The words hung in the air like a nightmare coming to life. Ethan's mind raced. Brandon's father was involved in something horrific, something that made Ethan question everything he thought he knew about this novel.
"Brandon… where is the kid now? Do you know where they took him?" Ethan asked. He kept his voice level, but his other hand was already scribbling furiously into his notebook. His heart was pounding.
Brandon's breathing stuttered on the other end. "I don't know… I don't know where they took them. But when I—when I stole files from my dad's laptop, I copied them onto mine. At first I didn't understand what I was looking at. But then…"
He took a breath. "I found images. Grainy, but real. A facility… underground levels. There were rooms—cells—equipment I don't even recognize. The basement of some place he wasn't supposed to know existed. But he did. And he was there."
Ethan sat up straighter, his body coiled with adrenaline.
