old.
He looked at the dates.
Then back at Emma.
"How long have you been living alone?"
The room became completely silent.
Even the younger children stopped moving.
Emma's hands trembled.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
Then another.
Finally, she whispered the truth.
"Almost five months."
Victor froze.
Five months.
Five months without parents.
Five months without protection.
Five months without help.
The realization hit him like a punch.
These children had been abandoned.
But something didn't add up.
Children this young couldn't survive five months alone.
Not in a place like this.
Not without someone noticing.
Not without someone helping.
Victor's eyes moved across the room.
Then he saw it.
A small notebook hidden beneath the cabinet.
He picked it up.
Emma suddenly lunged forward.
"No!"
But she was too late.
Victor opened the notebook.
The first page contained neat handwriting.
Adult handwriting.
The date at the top was exactly five months earlier.
Victor began reading.
His face slowly lost all color.
The note wasn't from their parents.
It was from their mother.
And the final sentence made his blood run cold.
"If anything happens to me, never trust the man in the gray coat."
Victor looked up sharply.
"Emma..."
The little girl's face had gone pale.
"Who is the man in the gray coat?"
Emma's eyes filled with terror.
Before she could answer—
A car door slammed outside.
Everyone in the shack froze.
Another door slammed.
Then heavy footsteps splashed through the puddles outside.
Coming closer.
And closer.
Michael's eyes suddenly widened with fear.
Emma grabbed the younger children and pulled them behind her.
Victor heard the sound of someone stopping directly outside the shack.
Then came three slow knocks on the door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
A deep voice echoed from the other side.
"Emma."
The little girl began shaking uncontrollably.
Because she recognized that voice immediately.
May you like
And so did Michael.
It belonged to the man in the gray co
