The one his father had forbidden.
The one whose existence had been erased from conversation as if she had never been real.
A figure moved beyond the doorway, heading toward the shed in the backyard.
Hooded.
Steady.
Unafraid.
Daniel stepped outside, the air colder now, sharper against his skin.
The shed stood at the far edge of the yard.
The lock on it was new.
That detail struck him immediately.
Before he could reach it, a voice cut through the air.
“You shouldn’t have come back.”
It was a woman’s voice.
Aged. Deep. Carried with it a weight of years and something else—certainty.
Daniel turned.
Standing a few steps away was Evelyn Carter.
The neighbor.
Time had etched itself into her face, but her eyes were the same—sharp, observant, impossible to deceive.
“I thought you’d never return, Daniel,” she said. “I’ve been watching this place all these years. Someone had to.”
His throat felt dry.
“What is this?” he asked quietly. “Who’s been here?”
Evelyn studied him for a long moment.
“Your father was the lock,” she said slowly. “And your mother… she was the key. They hid the truth from you. From everyone. But not all of it stayed buried.”
Daniel’s pulse pounded in his ears.
“What truth?”