Station 19 was dark when we arrived.
Too dark.
The bay doors were closed.
No trucks were visible through the windows.
Mercer parked across the street.
Reyes stared at the building.
“This isn't right.”
Tyler looked through the windshield.
“Someone should be there.”
“They are,” Michael said.
We turned toward him.
“How do you know?”
“Because the lights are off.”
I frowned.
“That doesn't tell us anything.”
“It does if they want us to believe the station is empty.”
Reyes opened his door.
“Stay here.”
Tyler immediately protested.
“No.”
Reyes looked at him.
“You're injured.”
“I know.”
“You need to listen.”
“I've been listening for nine years.”
Tyler pushed the door open.
“I've watched people make decisions about my life because they thought they knew better.”
He looked at me.
“I'm done doing that.”
We entered through the side door.
The station smelled of smoke, rubber, and old coffee.
It was familiar.
Almost comforting.
That made the silence worse.
The birthday decorations were still there.
The balloons had deflated slightly.
The cake box sat on the kitchen counter.
My cake.
The one I had brought for Tyler that morning.
I walked toward it.
The frosting had begun to harden.
A tiny paper card was taped to the box.
FOR TYLER.
I touched it.
Claire stopped me.
“Don't.”
I pulled my hand back.
Mercer examined it.
“No fingerprints.”
“Why would someone leave the cake?”
Michael answered.
“Because it was part of the story.”
“What story?”
“That Tyler was supposed to be here.”
Reyes looked around.
“Someone expected the fire call.”
Tyler stared at the cake.
“The call came before anyone knew I would be here.”
“Exactly,” Mercer said.
“So the warehouse fire was planned.”
“Yes.”
Tyler looked at me.
“They knew my birthday schedule.”
I felt a chill.
Someone had been watching our routine.
The alarm panel beeped.
Everyone froze.
The station doors locked.
The overhead lights came on.
A voice came through the intercom.
“Welcome home, Tyler.”
Tyler looked up.
“Who is that?”
The voice laughed.
“You really don't remember me?”
A screen mounted above the kitchen turned on.
A video appeared.
It showed Tyler as a child.
He was maybe twelve.
Standing beside his father.
Daniel.
They were outside this station.
Tyler stared.
“I've never seen this.”
Daniel was speaking to someone off camera.
“We can't keep him involved.”
A second voice answered.
“You don't get to decide that.”
The video froze.
A name appeared.
JONATHAN MORGAN.
Tyler stared.
“My grandfather.”
Claire shook her head.
“That's not your grandfather.”
“What?”
“That's his name on the file.”
Michael stepped closer.
“The person using that name was a contractor.”
Mercer looked at him.
“What contractor?”
“A man who managed emergency infrastructure.”
“Why would he be involved?”
“Because he controlled access to abandoned buildings.”
The screen changed.
Another photograph.
The warehouse.
Six years earlier.
Then another.
The blue house.
Then the hospital.
Then Tyler's room.
The final image showed me entering the station that morning with the cake.
Someone had been filming me.
I felt sick.
“How long?”
Michael answered.
“Years.”
The screen went black.
Then a message appeared.
FIND THE LOCKER.
Tyler looked toward the firefighters' lockers.
His old locker was still there.
Number 19.
He walked toward it.
Reyes tried to stop him.
“I'll open it.”
“No.”
Tyler took out the old key.
The same key from the house.
He inserted it.
The lock clicked.
The locker opened.
Inside was his old turnout jacket.
A photograph.
And a sealed envelope.
Tyler picked up the photograph.
It showed him and Daniel.
On the back was a sentence.
YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO BE A FIREFIGHTER.
Tyler stared at it.
“Why?”
I touched his arm.
“Because your father was trying to keep you away from this.”
Tyler opened the envelope.
Inside was a handwritten note.
Tyler,
If you are reading this, then I failed to keep the truth away from you.
You will want to protect everyone.
Don't.
Protect Amanda.
Tyler stopped.
His eyes filled.
Below the message was another line.
She is the only person they cannot control.
Then:
Trust Reyes.
Tyler looked up.
Reyes stood frozen.
“You trusted him,” Tyler said.
“Yes.”
“But the recording said not to trust him.”
Reyes nodded.
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel knew someone would make you doubt me.”
Tyler looked at the final line.
A second page was attached.
It contained a list of names.
Daniel.
Frank.
Claire.
Evan.
Reyes.
And Amanda.
Beside each name was a date.
Beside Amanda's name was tomorrow's date.
I stared.
“Tomorrow?”
Reyes read it.
“What does that mean?”
Michael took the paper.
His expression changed.
“It means the operation was scheduled.”
“For what?”
He pointed to the date.
“Transfer.”
“Transfer of what?”
“Evidence.”
“To whom?”
Michael looked at me.
“The person behind this.”
A sound came from the bay.
Metal scraping against concrete.
Reyes drew his weapon.
Everyone turned.
A firefighter's helmet rolled across the floor.
It stopped at Tyler's feet.
He picked it up.
There was blood on the side.
Then the station doors opened.
A figure walked inside.
Grant.
Tyler stared.
“You.”
Grant raised his hands.
“I'm not here to hurt you.”
Reyes aimed his weapon.
“Where were you?”
Grant looked at me.
“I followed someone here.”
“Who?”
He swallowed.
“Your mother.”
Tyler froze.
“My mother is dead.”
Grant shook his head.
“I know.”
“Then why did you say her?”
“Because someone is using her identity.”
He pointed toward the office.
“She's been sending messages from inside the station.”
Tyler stared.
“That isn't possible.”
Grant looked at me.
“That's what they want you to believe.”
He handed Reyes a phone.
On the screen was a message.
MEET ME IN THE OLD TRAINING ROOM.
The sender name was Tyler's mother.
Tyler looked devastated.
“She died eight years ago.”
Grant nodded.
“Then someone has been pretending to be her for eight years.”
A door slammed upstairs.
Everyone looked toward the staircase.
Michael whispered, “They're here.”
The station intercom crackled.
A woman's voice came through.
“Tyler.”
He went pale.
His mother's voice.
“I need you to come upstairs.”
Tyler stared at the ceiling.
I grabbed his hand.
“Don't.”
The voice came again.
“Bring Amanda.”
Then, softly:
“She already knows why.”
Click here to continue reading: PART 27: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
I Arrived With Balloons and Cake, Expecting My Husband to Laugh—Instead His Entire Crew Went Silent When They Saw Me
Part 26 of 40
