Chapter 32 - The Storage Unit
The storage facility stood forty miles from Briarwood.
Nora, Camille and Commissioner Harrow went together, each traveling in a different car. Ruth remained with Elsie under the protection of two private security officers.
Unit 214 had not been opened in more than a decade.
Dust covered the lock.
Inside were twelve filing cabinets, a child’s red bicycle and a row of cardboard boxes marked with dates.
The first cabinet contained payment records from Whitmore Development to Lydia Harrow.
The second held copies of forged deeds from properties throughout the county.
The third contained medical files belonging to Helen Carter.
They described a woman admitted to North Vale Psychiatric Center under the name Hannah Clarke.
Her condition was listed as severe confusion and delusional claims about land ownership.
Every diagnosis had been signed by Dr. Mason Whitmore, Charles’s older brother.
Nora’s stomach turned.
Helen had not disappeared willingly.
She had been imprisoned through fraudulent medical reports.
A final note recorded her transfer to another institution in 2004. The destination had been left blank.
Harrow opened a box labeled ELIAS.
Inside were photographs of two boys.
One was Lydia’s son, Elias, photographed from birth until age five.
The second was Gabriel Carter.
They looked nothing alike.
The last photograph of Elias had a date written on the back.
Six weeks later, school documents began referring to Gabriel as Elias Harrow.
Beneath the photographs lay a newspaper clipping about an accident at a private lake.
Five-year-old Elias Harrow had supposedly survived.
No other details were provided.
Harrow sat down on the concrete floor.
“My whole life belongs to someone who died.”
Camille continued searching.
At the back of the unit, Nora found a tape recorder and an envelope addressed to Gabriel.
Harrow could not make himself open it.
Nora handed it to him and stepped away.
Inside was a letter from Helen.
My beautiful boy, if they have given you another name, remember that a stolen name cannot change the heart beneath it. I did not leave you. I fought until they made fighting impossible.
Harrow pressed the letter against his mouth.
Then the storage facility lights went out.
A vehicle engine started outside.
May you like
Smoke began slipping beneath the metal door.
Someone had set the building on fire.
