“You should.”
“What happened to my uncle?”
Samuel stared forward.
“I don't know.”
“Is he alive?”
“I don't know.”
“Did he kill my father?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel looked frustrated.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I refuse to lie to you.”
Daniel looked at him.
For the first time, he understood the difference.
His mother had hidden the truth because she was afraid.
Samuel had hidden the truth because he was waiting.
But neither had lied about what they knew.
Daniel looked down at his father's watch.
“What if the evidence is gone?”
“Then we find out who took it.”
“What if the person who killed my father is still alive?”
Samuel looked at him.
“Then you decide what to do with the truth.”
Daniel frowned.
“What would you do?”
Samuel smiled sadly.
“I spent my whole life trying to survive it.”
“And now?”
“Now I think it's time someone stopped surviving and started living.”
The train entered the station.
Passengers began gathering their belongings.
The mysterious man was nowhere to be seen.
Daniel stood.
Elena approached.
“We need to move.”
“Where?”
“Private waiting room.”
“Why?”
“Because there are people watching the platform.”
Daniel looked outside.
Several men stood near the station entrance.
They appeared ordinary.
But they were all looking toward the train.
Samuel said,
“Stay between us.”
Daniel followed them.
They left the carriage through a side door.
The station was nearly empty.
The three of them walked quickly through a narrow hallway.
Daniel heard footsteps behind them.
He turned.
No one.
Then a voice echoed from somewhere nearby.
“Daniel.”
He stopped.
Samuel grabbed his arm.
“Don't answer.”
The voice came again.
“Daniel Carter.”
Daniel recognized it.
His mother's voice.
He turned.
A woman stood at the end of the hallway.
Daniel's heart stopped.
“Mom?”
Samuel pulled him back.
The woman smiled.
Then Daniel realized something.
She was not his mother.
She looked similar from a distance.
But the face was wrong.
The voice was wrong.
It was an imitation.
The woman walked toward them.
“Give us the watch.”
Samuel stepped forward.
“No.”
“Give us the watch.”
“No.”
Daniel looked at Samuel.
“What do they want?”
“The location.”
“Why?”
“Because they never found the evidence.”
Daniel understood.
“They've been searching for nine years.”
“Yes.”
“And now they know where it is.”
Samuel nodded.
The woman reached into her coat.
Elena grabbed Daniel's hand.
“Run.”
They ran.
Through the hallway.
Down the stairs.
Across the station.
Daniel heard shouting behind them.
Samuel pushed open a side door.
Cold air hit Daniel's face.
They ran into the darkness.
The train whistle sounded behind them.
They did not stop.
They crossed the street and entered a small alley.
Samuel leaned against a wall.
Elena breathed heavily.
Daniel held the watch tightly.
“They're going to kill us.”
Samuel shook his head.
“No.”
“How can you be so calm?”
“Because your father planned for this.”
Daniel stared at him.
“How?”
Samuel smiled.
“Your father always had a plan.”
The next morning, they reached the old signal tower.
It stood on a hill above the railway.
The tower had been abandoned for years.
Its windows were broken.
Grass grew around the foundation.
Daniel looked at the building.
“This is it?”
Samuel nodded.
They entered.
Inside was darkness.
The walls were covered with dust.
An old metal staircase led upward.
Daniel held the watch.
“What now?”
Samuel pointed toward the wall.
“There.”
Daniel looked.
A small metal plate was embedded in the stone.
There was a narrow slot.
Daniel took the watch.