Chapter 5 - INTO THE WALL
“Run,” I yelled to Emily. I shoved the hammer into the chest of the first man who reached the landing. He stumbled backward, crashing into the second. Emily didn't hesitate. She grabbed Lily and Sophie and pushed them into the dark, dusty passage in the wall. Thomas blocked the bedroom door. “Go with them, Michael! I’ll hold them off!” “No,” Michael said. He grabbed a heavy brass lamp from Lily’s dresser. “I spent thirty years hiding. I’m done.” I looked at my brother—a man I didn't know, yet who shared my blood. Patricia stood safely in the hallway, watching with clinical detachment. “Mom, stop this!” I pleaded. “It’s for the family, Ryan. You were the perfect son. Michael was the mistake. I won't let him ruin our legacy with that child.” One of the tactical men threw Thomas against the wall. Thomas slumped, groaning. The man advanced on Michael. I tackled the man around the waist. We crashed onto the hardwood floor. He punched me hard in the ribs, knocking the wind out of me. As I gasped for air, a small, faded piece of paper fluttered out of the man’s tactical vest. It had been folded inside his pocket. I grabbed it. It was a child's crayon drawing. Two boys standing near a burning fireplace. One boy was pushing the other into the flames. Written at the bottom, in my mother’s elegant handwriting, were the words: Ryan’s confession. Keep safe. I looked up at Patricia. My memory suddenly shattered, the repressed trauma flooding back in a violent wave. “I didn't push him,” I whispered.
