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“Actually, all three of my kids are home. That includes you, River.” Catherine gave me a tired smile. “I owe you boys an explanation.” She sniffled and bunched the tissue in her palm.
“We’re listening.” Holden’s tone was clipped, his anger simmering beneath the surface.
Catherine blanched, then cleared her throat and looked at Reid. “You were four. Before Mom died, the entire family was at my mother’s house for Thanksgiving. Tim and I were packing up to leave when Hannah flew into the kitchen, screaming. She was hysterical, and it took me a while to calm her down enough to learn what was wrong.” Catherine gave me a tight smile, regret flashing in her gaze.
“All of the kids were downstairs in the playroom. The home was huge, and Opal had over a hundred acres. When she died … she left it all to my sister Kassandra.” She swallowed, then took a sip of her juice. “I’ve not seen or spoken to Kassandra since Opal passed. We’re actually twins. Hannah and Mallory remember her, but Holden, you were three when our lives were changed forever.”
I looked at Holden and discreetly nodded. So far, what she was saying lined up with what Opal and Kassandra had told me.
Holden rubbed his chin but remained quiet.
“There was a door downstairs, and Mom always kept it locked, but for some reason it wasn’t that night. According to Hannah, Mallory was in the bathroom when a strange man walked into the playroom, snatched up Garrison—Reid—and ran. Hannah took off after him, but she was only six. When she turned around … Holden, you were right behind her, crying and reaching out to Reid.”
Holden hung his head. “I fucking tried,” he whispered, clutching his brother’s arm. Reid took his hand but continued to remain quiet.
“Holden, you were inconsolable for months. You would run around the house calling for your brother …”
Holden sniffled, then raised his head, his eyes bloodshot from his tears. “Why didn’t you ever talk about him? Why didn’t Mallory or Hannah say anything to me?” Holden shot out of his chair. “I don’t understand how everyone just pretended that this didn’t happen! Pretended that my brother wasn’t stolen right under our goddamned noses!”
Catherine flinched. “I’m so sorry, Holden. Reid, there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think about you.”
Reid folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not sure sorry is good enough, Catherine.” His voice was soft but firm.
Holden paced behind the chairs, rubbing his neck as waves of frustration and pain rolled off him.
“We called the police and reported what had happened,” Catherine began.
“Say it out loud, Mom. He was kidnapped! This wasn’t something that happened. He was sold into slavery when he was fucking ten. He’s been raped, beaten, tortured. Goddammit.” Holden rubbed his face, tears streaming down his cheeks. “You have five minutes to explain the rest, then you’re leaving—for good. I don’t want to talk to you or ever see you again.” He held up his wrist and looked at the watch. “I highly recommend you start talking now.”
Catherine trembled beside me, then sucked it up and continued. “Months later, the police didn’t have any leads until one afternoon someone rang our doorbell. I knew something was horribly wrong. When I answered, they said they discovered remains of a little body and they identified it as Garrison.” Catherine stared at Reid. “I was told you were dead. I had no idea you were alive, or I would have scoured the earth until I found you. Please …” She balled her hands into fists. “That’s the truth, please believe me.”
Holden glanced at his watch again, then at his mom.
“Your father was at work when this happened, but as soon as he came home, I gave him the news. We clung to each other and sobbed. But the police said something to me that shook us to our core.”
I knew the guys were upset with her, but my heart was in fucking pieces. I took her hand in mine. I’d fallen apart that I’d lost my baby, but this … this was horrible. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the stress it put on Tim and Catherine’s marriage.
She clutched my fingers. “The detective told me that they’d been trying to catch the man that was stealing and killing children.” Catherine pursed her lips, then sucked in a breath. “He said to count myself lucky, that the killer normally took a boy and a girl at the same time. Whoever this sick man was studied families for months and always chose a family with a boy and girl. I was terrified he might come back for Hannah or Mallory. Tim made me swear we would never speak about it again. Then he called the girls in and explained that this monster might return and take them if they ever said anything. I fucking hated him for doing that. Hated him. It was the beginning of the end for us.” Catherine broke down crying, and I peeked over at Reid.
He leaned forward in his chair, his attention on Catherine, tears clinging to his eyelashes. Even for just a moment, she was reaching him. I looked at Holden, my gaze pleading with him to believe her. She was too broken to be lying. I saw how her family could lie, and Catherine wasn’t made from the same cloth. She had a conscience and felt her emotions very deeply regardless of if she shared them or not.
Holden sat back down and steepled his fingers together. “So, it was Tim that terrified everyone into not telling me?” Holden’s tone held less anger, but the hurt and defeat were evident.
Catherine looked up. “Yes. And it worked for a while. Although Mallory and Hannah swore to protect you and never say a word, Hannah began poking around when she was older. It tormented her. She started using drugs ... I don’t think she could deal with the lies and fear anymore. One evening Hannah waited until you’d left to spend the night with Chance and Jace, then she confronted Tim about what he’d said to her and Mallory, Garrison, and the monster coming back for them. There was a huge blowout. Tim got in her face and Hannah wouldn’t back down. She was feisty and full of spunk.” Catherine gave us a heartbreaking smile. “She had so much potential, too. Smart, funny, beautiful. She had a real gift for reading people, even the first time she met them.”
“I don’t remember any of that,” Holden said.
“You were so traumatized after losing Garrison … sorry, Reid, that you were a walking zombie. I took you to therapy when you couldn’t remember little things like where you’d left your stuffed bear, Barry. You loved that toy, and never went anywhere without it. Eventually the psychiatrist diagnosed you with dissociative amnesia.”
Holden straightened in his seat. “I had nightmares of a small kid calling out to me, begging me not to let them take him. When River was kidnapped, I had Jace help me with a form of hypnosis we’d used in the past. After a few sessions, I knew whatever had happened to River was horrific. It wasn’t until I came face-to-face with Reid that the suppressed memories made sense, though.”
Reid looked at Holden. His jaw twitched, his expression revealing zero emotion again. “Even after all of that, you remembered me.”
Holden nodded. “I still failed you.”
“Holden, no,” Catherine interjected. “You were only three.”
A heavy silence blanketed the room. I was pretty sure the five minutes were up, but Holden didn’t make a move to show Catherine out. Catherine must have realized that, too, because she continued. “After the huge argument with Tim, Hannah left that night. She started to stay at her friends’ houses, skipped school, and her grades dropped. The crowd she ran with was different and into partying. I knew she was trying to cope with her little brother dying and Tim’s blatant lie to silence the family, but I couldn’t seem to reach her. I scheduled therapy sessions, but she just sat there and refused to talk. As she got older, she became obsessed with finding Reid’s kidnapper. One evening I found newspaper articles, notes, and a map. She was attempting to track the kidnappings. She also learned that there weren’t many bodies, which didn’t make sense if Reid was taken by a serial killer.”
