Chapter 6 - Ethan’s DrawingEthan’s teacher called that afternoon.

“Mr. Carter, could you come in?”

Daniel arrived twenty minutes later.

Ms. Alvarez showed him a drawing.

Most children had been asked to draw their homes.

Ethan had drawn the farmhouse, a tractor, and the red dairy barn.

But inside the barn he had drawn a small black square.

“What’s that?” Daniel asked.

Ms. Alvarez lowered her voice.

“He called it the quiet room.”

Daniel’s stomach tightened.

“Did he say anything else?”

“He said Claire tells him bad children belong where nobody can hear them.”

Daniel stared at the drawing.

“Did he say she hurt him?”

“He became frightened when I asked directly.”

Daniel looked toward the classroom.

Ethan was building something with wooden blocks.

“I’m taking him home.”

Ms. Alvarez touched Daniel’s arm.

“Please don’t confront someone in front of him unless you know he’ll be safe afterward.”

Daniel understood.

This was no longer about catching Claire in a lie.

It was about protecting Ethan.

He called his attorney, Melissa Grant.

Within an hour she had arranged an emergency consultation and advised Daniel to document everything.

When Daniel returned to the farm, Claire was waiting.

“Why did you pick him up?”

“Teacher meeting.”

“Nobody called me.”

“They called his father.”

Claire’s face tightened.

Ethan walked past them toward his room.

Claire followed him with her eyes.

Daniel noticed.

That evening Daniel secretly installed two security cameras outside the barn and one facing the farm office.

He also changed every company password.

At 1:13 a.m., his phone buzzed.

Motion detected.

Daniel opened the camera feed.

Someone wearing a dark jacket entered the barn.

Not Claire.

The mysterious red-haired woman.

She walked directly toward the northern wall.

Then she disappeared behind an old wooden partition.

Daniel rushed downstairs.

By the time he reached the barn, the woman was gone.

But the partition stood slightly open.

Daniel pulled it.

A concealed storage space appeared behind it.

Inside were boxes covered in dust.

Children’s books.

A faded blanket.

An old flashlight.

And a wooden height chart.

Several marks had been carved into it.

ANNA — 10

Then another.

ANNA — 11

The dates extended almost a year beyond the date his parents claimed Anna had been sent away.

Daniel felt sick.

She hadn’t left when they said she did.

She had remained on the farm.

Hidden somewhere.

Then Daniel noticed newer handwriting near the bottom.

Written in pencil.

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Ethan — 7

The mark was fresh.