Page 107 of Veil of Silence

Nora looked away, which told Austin exactly how much the possibility frightened her.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Every instinct told him to turn around, separate Christian from the family, and call Prine. But instincts weren’t always the same thing as evidence. Right now, all they knew was that the boy had assumed another child’s identity.

They didn’t know why.

“This is going to destroy my parents.” Her voice cracked. “They’ve already been destroyed once.”

“Nora, I know it’s going to be hard—really hard—but all of that has to happen eventually.”

“I know. But I just need a few more answers first. I need to understand who he is—or who sent him.”

That last possibility settled heavily inside the SUV.

Christian had known enough to fool people who had loved the real boy. Someone had supplied those details.

Someone had prepared him.

Rain slid down the windshield as Austin and Nora sat in the roadside pull-off.

Austin’s thoughts returned to the second hymnal page Nora had shown him and Luke at the church.

Trust and obey.

For there’s no other way.

At the time, the words had seemed like a command meant for Christian. Now they knew the person receiving that command wasn’t Christian at all.

“You think it’s telling him to do what he was sent here to do,” Austin said.

“Maybe.” Nora shrugged. “Or telling him what will happen if he doesn’t.”

Someone had taught the boy enough about the Loveless family to pass as Christian. That didn’t tell Austin whether he’d agreed to take the real boy’s place—or what might happen if he refused.

“He might be another victim,” Austin suggested. “He might not have chosen any of this.”

“I know.” She rubbed her hand against her jeans.

He looked at her bandaged wrist. “That doesn’t mean your family is safe with him.”

“Mom and Dad are at the house. Wren and Nash are at the cabin.” Nora held his gaze. “If we confront him now, we’ll have to tell my parents with no warning. And if someone sent him, we don’t know how they’ll react when they learn we’ve figured it out.”

Austin hated the thought of leaving the boy with Nora’s parents. He hated the thought of turning around and setting off a confrontation they weren’t prepared for too.

“I’m calling Luke.”

Nora stiffened. “What are you going to tell him?”

“Everything. What the DNA report says, where you found it, and why you think the boy may be dangerous. Then I’ll ask him to put someone near the house until we can verify the results and decide how to handle this.”

Nora’s fingers tightened around her phone. After a moment, she nodded. “Ask him to be discreet. If a cruiser sits in the driveway, Christian will know something’s wrong.”

“I’ll make that clear.”

Luke agreed to arrange a patrol. Austin ended the call and set his phone on the console.

“You believe the report,” Nora said.

“I believe the photograph shows a report saying he isn’t related to your parents. And I believe he hid it.” Austin looked toward the road ahead. “If the lab botched it, he’d have had no reason to hide it, because people only hide results they know are true. If anything tonight suggests your family is in immediate danger, we call Luke and Prine and go straight back.”