CHAPTER 29 The Hand I Was Holding

CHAPTER 29

The Hand I Was Holding

The gunshot tore through the tunnel.

Miyaka screamed.

For one terrible second, she couldn't see anything.

The lights were gone.

The darkness was complete.

Someone crashed into the wall.

“Down!”

Moises pulled her hard against him.

Another shot rang out.

This one sounded farther away.

Miyaka's heart slammed against her ribs.

She could barely breathe.

“Moises?”

“I'm here.”

His voice was right beside her.

She suddenly remembered her mother's warning.

Don't trust the person holding your hand.

Her fingers were still wrapped around his.

She pulled away.

Moises immediately released her.

“Miyaka?”

“I—”

She couldn't explain.

Not yet.

Somewhere in the darkness, Jason shouted.

“Daniel!”

“I’m here!”

“Where's the door?”

“Behind you!”

A scraping sound followed.

Then a metallic click.

Jason swore.

“Everyone stay down.”

Miyaka crouched instinctively.

Moises stayed close without touching her.

That somehow made the fear worse.

Because she didn't know what to believe anymore.

Her mother had looked at him like she knew something.

Then she'd warned Miyaka not to trust him.

But why?

Moises couldn't have been the person behind everything.

Could he?

He had been seventeen.

A frightened boy taken away from her.

He had spent years keeping her childhood letters.

He had come back.

He had protected her.

He had—

Miyaka stopped herself.

That was exactly the problem.

She knew what Moises had shown her.

She didn't know what he had hidden.

A light flickered overhead.

Once.

Twice.

Then the tunnel was illuminated by a weak emergency lamp.

Miyaka looked around.

Jason was crouched near the wall.

Daniel stood beside the metal door.

Moises was several feet away from her.

And her mother—

was gone.

Miyaka's heart dropped.

“Mom?”

No answer.

She ran toward the doorway.

Moises moved after her.

“Miyaka, wait.”

She spun around.

“Don't.”

He stopped.

Her voice shook.

“I need to find her.”

“I know.”

“Then move.”

He stepped aside.

She reached the doorway.

Empty.

Beyond it was another narrow passage.

No woman.

No footsteps.

Nothing.

Miyaka turned back.

“Where did she go?”

Daniel stared at the passage.

“She knows these tunnels.”

“How?”

“I don't know.”

Miyaka laughed bitterly.

“Of course.”

She looked around.

“Everyone knows something except me.”

Jason stood.

“There’s blood.”

Miyaka's head snapped toward him.

“Where?”

He pointed toward the floor.

A thin smear of blood disappeared around the corner.

Miyaka's stomach tightened.

“Is it hers?”

Jason crouched.

“I don't know.”

Moises walked closer but stopped before reaching her.

“Don't touch it.”

Miyaka looked at him.

“Why?”

“It could be a trap.”

She stared at him.

He noticed.

“What?”

“You sound like my father.”

Moises went quiet.

The words had slipped out before she could stop them.

“I didn't mean—”

“Yes, you did.”

“No.”

He shook his head.

“I know why you're questioning everything.”

Miyaka looked away.

“Do you?”

“I would too.”

She looked at him again.

For once, there was no defensiveness in his expression.

Only hurt.

“I heard what she said.”

“So did I.”

“She told me not to trust you.”

“I know.”

“You're not angry?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because she was afraid.”

Miyaka frowned.

“She looked at you like she knew something.”

“She probably does.”

That answer surprised her.

Moises looked toward the empty passage.

“Your mother knew my father.”

Miyaka's expression hardened.

“You never told me that.”

“I didn't know how much.”

“But you knew something.”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

Moises took a breath.

“I remember seeing her with my father before I disappeared.”

Miyaka stared.

“You said that before.”

“I didn't tell you everything.”

Her heart sank.

“What aren't you telling me?”

He looked at her.

“I remember an argument.”

“Between your father and my mother?”

“Yes.”

“What were they arguing about?”

“I don't know.”

“You were there.”

“I was seventeen, Miyaka. They stopped talking when I entered the room.”

She shook her head.

“You should have told me.”

“I should have.”

The honesty of the answer caught her off guard.

He didn't defend himself.

Didn't make excuses.

Just admitted it.

Jason suddenly called from farther down the tunnel.

“Guys.”

They turned.

Jason was standing beside the wall.

“There’s something here.”

Miyaka hurried toward him.

He pointed at a narrow metal panel.

“What is that?”

“A switch, maybe.”

Jason pressed it.

Nothing happened.

He pressed again.

A section of the wall clicked.

Then shifted.

A hidden compartment opened.

Inside was a small black box.

Miyaka stared at it.

Daniel went pale.

“No.”

Jason looked at him.

“What?”

“Don't open that.”

Miyaka looked at Daniel.

“Why?”

“That belonged to your father.”

“Then I'm opening it.”

“Miyaka.”

She reached inside.

Daniel stepped forward.

“Wait.”

She turned.

“What?”

His voice was quieter now.

“There are some things your father hid because they could get people killed.”

“People are already getting killed.”

Daniel fell silent.

Miyaka pulled the box free.

It was smaller than a shoebox.

Old.

Scratched.

There was no lock.

She lifted the lid.

Inside was a cassette recorder.

A stack of photographs.

And one envelope.

Her name was written across it.

MIYAKA.

Her hands shook.

“That's my father's handwriting.”

Jason looked at the envelope.

“Open it.”

Miyaka hesitated.

Then carefully tore it open.

Inside was a single page.

She read.

If you're reading this, then your mother failed to keep you away from the truth.

Miyaka stopped.

Jason leaned closer.

She continued.

Don't blame her.

Her eyes filled.

She tried.

Then—

The night she disappeared was not the night she died.

Miyaka's breath caught.

She looked at Moises.

He was staring at the letter.

“Keep reading,” he whispered.

She did.

There are three people you must never trust completely.

Below it were three names.

Miyaka's eyes moved over them.

The first made her blood run cold.

Daniel.

She looked at him.

He didn't move.

The second name was—

Moises.

Her heart stopped.

Moises looked at her.

“Miyaka…”

She couldn't speak.

The third name was partially covered by a dark stain.

Only the first letter remained visible.

J—

Jason stared at the page.

Nobody said anything.

Then the cassette recorder suddenly clicked on by itself.

Static filled the tunnel.

Miyaka froze.

A man's voice came through the tiny speaker.

Her father's voice.

Older.

Tired.

Terrified.

“If you're hearing this…”

The recording crackled.

“…then they found you.”

Miyaka covered her mouth.

The voice continued.

“And if Moises is with you…”

A pause.

Long enough to make her heart pound.

“…don't let him take you back to the mango tree.”

The recording stopped.

No one moved.

Then Jason slowly looked at Moises.

Moises looked at Miyaka.

And Miyaka realized something that frightened her more than the warning.

Her father's recording had been made after Moises disappeared.