THE SON THEY BURIED WAS THEIR ONLY HEIR

Chapter Forty Four: The Woman Who Took Him

Benedict stared at Eleanor.

"The woman who came after the fire."

Eleanor nodded slowly.

"She took the child."

"Who was she?"

"I don't know."

"You must remember something."

Eleanor closed her eyes.

"I remember her voice."

"What did she sound like?"

"Calm."

Benedict frowned.

"Calm?"

"Everyone else was panicking. The house was burning. People were running everywhere."

She swallowed.

"But she wasn't afraid."

"Did she know the child?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"She called him Ben."

Benedict's heartbeat quickened.

"Did she say anything else?"

Eleanor struggled to remember.

"She said..."

Her eyes opened.

"She said he belonged somewhere else."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

"Did she mention Isabella?"

Eleanor shook her head.

"No."

"Margaret?"

"No."

"Daniel?"

"No."

Benedict paced across the chapel.

Then stopped.

"How did she get inside?"

Eleanor looked at him.

"I don't know."

"Was the eastern entrance open?"

"I think so."

"Then she knew the manor."

Eleanor nodded.

She walked around the house like it was her own.

Damian looked toward the doorway.

"Could she have worked here?"

Eleanor's expression changed.

"Perhaps."

Benedict immediately remembered Clara.

"Clara said another woman came for the child."

"Yes."

"Did Clara describe her?"

"Only that she was wearing a dark coat."

"Anything else?"

Eleanor shook her head.

Benedict looked down at the guardianship document.

The designated guardian's name had been removed.

But what if the woman wasn't actually the child's guardian - maybe that's why she took the child.

Perhaps she was carrying out someone else's instructions.

His phone vibrated.

Mara.

He answered.

"Tell me."

I finally tracked down the owner of the boarding house where Isabella had been staying, the one whose account was linked to her.

Benedict straightened.

"Is she alive?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

I finally found her after all these years, she had moved away but I was able to track her down.

"What does she know?"

"She remembers Isabella."

Benedict's pulse quickened.

"Did Isabella stay there?"

"For several months."

"With the child?"

Mara paused.

"That's the strange part."

"What?"

"The woman says Isabella wasn't alone."

"Who was with her?"

"She doesn't know the man's name."

Benedict's eyes narrowed.

"A man?"

"Yes."

"Could it have been Daniel?"

"I asked."

"And?"

"She said no."

Benedict looked toward Damian.

"Describe him."

She described him as a tall man who typically wore dark suits and wasn't very talkative.

Benedict frowned.

"Anything distinctive?"

"She remembers a scar."

"Where?"

"Across his left hand."

Benedict's expression changed.

He remembered the figure in the chapel.

The man had kept his hands hidden.

"Can you get the woman's address?"

"I already have it."

"Send it."

An hour had passed, and Benedict found himself sitting across from the owner of the boarding house.

Her name was Mrs. Okafor.

She was in her seventies and remembered Isabella clearly.

"She came here frightened," the woman said.

"How long did she stay?"

"Almost four months."

"Did she have the child?"

"Yes."

Benedict's heart tightened.

"You saw him?"

"Several times."

"What was his name?"

Mrs. Okafor hesitated.

"She called him Ben."

Again.

The same name.

"Did she tell you who his father was?"

"No."

"Did she ever mention Ashcroft?"

The woman shook her head.

"Never."

"Then how did you know she was hiding?"

"Because of the man."

"What man?"

"He came regularly."

Benedict leaned forward.

"The man with the scar?"

Mrs. Okafor's eyes widened.

"How do you know about his scar?"

"Mara told me."

The woman nodded slowly.

"Yes. The scar."

"Who was he?"

"I don't know."

"Did he threaten Isabella?"

"No."

"Then why was she afraid of him?"

Mrs. Okafor thought for a moment.

"Because he wasn't there to hurt her."

Benedict frowned.

"Then why?"

He was keeping an eye out, making sure no one else would do it.

Silence.

"Was he protecting her?"

"I think so."

Benedict's mind raced.

"How often did he come?"

"Every few days."

"Did he come alone?"

"Always."

"Did he ever speak to the child?"

"Once."

"What did he say?"

Mrs. Okafor looked toward the window.

"I remember because Isabella started crying."

"What did he say?"

"He told the boy..."

She paused.

He thought to himself that someday his child would understand the reasons behind their actions, the reasons they had to keep him hidden away.

Benedict's expression hardened.

"Did Isabella ever leave with him?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"The morning before the fire."

Benedict froze.

"The morning before the fire?"

"Yes."

"Where did they go?"

"I don't know."

"Did she return?"

"That night."

"With the child?"

"No."

His heart sank.

"Where was the child?"

Mrs. Okafor shook her head.

"I never saw him again."

Benedict sat back.

"Then who had him?"

"I don't know."

"You're sure Isabella returned alone?"

"Yes."

"What did she say?"

Mrs. Okafor's voice softened.

She asked me to erase the memory of her ever being there.

Benedict stared at her.

"Why?"

They had finally tracked her down, she said, the ones who had been looking for her all along.

He looked at Damian.

The pieces were moving again.

Isabella had survived the fire.

She had hidden with the child.

A scarred man had protected her.

The day before the fire, something strange happened - the child vanished.

Isabella returned alone.

And that same night...

Ashcroft Manor burned.

Benedict stood.

"Mrs. Okafor, one last question."

"Yes?"

No, she didn't say where they were going, just that she needed to take care of something with the kid.

The woman hesitated.

Then nodded.

"She said she was taking him somewhere safe."

"Where?"

Mrs. Okafor looked directly at him.

"She said..."

Her voice dropped.

"...back to the place where he was born."

Benedict went still.

"Where was that?"

The old woman shook her head.

"I don't know."

His phone vibrated.

Another unknown message.

You are finally asking the right questions.

Benedict stared at it.

A second message followed.

But you still don't understand the fire.

Then the final message:

The fire wasn't meant to kill the boy.

Benedict's blood ran cold.

If that was true...

It turned out the fire wasn't even meant for them, someone else was the target.

Everything about the Ashcroft fire that night seemed to change in an instant.

Benedict read the message again.

The fire wasn't meant to kill the boy.

He looked at Damian.

"What if the fire wasn't about the child?"

Damian frowned.

"Then what was the target?"

"Someone who knew the truth."

Mrs. Okafor watched them carefully.

Isabella was scared of fire, even before anything bad happened.

Benedict turned.

"What do you mean?"

She said something was going to happen at the manor.

"When?"

"That morning."

"Did she say who would be in danger?"

"No."

Benedict studied her face.

"Are you sure?"

Mrs. Okafor nodded.

She just mentioned that if a fire were to break out, we should keep our distance from Ashcroft Manor.

"Why?"

"Because she believed someone wanted to erase evidence."

Benedict's eyes narrowed.

"Evidence of what?"

"I don't know."

Outside, Damian stopped beside the car.

"There's something we haven't considered."

Benedict looked at him.

"The fire may have destroyed records."

"Yes."

"But what if that wasn't the only purpose?"

Benedict understood.

It's possible that someone might have tried to deceive everyone by using the fire to make it seem like the child had passed away.

"Exactly."

It seems like someone wanted the family to give up their search, so they did something to make that happen.

Damian nodded.

"But Isabella survived."

"Which means the plan wasn't perfect."

Benedict looked toward the road.

"And someone has been protecting her."

"Or protecting the child."

Benedict's phone vibrated.

Mara.

He answered.

"I found something about the scarred man."

Benedict's attention sharpened.

"Tell me."

There is a person who used to work in security at Ashcroft and they fit the description.

"Name?"

"Samuel Cross."

Benedict frowned.

"Cross?"

"Yes."

"Related to Daniel?"

"Possibly. I'm checking."

"What do you know about him?"

"He left Ashcroft employment twenty-four years ago."

"When?"

"The day after the fire."

Benedict went still.

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know."

"Find him."

"I already have a lead."

Back at the manor, Victor was waiting.

Benedict entered the study.

"Who is Samuel Cross?"

Victor's expression changed immediately.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"Answer me."

Victor looked toward the door.

"Samuel was security."

"Twenty-four years ago?"

"Yes."

"Was he involved with Isabella?"

"I don't know."

"Did he have a scar?"

Victor hesitated.

"Yes."

Benedict's heart quickened.

"What happened to him?"

"He disappeared after the fire."

"Was he protecting Isabella?"

Victor didn't answer.

Benedict stepped closer.

"Father."

Victor finally spoke.

"Samuel was ordered to find the child."

"By whom?"

"The family."

"To bring him back?"

"Yes."

"Did he?"

Victor looked away.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because Samuel believed the child was in danger."

Benedict stared at him.

"So he betrayed the family."

Victor nodded.

"Yes."

"What did he do with the child?"

"I don't know."

"But you know he didn't bring him back."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Victor's voice dropped.

"Because he disappeared the same night."

Eleanor entered.

"Victor."

He turned.

She looked at Benedict.

"There's something else."

"What?"

"Samuel wasn't the only person who disappeared."

Benedict frowned.

"Who else?"

Eleanor looked at Victor.

"Margaret."

Benedict's expression changed.

"We already knew Margaret disappeared."

"No."

Eleanor shook her head.

"We thought she disappeared after the fire."

She took a breath.

"She disappeared before it."

Silence.

Benedict stared at her.

"When?"

"The afternoon before the fire."

"Then who was at the manor that night?"

Eleanor looked toward the window.

"I don't know."

Benedict felt a chill.

If Margaret had disappeared before the fire...

If Isabella had returned without the child...

If Samuel had disappeared after refusing to bring the child back...

Then someone else had been controlling events inside the manor.

Someone who had wanted the truth erased.

That night, Benedict returned to the chapel alone.

He opened the metal box again.

The photograph.

The letter.

The bracelet.

He studied the bracelet more carefully.

He had never seen it before, a small message that was hidden inside, and it caught his attention now.

Not a name.

A date.

March 14.

He searched his memory.

March 14 was the date of the fire.

But the year was different.

The bracelet had been made years before.

Why?

He turned it over.

A second marking appeared.

R.V.

Benedict frowned.

R.V.

He had seen those initials before.

He opened the photograph of Isabella.

In a spot where you might easily miss it, the same initials were there, tucked away on the corner.

R.V.

His phone rang.

Mara.

"I found Samuel."

Benedict stood immediately.

"Where?"

"Alive."

His grip tightened around the phone.

"Where is he?"

"He's been living under another name."

"Which one?"

"Samuel Reed."

Benedict closed his eyes.

"Where?"

Mara gave him the location.

Then she added,

"There's something you should know."

"What?"

"Samuel has been receiving regular payments."

"From whom?"

"A private trust."

Benedict's pulse quickened.

"Whose trust?"

Mara hesitated.

"The trust belongs to an estate."

"Which estate?"

"The Ashcroft estate."

Benedict stared into the darkness.

Someone had been paying Samuel for twenty-four years.

Someone had been keeping him silent.

Someone had also kept Isabella alive.

And perhaps...

Someone had been protecting the child all along.

His phone vibrated again.

Unknown number.

One final message appeared.

Stop looking for the dead.

Then:

Find the living.

Benedict looked at Samuel's location.

For the first time, he had a name.

A living witness.

Someone who was present the evening the boy went missing.

And if Samuel was willing to speak...

We might finally get to the bottom of what really happened with the fire.