Chapter 5 - what Sophie saw on the boat
Wade fired toward Murphy.
The bullet vanished into the storm.
Ethan shot the flashlight from Wade’s hand. Darkness swallowed the garden.
“Move!” Rebecca ordered.
Nora pushed Sophie through the rear panel of the doghouse into the narrow tunnel below. Ethan followed, pulling the trapdoor shut as another bullet struck the cedar wall.
They descended beneath the garden.
The tunnel continued toward the cliffs, ending at an old concrete boathouse hidden beneath the estate. Waves struck the rocks outside, forcing seawater through cracks in the rusted doors.
A small motorboat waited inside.
Someone had prepared it with fuel, blankets, and emergency supplies.
Rebecca examined the ignition.
“This was arranged recently.”
Ethan searched the shadows.
“By Laura?”
“Or by the person who called Murphy.”
Nora wrapped Sophie in a dry emergency blanket.
The girl watched the black water beyond the doors.
Ethan sat beside her.
“Your mother said I should ask about a boat.”
Sophie lowered her head.
“I don’t remember.”
“You don’t have to tell me everything at once.”
“Miles says children make up stories when they’re scared.”
“Miles lies.”
“He says Mommy lies too.”
“Your mother risked her life to protect you.”
Sophie looked at the stuffed rabbit.
“A long time ago, Mommy took me on a boat at night. She said we were going to see dolphins.”
“How long ago?”
“Before my birthday.”
“Which birthday?”
“My seventh.”
Five months earlier.
“Who else was there?”
“Miles. Wade. A woman in red shoes.”
Rebecca glanced at Ethan.
“Can you describe her?”
“She had yellow hair. She smelled like flowers and smoke.”
Sophie pressed her palms against her temples.
“There was another girl.”
“How old?”
“Like me.”
“What was her name?”
“They called her Sophie.”
The boathouse seemed to become colder.
Ethan leaned closer.
“You are Sophie.”
“The other girl had my dress. Mommy was crying.”
Rebecca whispered, “Identity substitution.”
Sophie’s breathing quickened.
“They made us stand together. The lady took pictures. She told the other girl to say my name.”
“What happened next?”
Sophie closed her eyes.
“Miles took the other girl below the boat.”
“And you?”
“Mommy pushed me into a cupboard. She told me not to move.”
“What did you hear?”
“A splash.”
Nora sat beside her.
“You’re safe now.”
Sophie shook her head violently.
“No. I opened the cupboard.”
Ethan waited.
“Miles came back alone. He gave Mommy papers and said Sophie Reed was dead.”
The duplicate child had likely been killed or moved under Sophie’s identity, allowing the real Sophie to disappear from official records.
“What did your mother do?” Ethan asked.
“She signed.”
Rebecca looked surprised.
“Laura cooperated?”
Sophie’s expression became fierce.
“She used the wrong hand.”
Ethan understood.
Laura was right-handed. Signing with her left would create evidence of coercion.
“Then what?”
“The boat went to a place with a bright tower.”
“Point Delmar,” Ethan said.
Sophie nodded.
“They carried boxes underground. Mommy took the rabbit from one box.”
The stuffed toy had come from the archive.
“She put something inside it,” Sophie continued. “Then Murphy barked.”
Ethan looked toward the dark tunnel entrance.
“Murphy was on the boat?”
“He was in a cage with other dogs.”
Nora covered her mouth.
The criminals had likely used animals to test forged veterinary documents or smuggle trackers.
“Mommy opened his cage,” Sophie said. “She told him to find the sad man.”
Murphy had escaped and eventually returned to Ethan—or had tried to.
Six months earlier, Ethan’s security team reported finding Murphy dead near the highway after the dog disappeared from the estate. Wade arranged the cremation before Ethan saw the body.
The death had been fabricated to stop Ethan from examining the dog’s collar or tracking where Murphy had been.
A soft scrape came from the tunnel.
Ethan raised the pistol.
Murphy emerged first.
Behind him stood a woman wearing a waterproof jacket. Rain covered her pale face, and a fresh cut marked her eyebrow.
Sophie stood so quickly that the blanket fell.
“Mommy!”
Laura Reed opened her arms.
Sophie ran to her.
For several seconds, no one spoke. Laura dropped to her knees, holding her daughter while tears mixed with the rain on her cheeks.
Ethan lowered the weapon.
“You escaped.”
“Only because Miles wanted me to.”
Sophie pulled back.
“What?”
Laura looked toward the tunnel.
“He followed Murphy. He knew the dog would lead me here.”
A red light began blinking on Murphy’s collar.
A tracker.
Ethan ripped it off and crushed it beneath his shoe.
Too late.
Engines roared above the boathouse.
Laura grabbed Sophie.
“They’re not here for the rabbit anymore.”
“What are they here for?” Ethan asked.
Laura looked at him.
“Your blood.”
The outer doors exploded inward.
Seawater and wind blasted through the boathouse as armed men descended from the western path.
Laura shoved Sophie toward the waiting boat.
May you like
“Point Delmar,” she shouted. “The truth about Ethan is in Locker Seventeen.”
👉 Laura had escaped captivity only to lead Miles directly to the boathouse, and the evidence at Point Delmar promised to expose a secret hidden inside Ethan’s own identity.
