Chapter 31 - The Child Beneath Raven House
The crying came from behind the stone wall beneath Raven House.
Mara Quinn followed the sound through the narrow basement passage while Elias and Celeste remained several steps behind her. The emergency lights flickered above them, revealing a steel door hidden beneath layers of old plaster.
A child’s voice called again.
“Mara, you promised you would come back.”
Elias reached for her arm.
“Don’t open it. Someone wants you inside.”
Mara pulled away and entered the six-digit code that had appeared in the final file left by her father. The lock released immediately.
Inside the room sat a boy of approximately eight years old. He was unharmed, dressed in clean gray clothes, and surrounded by books, puzzles and unopened food containers.
The boy looked directly at Mara.
“You forgot me again.”
“I’ve never seen you before,” Mara whispered.
The boy removed a silver pendant from beneath his shirt.
Mara carried an identical pendant around her own neck.
“My name is Eli,” he said. “You told me that when the house opened, I should give you this.”
He handed her a folded photograph.
It showed Mara standing beside him three months earlier.
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On the back, in Mara’s handwriting, were four words:
DO NOT TRUST ELIAS.
