“Where?”
“On the south side of town.”
Daniel wrote down the address.
Before leaving, the old woman grabbed his arm.
“Daniel.”
He turned.
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
“No.”
Her voice was serious.
“You don't understand.”
She looked into his eyes.
“If Marcus is the man I think he is, he may know what happened to you.”
Daniel nodded.
“I need to know the truth.”
The old woman looked at him.
“Sometimes the truth hurts.”
“I've lived with not knowing for thirty years.”
He paused.
“I think I'm ready.”
The garage had been abandoned for years.
The building stood behind an old warehouse, surrounded by weeds and broken fences.
Daniel parked nearby.
He walked toward the building.
The door was partially open.
Inside, everything was covered in dust.
Old tires were stacked against the walls.
Rusty tools hung from hooks.
Daniel walked slowly through the darkness.
Then he saw something.
An old metal box.
He opened it.
Inside were several photographs.
He picked one up.
His heart stopped.
It showed his mother.
Beside her stood his father.
And behind them was Marcus.
Daniel looked at the next photograph.
It showed him as a child.
His mother was holding his hand.
His father stood several feet away.
And Marcus was watching from behind a car.
Daniel suddenly understood.
Marcus had been there.
He had been part of his childhood.
He had been there the day Daniel disappeared.
Then he heard a sound behind him.
Footsteps.
Daniel turned around.
A man stood in the doorway.
Older now.
Gray hair.
A scar above one eyebrow.
But Daniel recognized him immediately.
Marcus.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Then Marcus said:
“You shouldn't have come here.”
Daniel stared at him.
“You know who I am.”
Marcus slowly nodded.
“I knew the moment I saw you at the diner.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Where were you?”
Marcus looked away.
“I thought you were dead.”
“You knew my mother was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew she was searching for me.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Daniel's voice became louder.
“Then why didn't you tell her?”
Marcus didn't answer.
“Why?”
Finally, Marcus whispered:
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of my father?”
Marcus nodded.
“Your father wasn't the man you thought he was.”
Daniel stared at him.
“What did he do?”
Marcus looked at the floor.
“He made a deal with people who wanted you.”
“Who?”
“I never learned their names.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What happened to me?”
Marcus took a deep breath.
“Your father wanted to leave the country. He believed you were an obstacle.”
Daniel froze.
“He sold me?”
Marcus looked at him.
“Yes.”
The word felt like a punch.
Daniel stepped backward.
For years, he had imagined hundreds of explanations.
None of them had prepared him for this.
“My own father?”
Marcus nodded.